Thomas Allan Photography

08/24/2026

Writing
Caught this little (large as f@$@) garden spider setting up shop and taking care of some of the pests around the garden.

And look, I do not like spiders. At all. 😂 But I have to admit, this is one pretty damn cool-looking spider. As long as it stays right there doing its job, we’re good. 🕷️🌿

08/17/2026

08/15/2026

Score one for just getting out and exploring.

Ended up in a little part of York County today that I honestly did not even know existed. Found a beautiful historic Episcopal church dating back to around 1697, got some decent shots and then stumbled across a coffee shop inside an old colonial-style house.

Now I’m sitting upstairs with a coffee, looking out the window and thinking this is exactly why I like days like this.

No big plan. Just wandering around Virginia and seeing what I find.

Pretty cool.

📍 York County, Virginia

VirginiaRoadTrip

08/15/2026

Another one of those places that makes me stop and think about just how much history we have sitting right here in Virginia.

Westover Parish in Charles City was established in 1613.

1613.

More than 400 years later, this is not simply a historic place we preserved so people can come by, take a few pictures and read a marker. The parish is still here. The church is still serving its community. People still walk through the doors on Sunday for services.

That amazes me.

Buildings come and go. Communities change. Generations pass. Yet somehow places like this continue doing what they were created to do.

Of course, the building standing here today is not the original 1613 church, but I think that actually makes the story even better. The parish survived. It changed locations, buildings were built and rebuilt, and each generation found a way to carry it forward.

Maybe that is what I enjoy so much about photographing these old Virginia churches. They are not just monuments to what used to be here.

Some of them are still very much alive.

More than four centuries later, Westover Parish is still part of the community.

That is pretty damn cool.

📍 Westover Parish | Charles City County, Virginia

08/15/2026

Sometimes you do not have to travel very far to stumble into a whole lot of history.

The New Kent County Courthouse Complex is one of those places. The current courthouse dates to 1909, which almost feels young compared with some of the history surrounding it.

New Kent County is connected to Martha Washington, who was born nearby, and James Lafayette, an enslaved Virginian who became a spy for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and later successfully petitioned for his freedom.

What I find interesting about this area is how close together so many pieces of our history still sit. The courthouse representing government and law, with historic St. Peter’s Church just down the road representing faith and community. Church and state, literally neighbors, each telling a different part of the story of the people who lived here.

And those stories are complicated. Freedom and slavery. Faith and government. War and independence. People whose names everybody knows and others whose contributions took generations to receive the recognition they deserved.

That is what I enjoy about photographing places like this. Sometimes the building in front of the camera is only the beginning of the story.

And once again, all of this is sitting practically in my backyard.

📍 New Kent County Courthouse Complex | New Kent, Virginia

08/01/2026

Stop #36 brought me to the beautiful Morattico Waterfront, where the Rappahannock River and Virginia history come together. The quiet waterfront, working watermen heritage and the historic Emmanuel United Methodist Church have a way of slowing you down and reminding you of the stories these small communities still hold. Places like this are exactly why I love exploring Virginia, one church and one town at a time. 📷⛪🌊

ThomasAllanPhotography

08/01/2026

St. Mary's Whitechapel in Lancaster is one of those places that's worth slowing down for.

The church is beautiful, the grounds are incredibly well cared for, and the gardens make the whole property feel peaceful. It may be a small church, but it's surrounded by a surprising amount of land, and even the historic cemetery is maintained with so much care and respect.

I'm glad I made the trip back to Lancaster. Places like this remind me why I enjoy exploring Virginia's history one stop at a time.