Barns

Sleepy Morning

The snow is blowing so hard I am afraid to stop along the highway north of Evart, Michigan to photograph this grand old barn. I pull my trusty four-wheel-drive off the roadway as far as the snowdrifts will allow and wait for a lull in the wind so my camera and I can see the barn. The barn comes and goes like a mirage. I am living the dream as a full-time outdoor/nature photographer. I am loving this winter dream.

Red barns in the snow are hard for photographers to resist. During a blizzard, I drove to a friend's barn because I was certain it would look stunning with the blowing snow. It looked better than I ever imagined.

The second time is the charm. Two weeks ago I noticed this heart-shaped tree and barn along US10 between Walhalla and Custer. The view caused me to stop and make an image I liked a lot. But now, two weeks later while motoring back home from a long day of shooting pictures across the state, the same scene is in front of me with light and atmosphere to die for. Brad and I like to tell our photography students 90 percent of a good picture is about the light and/or atmosphere. I am witnessing the proof of that.

I find the "real deal" far more impressive than any fake lawn ornament I have ever seen. Even the placement struck me as ideal as I stopped my truck along a country road near Twin Lake to make a still-life image while the farmyard attraction stays still. Stopping also gives me time to truly appreciate the tender loving care the owners of the Ponderosa have given to their fine old barn.

The old oak tree continues to grow as the house and barn continue to fade away. I see more than a picture here; I see a story to be told with my camera. It is an evolving story of the tree and the farm growing old together. I wish I knew more of the story, including whether the tree was already growing along Schoenherr Road in rural Mason County when the original homesteaders arrived, probably more than a century ago.

Growing Old

If you like to pick your own fruit, you have come to the right place. Michigan has u-pick farms scattered across the state. The signs leading me to The Gary Crane Farm in Fennville remind me of the old Burma-Shave signs our family passed by in my dad's '57 Ford convertible when I was a child.

Fall in Mason County

Wednesday November

Metamora Horses Barns

One of the grandest beech trees I have ever seen graces an Amber Road farm just north of US 10. This afternoon, with the atmosphere provided by a light rain shower, the tree stands out even more than usual. F2.8 at 1/320, ISO 400, 80-200 mm lens at 135 mm

Conrad and Hawley Road December

Cherry Hill Farms R

Cherry Hill Farms

Crowning Touch

Glory Road

It is becoming harder and harder to find old barns to photograph. So many of them have succumbed to Mother Nature. The kids and I found this barn on Inman Road south of Ludington.

Tunnel of Trees Conrad Road in Winter

Guests can arrange to bring their horses with them when they stay at Bedrock Stables in Metamora. Manager Kyle Kedzierski leads a horse out of the stable at the country bed and breakfast in the heart of Metamora horse country.