This is a continuation of road trip photography of September, 2022.
To be continued,
Ken
Road Trip Photography Between Destinations – September 2022, Part 4 – Rural Abandonment
Tag: Abandoned Farm Buildings
Road Trip Photography Between Destinations – September 2022, Part 1
When traveling from one destination to another, I always keep an eye out for interesting subjects to photograph. Taking time to stop and photograph in route helps to break up a trip and it is good to take breaks from sitting in a vehicle for hours at a time. So if I can afford the time, I will stop as often as necessary to capture images along my route.
There are many abandoned homes throughout rural areas. Often these can be photographed from a public roadway. These abandoned places are always on private property and nearly always posted with “No Trespassing” signs. Please respect others’ property and obey these postings or get permission for access.
When shooting such scenes during a road trip, one can’t be too choosy about the time of day or the lighting conditions. It is best to get a shot, when the opportunity arrises, as one may never pass this way again. Indeed, on this trip and others, I’ve often used the excuse of being in a hurry or worrying too much about shooting conditions and passed up opportunities. I nearly always regret those decisions.
More road trip shooting next,
Ken
Abandoned Ranch Buildings, New Mexico, March 2021
I spotted old, abandoned ranch structures and a windmill set back some distance from a highway, as I was traveling through the high plains of New Mexico a year or two ago. I resolved to stop and photograph the ranch scene on my way back through, since I was on a travel schedule, when I first noted these old structures.
I watched for that old ranch and windmill on my way past the area a couple of times, but I did not spot it again during those trips. The mental picture I had made for the ranch location was not accurate or maybe as time went by my memory became fuzzy. However, on my way home from the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado, I passed this way again and I spotted the windmill.
Abandoned ranch structures and old windmill on the high plains of New Mexico.
The ranch was, indeed, miles from where I had thought it was. I had made a mental note of the next town I went through for location reference, after first discovering that ranch. That town was miles away, but over time I became convinced that the ranch was just on the outskirts of that town. Consequently, I only began to look for it as I approached that town.
Lesson learned: even though my mental recollection is usually good, I should make written or recorded notes and/or GPS locations for places that I want to get back to.
Abandoned ranch structures on the high plains of New Mexico.
This area was volcanically active in ancient times and I’m fairly sure that is an old volcano cone in the background.
I had to shoot from a fence line with the house far on the other side. I considered shooting with an 80-400mm for which I have a 1.4x extender to get close up shots, but I think the shots with a 24-70mm at 70mm give a much better indication of the setting in this wide open landscape.
More abandoned structures down the road from here will be in the next post,
Ken
Abandoned Houses and Structures, Colorado, March 2021
I had seen a number of abandoned houses and/or ranch/farm structures along my route home on previous trips this way. I decided that I would take time to photograph a few of these on my way home.
Roof Collapsing.
Abandoned House and Sheds
A closer look at the sheds
A closer look at the house
Abandoned House
All of the structures in the photos above are in close proximity to each other and on private property. I’m sure all of these were part of one settlement, ranch or other operation at one time. These are just off of a major highway, so they are easily observed by anyone traveling that highway.
The abandoned house in the following photos is not very near a highway, but it can be spotted from a major highway by a careful observer.
That’s all for this portion of my homeward journey,
Ken
Abandoned Farm Structures on the Colorado Plains
In the spring of 2019, returning to Texas from Colorado, I spotted a group of abandoned farm buildings near an exit from I-70 on the high plains of eastern Colorado. I immediately wanted to photograph those old farm structures, but I had already passed the exit and I did not want to take the time required to backtrack, so I just made a mental note of the location in case I passed that way again.
In July of 2019 I was on that route again, returning from another trip to Colorado. I remembered the exit number from the earlier trip and this time I did not pass up an opportunity to stop and photograph those old buildings.
It was late morning, the sun was high, the light harsh, but it was unlikely that I would ever be here at a better time, so I did the best that I could with what I had. I decided not to get out the DSLR equipment and just stroll around shooting with my iPhone.
I decided that the best post processing for these images would be a conversion to monochrome, given the light conditions and the subject matter.
I was lucky to catch a bird flying out of the old barn.
I’m glad that I took a few minutes to stop here. There have been so many times that I’ve passed up opportunities to shoot places such as this, because I was on a time schedule for getting to some destination. I hope that I will have more time, during future road trips, to photograph a few more of the old and abandoned building that are scattered across our country.
Thanks for following and best wishes,
Ken