The harvest is coming...

Each season has it's good points and bad points. If you look, there's almost always something to see. Something interesting that might not necessarily be noticed when one is in a rush, however.

This time of year can be like that. I'll grant you that photo opportunities might not be as many and as varied as other times of the year. We have left the greens of spring and summer, and haven't yet reached the full glory of autumn. But, the golds and browns of harvest time can have their own intrigue when they contrast with other colors and features in their surroundings.

A good example is this golden field ready to be harvested and its contrast with the green trees with just hint of turned color and the red barn peeking out. It's really quite nice, and a portend of things to come.

And to think I almost drove by it at 60 mph and barely caught it out the side of my eye. Obviously, I had to come back for this one.

Ch-ch-ch-changes! (and updates)

Ok, that's kinda lame. But, I have made some changes. I don't know if these will make things simpler or more complicated, but here goes...

Now, if you don't have an official link to click, you can access the website via www.iowa-photo.com . The intent is to make it easier for people to remember and/or type in manually if they need to. E-mail can also be sent to ken@iowa-photo.com .

Of course, the old standard www.iowalandscapephotography.com and ken@iowalandscapephotography.com is still there, and is technically still the official website and e-mail, just the new stuff will be forwarded automatically.

Back to the Basics

Several of the last posts have been diversions from our primary theme, and while such diversions are good for the soul from time to time, it's time to get back to the basics.... and you can't get much more basic than this scene.

Missy and I were wrapping up our morning shoot near Mt Vernon, Iowa, and after leaving the main highway and almost getting stuck in the sand of a 'Class C' county road... which means it's not much more than a goat path and is not maintained at all... we popped out on a better gravel road and continued on to see what was about. This immediately caught my eye. I had to hit the brakes and back up. (I do that a lot.)

It's both complex and simple at the same time. Complex in the many varied aspects... The classic red barn. The silos. The road leading you back into the photo. The orderliness of the farm itself. Yet, none of it competes with other aspects to monopolize your attention. Rather, they compliment each other and help pull it together to make a simple-yet-effective complete photograph.

Returning to the barn

We finally returned to the brick barn we visited earlier. Shown here is a recent photo. The owner granted us permission to look around and take photos, so we obviously took advantage of the opportunity. It was great to get some different perspectives.

This old piece... along with a similar house (which we did not get any shots of)... has a certain charm that separates itself from most other barns. A certain character. It and the surrounding grounds are well maintained, despite their age. The owners take pride in their place, and it shows.

The craftsmanship is also obvious in the original construction... painstaking brickwork, unique and consistent doors, and so on. This is the kind of thing that most people just pass by anymore. They're worth a stop to take a look.