Tag : barn

27 Jun 2018

The great search for the red barn

Several years ago I photographed a red barn somewhere near my Woodstock, VT, house. It is was a pretty unique looking barn with a wood silo attached. I didn’t write down my location, which is pretty rare for me. Usually when I photograph something I either also take a picture with my cell phone so it captures the GPS location or I log the road and town. I didn’t that day and I’ve been trying to find it ever since so I can photograph it again.

I thought the barn was in South Woodstock or Reading. I’ve crisscrossed every road down that way in search of the barn but haven’t had any luck. I’ve spent hours driving every back road hoping to come up on the barn again. I have finally come to the conclusion that the barn isn’t there and I need to spread my search.

Today I continued my search and went to the next town north, Hartland. I’m not to the point where I’m mapping my search but I know the roads well enough to be able to hit each one. My favorite red barns are in Harland, on Red Barn Road of all places. But they are the ones I’m looking for. After many miles I came across this barn with an American flag hanging on the side. It isn’t the barn I’m seeking but it looks pretty cool. I walked to the side and while I was shooting noticed that the windows didn’t look like typical barn windows. The closer I looked I realized that the barn had been turned into a house. I don’t know how many times I’ve driven past the building but it looks like a cool place to live.

My search continues.

16 Aug 2013

Learning about the New London, NH, area

20130816-LEF_1283 20130816-LEF_1252 I have spent a lot of time scouring the backroads of Vermont looking for great photo locations but I haven’t crossed the Conneticut River much to see what is in New Hampshire. After a recent workshop I got an invitation from Mary to show me around the New London area and I took her up on it today. There are several lakes and large ponds in her area and very few near me in Vermont. We started the day a bit after sunrise and caught the mist rising on Little Sunapee Lake, it was a beautiful day and there is plenty to shoot there. We drove around the lake to an esker created by the glaciers that nearly cuts the lake in half. OK, I didn’t know what an esker was either and Mary explained that it is sand and gravel deposited by a river flowing under a melting glacier. It made a nice background and good place photograph Mary on the trail.

20130816-LEF_1383 We went to several lakes and ponds and I learned the New England difference between a lake and pond is not the size but the depth. In theory, light can hit the bottom of a pond but not a lake. She then took us to Muster Field Farm, a collection of historic buildings that are preserved on a farm that was where the local militia was mustered and trained, thus the name. By the time we got there, the light wasn’t great, but I was amazed by the boards on a barn, I’ve never seen boards that wide, it took only eight to cover the barn’s side.

15 Aug 2013

Seeing the real Vermont inside an old barn

I had the pleasure today of shooting in a great, old barn owned by my friend Molly. I’ve been wanting to shoot the barn since Molly told me about it last fall during my Vermont Fall Foliage Photography Workshop. The barn is packed with character, as is Molly, and there are thousands of photos that could be made in it. The large, hand-hewn beams are amazing and the sunlight purges in through gaps in the walls making everything look cool. We found a dead dragonfly wrapped up in an old cobweb, it made for a photo that is creepy looking and nearly mystical.

After spending lots of time in the barn, we traipsed down to an old truck in her woods. The former milk delivery truck is surround by tall ferns and trees. It is a unique truck and the rust makes it look all the better. I love the detail shots of the rust and they will only get better over time. Molly has been photographing the barn and truck for quite a while and know that she has something special.

I can’t think of a better morning that seeing the true Vermont in an old barn and then sitting on a hillside having lunch. Thanks Molly.

My life / People / Photo adventure / Scenic 1

23 Feb 2013

Winter wonderland on a private estate

I got a call from friend Lisa Lacasse, she was heading over to a private estate and wondered if I wanted to join her. She had told me about the place and with the snow falling, it would make some great photos. She was right.

The main house has an outdoor oven fired by wood that is used to bake bread and pizza. We shot the oven from all angles but I liked having the porch in the photo, using it for framing.

We walked around the grounds a little and went back toward a barn. I liked the way the heavy snow creating leading lines to the barn, along with Lisa’s footprints in the snow. I initially shot the barn tight, but backed off and shot it with the wide angle to get more of the full scene in the photo.

Scenic 0

26 Jan 2013

Shooting by Vermont moonlight and staying warm

One of my thrills of digital cameras is the low-light capabilities. So when there is a full moon, I want to be out there. So even though it takes more preparation, going out in the darkness when the temperature is close to zero is lots of fun.

Tonight I went with friend Lisa Lacasse out looking for a magical night shot. I had seen this barn sitting out alone in a field a couple of days ago when I was out scouting. It is a neat old barn and I thought it would look good lit by tonight’s full moon. Lisa was born and lived in New Hampshire and Vermont her whole life but has spent the last few winters in Florida. So she was as ready as you can be for the single digit temperatures as was I. We were covered with layers of thermal clothing from top to toe but being able to keep my hands warm and control the camera is always a challenge.

