I don’t do much black and white photography, but this just seemed to fit.
I’m actually out of words right now; I got up at 5 o’clock this morning to prepare four pages of testimony for a committee meeting in the House of Representatives later this week. So for the most part all you get today is the picture!
Only a severe case of cabin fever could have kicked this man’s butt out of bed this morning at somewhere before six o’clock. I’ve really needed to get out with my camera, and my little boys (ages one and two years) have been giving me some hectic nights and very little sleep. I finally had one morning in which to try sleeping in, with no work or church to contend with…and I got up earlier than ever. I must really love photography! That I do, as well as just getting in the truck and roaming. This time bore plenty of fruit.
I found this barn along a gravel road. I bundled up and followed some packed-in snowmobile tracks up to it for a Golden Hour capture that made my early awakening worthwhile. I have plenty of other angles and other photos from other scenes discovered along the way, but I think I’ve already found my favorite. It’s facing south so the impending sunrise is not visible, but its color is unmistakably present.
When the sun has set, your sunset and evening photo opportunities have just begun. In the morning, don’t wait for the sun to rise to get stunning sunrise pictures. Bismarck and Mandan have plenty of sights that look entirely differently when painted from the palette of the morning or evening sun!
I’ve been working on my Bible reading habits lately. In the Bible, tithing (which we Americans tend to think of in a monetary context) is often considered with the “firstfruits” of one’s substance. I don’t consider tithing simply in the context of putting a check in the offering plate; we should give to God the first fruits of other important things, such as our time. Because of that, and in kind of a Psalm 63 sort of way (“O God, thou are my God; early will I seek thee…”), I have begun a habit of reading my Bible first thing in the morning.
This morning I woke early, but not as early as I’d hoped. As I readied my gear in my office for a mad dash outside, I saw my Bible on the desk. Thankfully I was able to stop and set things down, sit and read as I usually do, and to pray before I left. Among my prayers was something along the lines of “Lord, please show me something beautiful through my camera today.” Well, in that respect He certainly answered my prayer. I saw some really wonderful things on my trek today, capturing most of them with my camera.
This reminded me of the hymn “Sweet Hour of Prayer” although I don’t pray for an hour every morning. I had that “Sweet Hour” before I even set out for the “Golden Hour.” By doing so I got the morning off to a fantastic start, one far better than if I’d simply dashed to the truck and hurried out on my own.
I never tire of photographing windmills and old farmsteads. Some days I think they seem cliche’ or that I’m overdoing it, but I have to remind myself that each one of them is special. They’re an endangered species of sorts, too. Tony pointed out that even in Alaska, one can tire of a certain type of photo. For example, you can only take so many Alaska mountain shots before one tires of it. Unique photos are elusive, and need to be hunted down…that’s part of what makes them special.
Variety is the key, I suppose…that’s why I’ve tried to vary my subject matter a bit lately. It’s important to keep a diverse palette of photo styles and subjects, so that none of them ever seem tired. That’s especially true of the North Dakota features which are so near and dear to my heart, and which inspired this website in the first place.
This is a really cool barn, and I couldn’t help but notice some old equipment in the field thereby. It was a perfect shot, a different angle than I’ve had on this spot before. It’s even better when shared with one of my closest friends ever. I’ve got more to post from the day, but that’ll have to wait for another time. I have to go shovel my sidewalks now!
This is the first stone barn I can remember featuring. It caught my eye from the road and was not on posted land, so I was able to hike in. This is as close as I came to the buildings; I don’t actually try to enter any of the buildings I photograph. First is out of respect for the owners, second is a matter of safety. To capture their spot on the beautiful North Dakota prairie is fulfilling enough.
I suppose this could fit into my Fallen Farms series, but instead I just decided to push it around a little bit in Photoshop and leave it at that. Sadly, this is all that’s left of what probably housed a family at some point. What was once home is now gone. I know how that feels; a couple of years I went back to the old homestead in the Montana Rockies and found that my childhood house had been replaced. Bummer. But it sure makes for nice pictures, I suppose.
