I’d seen this house from afar before, but hadn’t actually taken the opportunity to investigate. In fact, I’d forgotten about it. I hadn’t even marked a waypoint for it in my GPS, something I do for all kinds of prospective photo spots. Well, a little while ago I was nearby and caught a glimpse of it again. I had just enough time to fly over and check it out.

This looks like a grand old house, and it has a perfect place out on the prairie. It didn’t hurt that we had a fantastic sky that day.

Speaking of the sky: I must admit, one thing I love about photography this time of year (and I’ve written about this previously) is that the sky can be so dramatically different just by changing the angle a bit.

This trip served multiple purposes: for one, I hadn’t been out with my cameras in an awfully long time. I also needed to exercise my drone and its batteries. Lastly, I’d purchased a new (to me) truck and wanted to take it on a shakedown cruise. I’m happy to say that the trip was a total success by all measures.

I spotted this little building a long time ago while out on my dirt bike. I recently decided to check it out, and I’m glad I did. It was a perfect day for photography, and I had found a wonderful subject.

One trick about this time of year is the light: the sun is low in the sky, making the light quite directional. So it’s tough to get a decent shot of multiple angles. I managed to pull it off, plus bracketing exposures helps me overcome those harsh winter shadows.

One cool side effect of that is the variety of shots I can get from a single point in time and a slightly different perspective. The skies were definitely more dramatic in one direction than the others, and the shadows more of a nuisance on one side than the others. So I worked it the best I could, and I think the results are quite satisfactory.

I love this old barn. I haven’t visited it in a while, but I knew the day was going to be an excellent one for some photography. I’d just bought a new-to-me truck and wanted to give it a shakedown cruise with my oldest kiddo, so I figured I’d roam a specific area where I knew there were some photo targets I’d marked in my GPS but never visited.

I have been to this farm before…a few times, actually, but none of them recent. I’m glad I stopped by. Sometimes you get to a spot when conditions are just perfect, but some times you find the perfect subject in less-than-perfect conditions. I’d never had quite the combination of snow and sky that I’d wanted – that is, of course, until this day.

I know that huge old barn, relaxing on its haunches, tends to steal the show, but this structure out back was quite photogenic as well. And oh, those glorious skies.

I’m sure there are still some fantastic sunrises to capture as they splash this farm with those orange and red hues, so I’ll consider finding my way out there at different times of the day. With the time change coming up this weekend, it might get a little easier to roll out of bed and bolt westward on time!