When I taught photography, I would tell my students that the best time to shoot was when the weather turned cold and nasty; rain, snow, fog, whatever; nature at its worst can add a moody element to your work.
I remembered that on the way to an assignment for a commercial client in Richmond, Ill.
Driving down a backroad on a typically winter gray day, I spotted an old red barn surrounded by bare trees in a field covered with a dusting of snow. Not exactly picture postcard material, but that's fine.
The elements combined to create a moody image that I couldn't resist.
I added the vignette and dialed back the color in post production to add a bit more mood.
More images like this are in the American barns gallery of my online portfolio. http://www.ernestjschweitphotography.com/Barms
More of my barn images will be shown at the Grayslake Fine Arts Show, from 5 to 8 p.m., Saturday, March 11 at the Grayslake Heritage Center. For more info, visit
In the dead of winter, with cold winds howling, its time for a blast of warm weather, even if only the type brought on by a photograph.
So we pulled out this one, a grand old barn in a field of grasses near Fox River Grove, Ill., that we captured on the afore-mentioned warm summer's day. With bouncey white clouds against a blue sky to boot.
This particular composition, with the taller grasses lined up perfectly infront of the red barn and a silo peeking out from behind the roof, appealled to me because of the graphic feel that straight line presents.
We added a slight vingnette and darkened the sky slightly to bring the eye towards the middle of the image, where the red barn sits next to a country road, inhabited by a loan truck.
I hope you like it.
This images and others are available on the American Barns gallery on my website, ernest j schweit photography.
Or contact me at ernestjschweit@sbcglobal.net
