About the photographer
Barbara Bailey Parker of Collinsville, Virginia has lived multiple lives – theatrical costume designer, flight attendant, arts administrator, and now activist and advocate for stronger laws to prevent gun violence. An avid photographer, traveler, and whitewater kayaker, she has more than 300 online photo albums and admits that her best photos are simply being in the right place at the right time. For Barbara, it’s more than a hobby. It’s a passion.
Browse photos
- Previous photographer Carol Morgan
- Next photographer Tierney Plumb
Barbara Parker: Electronic images
Childhood Lost
I enjoy walking the scenic trails where I live, and about 6 months ago I saw this doll - discarded from one of the houses above the trail. It's still there, becoming more a part of the earth around it. Weathered and beaten, it reminds me of children who suffer abuse and are cast aside in their most vulnerable moments.
Bad Day
This statue is in Boston, MA. I don't know if the sculptor had a sense of humor knowing what pigeons would ultimately do, but seeing this poor woman covered in poop is the ultimate bad day. We've all had them.
Altered Reality
This Trump store opened in an abandoned church in Boones Mill, VA in 2020. It's still there, doing a booming business. It's always crowded as is the farmers market nearby that also sells confederate flags and related memorabilia, right on 220 south of Roanoke.
Green Race
The annual Green River Narrows Race, held every year in November, attracts the best whitewater kayakers and more
than 2,000 spectators to this death defying run down the river. Even the hike down for those who want to watch and
photo is taking your life in your hands on the slippery rocks. It was worth it - some of the best photos I've
ever taken.
More about this photo:
https://greenrace.us/
Print photos
Hope
I attended the March for Our Lives in Washington DC in 2018. So many young people have grown up with active
shooter drills in their schools, and they will be the ones to continue the fight against gun violence. This
girl's sign says it all - she has been a victim of racism in addition to fearing gun violence, and her only
hope is that someday her life is seen as more important than the right to own a gun.
More about this photo:
https://marchforourlives.com/mission-story/
Night Musik
For years I have volunteered to photo productions at a theatre in my town. A 2019 production of "Cabaret" featured the emcee listening to "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" on a gramophone, and the eeriness of the character and his rapture at listening to the music is one of the creepiest photos I have taken. People think of Liza Minelli in the movie, and forget the deeper meaning of the stage production. The audience left shaken after ever performance.