I’m a big fan of those little chemical hand warmers, they really make a difference for me. When it is this cold, I wear thin liner gloves inside of mittens that flip open to expose fingerless gloves. I don’t know if there is a name for them but they are like wearing gloves and having a mitten to pull over my fingers when I need more warmth. I put the hand warmer in the mitten part so when my fingers are in the mitten they are good and warm. I can stick just my index finger out of the mitten to move camera controls and then put it right back in the mitten to stay warm. I use a cable release, which I can push through the gloves and mitten.

When carrying my tripod, I don’t grab it with my hands, even though I have pipe insulation on the legs. I tuck my arm under the tripod legs so my hands aren’t touching it, just my multi-layered arm.

My life / Photo adventure / Scenic 0

26 Jan 2013

Those Vermonters know how to look for the positive

As I was walking out of the South Woodstock (VT) Country Store after chit-chatting with the woman behind the counter, she said “At least it is warmer today.” That’s what I love about the spirit of people in Vermont, it was 14 degrees at noon, and she saw the good side of it. Yes, 14 does feel pretty good compared to the 20-below the night before, but I love being around people who are thinking about the positive side.

Earlier in the day I went past an old barn I had seen the day before. I loved the old doors askew and the little icicles hanging off the roof. When I was there the previous afternoon, the sun was around the side of the barn. I knew it would look better with early morning light hitting the old wood.

My life / Photo adventure / Scenic 0

19 Mar 2011

There’s still snow in Vermont

A red barn in South Woodstock, Vt.

It was 75 degrees yesterday when I left New Jersey head to Vermont. I watched as the temperature got lower the farther north I drove. When I got to our house in Woodstock, it was 35. The snow gods were busy this winter in Vermont and there is still two feet of snow on the ground, which isn’t unusual since March is typically the snowiest month in Vermont. While driving around South Woodstock this afternoon, I saw this barn with nice sunlight falling on it. I like the way fence was lit, I only wish I could have gotten lower so I would have only red barn showing through the fence, but a snowbank prevented it.

Scenic

05 Oct 2010

Red Vermont barns look good on a cloudy day

Yellow ferns grow in front or a red barn in Queechee, Vermont.

It was another cloudy Vermont day. There are people who say that taking pictures of colorful foliage when it is cloudy gives you good color saturation. That doesn’t fly with me. Sunshine makes for better photos. But I’m not going to see the sun shine for a couple of days so I’ll concentrate on other things. There is plenty in Vermont to shoot. Like barns.

A final autumn leaf holds on to a maple tree in Pomfret, Vermont.

After photographing the barn, I went to my favorite tract in Pomfret. It is owned by a neighbor in Woodstock and I’ve been given permission to hike it anytime. There is a large stand of evergreen trees, so I hiked through there. It is pretty hilly and I was walking in deep needles and leaves. It was very soft and I could feel a good strain on my calves when climbing the hills. I saw a maple tree mixed in with the evergreens. One lone leaf clung to a branch. Even though most trees still have plenty of leaves, this tree is done for the season.

Scenic 1

15 Jun 2010

What’s good: Seeing the farm

Farm after sunset in South Branch, NJ.

When I first came to New Jersey for a job interview in 1987, I wasn’t too sure about leaving the Midwest for N.J. I’d been through the state a couple of times, the last being on a bus while I was at USA Today and we came up to play a softball game against David Letterman in Central Park. The bus came up the NJ Turnpike, which is packed with cars and goes past tons of oil refineries. Not where I want to be. I drove around a lot after the job interview and soon came upon two grain silos. That was a good sign for me. It is great to see that 23 years later the silos are still there on the working farm.

My life / Scenic / Showcase

04 May 2010

What’s good: Vulture keeping watch

A turkey vulture sits on an old barn in Bedminster, NJ.

There’s this old barn I pass on my regular bicycle route. Frequently there is a turkey vulture sitting on the roofless section. During this morning’s ride, there it was.

Animals / Scenic 0

19 Apr 2010

What’s good: Seeing more red on a sunny day

The sun hits the end of a barn in Bedminster, NJ

It was a beautiful day today, cool, clear and sunny. I took a little drive after work out along the route where I do my normal bicycle ride. There are a couple of barns that look cool, so I went to see how the barns look in the low afternoon light.

The sun was pretty low and light shadows were mixing with the sunlight hitting the end of the red barn. One small window is all that disturbed the red.

I like it.

Details / Scenic / Showcase