Here are some shots captured in an old motel.
Rugby Workshop Day 3 Part 1
•September 14, 2015 • 1 Comment
Today I got an earlier start. The first stop was the Tunbridge Church, where I wanted to see what condition it was in after five years. So far holding up reasonably well. Five years ago I did not venture into the basement so this time I decided to see what I could do down there.
From the church I moved on to several farms. There were some great barns and old cars.
Rugby Workshop Day 2
•September 13, 2015 • Comments Off on Rugby Workshop Day 2
Today I was pretty tired after the long day yesterday and I only visited one location.
The workshop is entitled “Spirit of Structure: Abandoned Farms of North Dakota.” Although all of the locations are vacant, in many cases they are not abandoned, but watched over and in some cases maintained by family members or others.
This location was a beautiful spot on a lake. The house has only been vacant for about three years but still felt like I had stepped into a time machine, with furniture, appliances and other artifacts that go back 50 years or more!
(If you click on the images, you can switch through larger versions.)
Rugby Workshop Day 1
•September 12, 2015 • Comments Off on Rugby Workshop Day 1The highlight of the first day was sunset at the Hurricane Lake church.
Rugby – Pre-Workshop
•September 11, 2015 • 1 CommentI’ve been here in Rugby for just about a week. The workshop with Tillman Crane is winding up and I am getting ready for the next leg of this trip. With being out shooting all day and workshop group activities at night, it is more difficult blogging frequently during the workshop. But here is a start, picking up where I left off last time.
Last Sunday night, before the official start of the workshop, was brilliantly clear. With the opportunity to see the sky without the ever-present light pollution, I went out around 10:30 to see what I could see. I have not seen a sky like this since I was a teen-ager on Martha’s Vineyard.
I went about five miles out of town and set up by the Tunbridge Lutheran Church. First, the Big Dipper to the right of the church.
Next, the Milky Way.
I added a little light with the flashlight feature on my iPhone!
From Wall, SD to Rugby, ND
•September 6, 2015 • Comments Off on From Wall, SD to Rugby, NDI ended up making it from Wall, South Dakota to Rugby, North Dakota in one day. Rolled into Rugby about 9pm after being on the road for about 12 hours. Now I’ll be in one spot for the next week for the workshop with Tillman Crane.
I worked my way east and north following mostly local, state roads and looking for things to photograph. The beautiful landscape is textured in many ways and the corn fields gave way to vast tracts of cattle grazing land. Small towns along the way all had grain collection facilities ranging from small local cooperatives to large distribution facilities on rail lines. Here’s a sampling.
“South Dakota Prairie”
“73 Saloon”
Scenic, South Dakota
•September 6, 2015 • Comments Off on Scenic, South DakotaScenic, South Dakota is a tiny town at the edge of the Badlands National Park. It was known for a bawdy “Old West” saloon. The saloon was closed down after the town was purchased by an obscure religious group, creating a great ghost town to be photographed.
The town was not completely deserted, however. There were a handful of residences that were occupied and the gas station was functional, even if not attended. Right across the street from the old saloon, technology ruled the day. The pumps worked with a credit card and even the Coke machine worked ($2.00 but still … ).
The Road to Rugby
•September 5, 2015 • Comments Off on The Road to RugbyMy trip to Rugby, North Dakota was planned to give me some time to take a longer route to avoid the traffic in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis. Beyond that, I wanted to see some new places and take some photos along the way. I am now in Rugby after several days of doing just that, so I have some catching up to do.
After Iowa City, I went to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The drive took me north to Minnesota and then west along Route 90 to Sioux Falls. Aside from a lot of corn, I saw many wind turbines to catch the solid southerly breezes.
When you grow this much corn (or anything) you need something to collect it and store it in. Grain elevators and storage facilities come in a wide range of shapes and sizes.
(Humboldt, South Dakota)
Stay tuned as the blog catches up with me.
North Dakota or Bust!
•September 1, 2015 • Comments Off on North Dakota or Bust!
Storm cloud approaching on Route I70 between Columbus and Springfield, Ohio
Two days out and I am in Iowa City, Iowa. Between the afternoon rush hour traffic in Columbus, Ohio and the morning rush in Indianapolis, plus the trucks and the heavy downpours, it is almost enough to make me think about flying next time … almost. But really, once through Indianapolis, the road opened up and the cornfields got bigger and bigger. At that point it became a pleasant “cruise” up I74 through Indiana and Illinois, right to the Mississippi River and across into Iowa.
This is truly the “corn belt.” At times the cornfields started at the edge of the road and went out as far as I could see, with large grain elevators and storage bins visible in the haze on the horizon.
Unfortunately, they are difficult to photograph from a moving car on the interstate But once into Iowa I decided to get off the interstate and take the “scenic route.” What I found was mostly more cornfields. No matter which way you go, the landscape is dotted with farms with nice houses and well maintained barns and other outbuildings.
Cornfield with storage facility in the distance.
Parting Shot
•August 30, 2015 • Comments Off on Parting Shot
I paused in my preparations for my upcoming trip west to join the Antietam Photographic Society for an early evening shoot in Greencastle, PA.
Light, Shadow, Form, and Texture 