Sometimes it’s better to take part of something rather than lose all of everything. That’s kind of an awkward way to get at what I’m saying here, but it applies.
This barn can be found off Hwy 13 near Ryan, Iowa. It has always intrigued me, but I never knew what to do with it. The background at the other end of the barn is absolutely horrible. The type of horrible that completely ruins a shot. I used to commute past this barn for several years, just looking and always disappointed with what seemed lost potential.
One day driving by I decided to try and extract what I could and make it work. Why didn’t I think of this before? I mean, this is my entire photo philosophy in a nutshell… pulling something out of nothing. Anybody can take a photo of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park and have it come out good. People do it all the time. I know that I don’t always have the most spectacular photos, not many Half Domes if you will, for me part of the allure of photography is the challenge of making scenes that most people would overlook into something nice. Looking at this you’d never guess the other end is so unattractive.
New News
As a side note I can also announce a new private Facebook group specifically for people to share their photography of the American Mid-west, named Midwest Photography. It is not intended to replace either this bog/website or my Facebook page, it’s just another outlet but this one is for other people to join in and share, not just me. Take a look and join, if you are so inclined.
Sherry Ackley says
I do like what you did with this barn. Nice photo Ken.