Tag: Abandoned house

Abandoned Houses and Structures on the High Plains of New Mexico, March 2021

Down the road a few miles from the old ranch and windmill, depicted in the previous post, is a small community, that was once more vibrant.  Like many rural towns in the US, it has suffered from the evolving economy and technological advances that result in lost livelihoods.  As people move away and are not replaced, homes and businesses are abandoned.

I have stopped in this community once previously to photograph an abandoned school under a clear sky.  There were scattered clouds today, so I figured I might get more interesting images this time through.

Abandoned school on the high plains of New Mexico.

Just down the gravel street from this school was another one that I had neglected to photograph during my first stop here.

Abandoned school on the high plains of New Mexico.

Those big fluffy clouds added much interest and black and white seemed a good treatment of the images.

Abandoned school on the high plains of New Mexico

I could see a number of other abandoned homes and structures scattered around this little community, so I took time to photograph a few of those.

Abandoned house on the high plains of New Mexico

Abandoned commercial building on the high plains of New Mexico

Abandoned commercial building on the high plains of New Mexico.

Dilapidated Windmill and Water Storage Tanks on the high plains of New Mexico.

Abandoned house on the high plains of New Mexico.

Abandoned house on the high plains of New Mexico.

The trees die as they are abandoned along with the houses and other buildings.

Abandoned stone fence and home on the high plains of New Mexico.

Abandoned house on the high plains of New Mexico.

The final image in this post was chosen for Flickr’s Explore page and so far has received 5737 views and 192 favorites.

Until next time,

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 House, Texas Panhandle, September 28, 2020

I have driven the same route through the Texas Panhandle numerous times in my travels, seeing numerous old, abandoned houses and businesses.  Occasionally, I will take a few minutes to stop and photograph some of these, if I have time in my schedule to do so.

Abandoned House. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 250.

This house is just off of a highway and almost completely surrounded by high grass and trees.  I had made a mental note of it several times and finally decided to stop by to photograph it.

The view above is seen as one is driving to the northwest.  If driving from the the northwest, the house is almost hidden and can easily be overlooked.

Abandoned House. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 38mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 250.

The sun was almost directly overhead, the light bright and harsh, so I converted the images to monochrome, which gives more pleasing images under these conditions.

I photographed all around the house, but with the dense vegetation, I did not get good images from other view points.

Ken

 

Abandoned Home or School House, New Mexico, September 27, 2020

Driving between destinations, trying to maintain a travel schedule, I often see things that I neglect to take time to photograph.  I have driven by the same places numerous times, thinking I should someday stop to get a photograph, even if it is midday with the harsh light of the midday sun directly overhead and minimum or no shadows.

If I stopped at each of these numerous places, I would obviously fall far behind in my travel schedule.  Today I decided to take time at one such place that was some distance off of the highway, but clearly stood out in the wide open space in this part of New Mexico.

Abandoned. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 38mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 200.

The architectural design of this structure suggest that it might have been a school house in this tiny community in the wide open plains of New Mexico.  I probably should have stopped somewhere to inquire about this old place, but I did not take the time.

Abandoned. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 38mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 200.

Perhaps someday, when I have more time, I will stop to learn more about this place.

Ken

P.S.  The B&W image was chosen for Flickr’s Explore page, May 29, 2021.

Miscellaneous Scenes along Colorado 141, July 2020

Whenever we saw something  curious during our drive along Colorado 141 in July of 2020, we would stop to take a closer look and review information signs, if such were available.

An old charcoal kiln seen along CO 141. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 27mm, f/11, 1/500s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

It appears that someone has used this old charcoal kiln as a campsite or at least enjoyed a fire inside it.

An old charcoal kiln seen along CO 141. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/200s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

We spotted the ruins of an old home and stopped to check it out.

Remains of the Driggs Mansion along CO 141. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 38mm (before crop), f/11, 1/200s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

An information sign at the pull out told the story of this old house, although there seems to be some uncertainty around exactly how long this house was in use.  More information can be found at here or by doing an internet search for Driggs Mansion.

Remains of the Driggs Mansion along CO 141. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

This post marks the end of my visit to this portion of Colorado.  From here I travel to the southeastern portion of the state.  Stay tuned for more on that part of July 2020 in Colorado.

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.

Old Farm Building on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

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.

Old Farm House on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I decided that the best post processing for these images would be a conversion to monochrome, given the light conditions and the subject matter.

Old Farm House on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Old Farm Building on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Old Farm Building on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I was lucky to catch a bird flying out of the old barn.

Old Farm Building on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

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

Happy Halloween

Ghost House
Death Rider
Death Rider 2.  A wood carving outside a restaurant/bar in Rockville, Indiana. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik DxO modules.
Demon Head Rock

Best Treats and No Tricks to you all,

Ken