After several grueling months, I did something I haven’t done in a long, long time: take a vacation. Along the way, I spotted this wonderful old barn along the highway. I couldn’t help myself: I had to pull off to the side of the road and snap a few shots. What a great start to what has been a fantastic vacation.
Category Archives: Fallen Farms
Topless at sunset
I spotted this old barn a long, long time ago, but had never really spent any time with it. I had to fly some drone batteries down to 50% for storage (LiPo batteries do not like to be stored at 100% charge) and took the opportunity to investigate. While the wooden top of the barn is gone, the concrete base is well intact.
It wasn’t long before the colors in the sky began to change, as I’d arrived while the sun was getting real low (obvious Incredible Hulk / Avengers reference here). While this presented some interesting challenges due to shadows, it also gave me a broad spectrum of sky to work with.
As the sun vanished beyond the horizon, I got one last splash of purple. And that was that. All batteries were discharged to the proper range, I was out of usable light, and it was time to head home.
Hoodie
One of these trucks has gone full-blown Mater, with no hood at all. The other one has its beak wide-open. Thankfully, I had a nice telephoto lens with me; they’re a short distance from the road, and on the day when I took this photo the ground was getting pretty soft (and muddy) already!
Winter home
I’d seen this house from afar before, but hadn’t actually taken the opportunity to investigate. In fact, I’d forgotten about it. I hadn’t even marked a waypoint for it in my GPS, something I do for all kinds of prospective photo spots. Well, a little while ago I was nearby and caught a glimpse of it again. I had just enough time to fly over and check it out.
This looks like a grand old house, and it has a perfect place out on the prairie. It didn’t hurt that we had a fantastic sky that day.
Speaking of the sky: I must admit, one thing I love about photography this time of year (and I’ve written about this previously) is that the sky can be so dramatically different just by changing the angle a bit.
This trip served multiple purposes: for one, I hadn’t been out with my cameras in an awfully long time. I also needed to exercise my drone and its batteries. Lastly, I’d purchased a new (to me) truck and wanted to take it on a shakedown cruise. I’m happy to say that the trip was a total success by all measures.
Missing some tin
I spotted this little building a long time ago while out on my dirt bike. I recently decided to check it out, and I’m glad I did. It was a perfect day for photography, and I had found a wonderful subject.
One trick about this time of year is the light: the sun is low in the sky, making the light quite directional. So it’s tough to get a decent shot of multiple angles. I managed to pull it off, plus bracketing exposures helps me overcome those harsh winter shadows.
One cool side effect of that is the variety of shots I can get from a single point in time and a slightly different perspective. The skies were definitely more dramatic in one direction than the others, and the shadows more of a nuisance on one side than the others. So I worked it the best I could, and I think the results are quite satisfactory.
Sagging in the middle
I love this old barn. I haven’t visited it in a while, but I knew the day was going to be an excellent one for some photography. I’d just bought a new-to-me truck and wanted to give it a shakedown cruise with my oldest kiddo, so I figured I’d roam a specific area where I knew there were some photo targets I’d marked in my GPS but never visited.
I have been to this farm before…a few times, actually, but none of them recent. I’m glad I stopped by. Sometimes you get to a spot when conditions are just perfect, but some times you find the perfect subject in less-than-perfect conditions. I’d never had quite the combination of snow and sky that I’d wanted – that is, of course, until this day.
I know that huge old barn, relaxing on its haunches, tends to steal the show, but this structure out back was quite photogenic as well. And oh, those glorious skies.
I’m sure there are still some fantastic sunrises to capture as they splash this farm with those orange and red hues, so I’ll consider finding my way out there at different times of the day. With the time change coming up this weekend, it might get a little easier to roll out of bed and bolt westward on time!
Sticks and stones
I spotted this barn from afar and couldn’t help but take some time to fly out. But it took some patience…I had to wait for the rain to quit. Thankfully, it did…not nearly as soon as the radar predicted, but in time for me to get a few shots before dark.
What really caught my eye was the fact that it’s nearly all sticks at one point. It’s a skeleton which hopefully will stay standing for a while.
In fact, it’s the side view that caught my eye, even from far away. It isn’t every day that you find a barn that you can see through!
I had just a few minutes before it started to rain again, but thankfully I was able to utilize those minutes. Then it was time to dart home with a successful trip under my belt. Any photo trip I take which results in at least one photo I like is a success, and this was only one stop along the way which more than satisfied that requirement.
You left your barn door open
When’s the last time you heard that euphemism? Thankfully, I haven’t heard it lately.
I was on my way to a certain photo destination when I came across this treasure. I had to stop and take a look, even though I was on a timetable, and it was time well spent.
I’d planned on some drone flight on this particular day, but it rained on me almost the entire time! I did catch a slight break, however, and during that time I captured some really cool shots. They weren’t the ones I intended; I discovered yet another hidden treasure that wasn’t part of my objective. I will share the results of that flight soon.
Yeah, I’m gonna get it running someday
I’ve been by this car a couple of times, but before long it might be hard to even determine that it’s there! It used to be red. Now it’s obscu-red by the bushes which have overtaken it.
If I remember correctly, there’s a tractor or other implement in a similar condition nearby. I’ll have to look through my photo library and see if I can find that one as well.
I don’t think a sump pump will help
Actually, it looks like the water has gone down significantly on this old building, but it’s a total loss nonetheless. It’s been a wet year.
Although I have water behind my property, and the cattails are taller than I am this year, I have yet to experience a drop of water in my basement sump…until recently. I got a pretty significant amount of water in the pit, which I pumped out promptly upon discovering it.
With the ground saturated, the lakes full, the rivers high, the mountains with plenty of snow, and a winter that’s barely even begun yet, I imagine the spring of 2020 should be plenty interesting, indeed.