©2012 Cris Coleman

Waiting to Collapse by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Old barns are among my favorite things to photograph, the more dilapidated, the more I like them. Sometimes my photographs are the last ones taken before the barn either falls down or is taken down. I view them as pieces of history.

I also like to photograph pretty much anything that is old, rundown or not.

This particular barn I caught just at that magical hour as the sun was coming up. You can see how that time of day creates a magical aura of sorts with the reds.

©2012 Cris Coleman

Rising Sun by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Hope is when the rising sun pushes the dark clouds away.
Hope is when the seeds of yesterday rise up and push towards the sky.
Hope is when the bright rays of daylight push the dark clouds of ignorance away.

©2011 Cris Coleman

Rural Sunrise by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

What greater hope can you have than a beautiful sunrise after a dark, cold night?

©2010 Cris Coleman

Old Barn by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Occasionally, I like to take up my camera and tripod and get in my car and just drive, usually spring, summer and fall, rarely winter, my least favorite season.

One of the things I like to take photographs of is old barns and other dilapidated buildings. I’m not sure why, but perhaps it’s because I am getting up there in years, even if I’m not feeling it, except in body.

Sometimes my photographs are all that’s left of the old barn or whatever.

This particular old barn was taken on State Highway C in northwest Missouri in the afternoon. Each barn has its own personality. This one has two beady eyes, a long nose and a missing mouth.

Old barns are fun!

©2009 Cris Coleman

What do you do with a day-old kid in the depths of winter? You bring him indoors and wrap him up in a diaper, of course.

©2011 Cris Coleman

Three Silos at Dawn by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

I pass by this farm every morning. It’s one of my favorite places to photograph, although most of the time it’s dark. It’s so picturesque. It just sort of stands out above all the other farms I pass by, and there are lots of them. (It didn’t seem this fuzzy when it was on my computer.)

©2011Cris Coleman

Late afternoon on the farm by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

One of the first things I learned about photography while studying through NYIP was: The best time to take outdoor photographs is just before sunset or shortly thereafter or just after sunrise or shortly before.

This is one such shot. It was a peaceful, easy feeling on the farm that particular late afternoon. I took many photographs with this lighting that evening, some really cool shots.

Unfortunately, this is the only shot that survived a nasty virus that wound up taking everything I had on my computer.

Normally, I don't like to take snow photos . . . namely, because I really hate the snow. It's cold, inconvenient, slippery when wet, ad infinitum. Still, the interplay of light, shadow and snow on the north sides of the trees, plus its vertical-ness, was just too much to pass up.

Winter Snow by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

What lives in between?

In Between by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

The day was late, overcast and somewhat cold, so contrast wasn’t what one would call ideal. But I love old barns and, well, I just couldn’t resist. So, I rolled down the window (obviously not dedicated to the best shot possible), and took a few pictures.

What are we looking between?

Between by Cris Coleman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

While out photographing some small bridge construction, I noticed this peculiar bit of fantasy. Can you figure out what it is?