On one hand, a person could look at this photo with disdain and lament the loss of a family farm. Understandable, but in this case I like to consider the progress of North Dakota’s energy industry, one I’ve loved to champion for many years now. We have abundant resources and the ingenuity to brainstorm new ways to use them more wisely and cleanly. If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward (or so they say).
I’ll continue to roll out Northern Lights photos from time to time, but hopefully I’ll be able to acquire even more in the near future! We’re approaching the peak of the solar maximum, so I expect this to be a very interesting summer. With any luck we’ll have plenty of opportunities for photos like these!
I have a strict rule about obeying posted NO TRESPASSING SIGNS (and the law) when out on these photo hunts. I’ve found that if I discover a place where I want to take my camera, locating that sign and calling the landowner listed thereon will result in an invitation to proceed. Only once have I reached some drunk jackhole who thought it’d be fun to be rude, swear, and insult me rather than simply say “No.”
If you are into photography, I suggest the same diligence when out with your cameras. It only takes one wandering uninvited photographer to tick off a landowner to the point of never allowing anyone on their property. Ask a hunter how that works out.
I know this isn’t a tow truck, but thanks to Pixar I start thinking of Tow Mater every time I see a rusty old truck anywhere. That may have something to do with having two little boys who love all things related to Cars and Cars 2!
A number of familiar old “fallen farm” structures around town have finally succumbed to old age and fallen completely. There’s only a certain window of time in which these photogenic pieces of history may be captured, and after that they’ll simply collapse into piles of rubble and rot. I’m always intrigued by the thought that these were new at one time.
Somebody once stood back at the completion of building them and stopped to survey a job well done. Somebody was excited to finally have that barn or that new home. Somebody grew up, worked hard, or maybe even passed away in many of these crumbling old buildings. That’s why I think I’m so drawn to them; a photo of a decrepit farmhouse, barn or shed is merely a starting point from which one can look back and surmise what it could have been like back in its glory days.
I took a few shots but he wanted to try as well, and I’d much rather showcase his work as a proud Daddy. My camera is very heavy, so I helped him support the weight, but the framing and actual shot are all his. Naturally, Daddy did the Photoshop processing once we got home. I couldn’t be more proud…maybe little PJ will be a photographer someday!