For the love of barns

Lovin' the rain

A fence, a road and a barn in the distance; a lonely scene that could be anywhere in the midwest. This one was in McDonnough County, not all that far from Macomb, Ill. A light rain filled the air and tweaked the light just enough to make it flat, but interesting. Another example of why you should never, ever put the camera away when the weather turns bad.

Always amazing!

I'm constantly amazed by how images and words about American barns resonate with people. Everywhere we go for presentations and book signings for "Wisconsin Barns," we get nice crowds of people with lots of their own stories to tell.

The latest example came at the Northbrook Public Library, where we had a nice crowd of barn fans, some of whom stayed long after we were done just talking about their love of the American icon.

Thanks to the staff at Northbrook for having us visit, especially a certain tech person who saved the night with a laptop that would actually show my PowerPoint show!

Next up is Sept. presentation in Kenosha.

If you are interested in the program, drop me an email at ernestjschweit@sbcglobal.net.

Also on the horizon is another session of "Barn Photography: Photographing an American Icon" at Harper College in Palatine later this summer (www.harpercollege.edu/ce), as well as "Flower Photography Inside and Out" and "Photography Continued," also at Harper this fall.

Silo standing guard

A student of mine, Jay, took our photo class to this wonderful barn in Fox River Grove, Ill., early one morning this spring. From this angle, the barn, with its rotund brick and steel band silo, reminds me of a chunky old man standing watch over his fields. Ok, so maybe I'm losing it.

The class, Barn Photography, will be offered again this fall at Harper College in Palatine (www.harpercollege.edu/ce).

Old, old eyes

I'm fascinated by barn windows. Especially when they're overgrown like this one. Windows are like the eyes of the barn and the more overgrown, the more sad a barn looks. Unfortunately, we see lots of windows like these, on a barn in Fox River Grove, Ill., that my photo class at Harper College (http://goforward.harpercollege.edu/page.cfm?p=5557) in Palatine recently shot on an unseasonably cold spring morning.

Abandoned, not forgotten

oHeading through the Seneca-Ottawa, Ill., area on Route 6 the other day, this abandoned barn caught our eye. I've never seen a granary with glass brick windows over the double front like this one. The light is on the flat side, but the little white flowers made for some nice foreground interest.

Against the elements

One needs a warm coat when out for a walk with a friend, even if one is a horse in Lake County, Ill.

Cold? Keep shootin'

Speaking of the cold...is it ever too cold for making images outside?

No way, although I can recall at least a couple times when the shutter on my first digital camera wouldn't work in near zero conditions.

That aside, here are four tips to dealing with the cold...the very cold...and snow.

In no order of importance.

*Take along some extra batteries. The cold will drain any battery quickly, so its best to have a spare. Or two.

*Beware of condensation when bringing your gear in from outside. Wrap your camera and lens while you are still outside so they can warm up gradually once you bring them inside. That should help them warm up gradually and cut down on condensation. A camera bag should do nicely, but if you are totting a small point and shoot, I'd put it in a case and wrap it and the case in a towel before bring it inside.

*Dress in layers, lots of 'em. And buy gloves that have a removable finger area that you can remove when dialing in setting and clicking the shutter and then put back to warm up again. Having spent my share of time carrying tripods through snow, boots, long underwear and wool socks are a must. As is a long coat and hood.

*As for shooting, remember to dial in some extra exposure for the snow. Most meters will render snow a couple stops towards neutral gray. Although it might seem counter intuitive, add more light by increasing the exposure 1.5 to 2 stops.

A cold Wisconsin morning

In honor of our frigid Midwest winter, I decided to post this image, which originally was shot for our book, "Wisconsin Barns." Although it didn't make the cut, the photo taken near White Potato Lake, Wis., does a good job of evoking a sense for how cold it can get in these parts.

Fall in Dover, Wis.

The trees were turning when I came upon the town of Dover, Wisc. and this English style barn just outside of town. Two more images from the same farm are posted below.

Three along a roadside

Three old farm buildings, two of them barns with stone foundations, sit not far from a roadside in rural Wisconsin.

Backroad moon

I had pointed my car down one of the many backroads that criscross central Illinois the other day when I noticed out of the corner of my eye, behind a row of trees, a barn standing off in the distance. The moon had risen and the day was ending. But the hour held enough light to make an image. So risking life and limb, I parked the car on the side of Illlinois Route 116 raced across the road, camera in hand and made a few frames. It was just one of those moments when the photo gods were smiling.

Thanks, Bob

My cell phone rang about 8:45 a.m. the other morning with a call from a Bob Wendt, who lives somewhere in Tennessee. He called to tell me how much he loved our book, "Wisconsin Barns," but he admitted some disappointment because we didn't have interior photographs.
After I explained that we had a limited amount of space to show a representative number of photos, the reason for Bob's disappointment became clear.
Seems Bob was brought up on a farm in Washington County, Wis. The farm, of course, had a barn. Bob, a woodworker, says he is building a scaled down replica of that barn in his basement and he's at the point where he needs photos of the interior.
Unfortunately, "Wisconsin Barns" didn't include many barn interiors, nor do I have many from the "out takes" to share. So I directed him to a source in the Wisconsin barn preservation community who I thought could help.
Bob is understandably quite attached to his childhood barn. So much so that he drove from his home in Tennessee up to the barn in Washington County to photograph it. Unfortunately, he couldn't get inside because the building was closed so he took pictures of the interior through windows.
I know from days as newspaper editor that its quite the accomplishment to get a reader to call in to comment on a story. So the fact that Bob took the time to track down my cell phone number really made my day and speaks to the emotional attachment these buildings can carry.

Thanks, Bob! And good luck on your project.

The English barn in Dover stood strong against the blue Wisconsin sky as the first signs of fall colored the trees.