PHOTOGRAPH INFO

This photograph was taken Wednesday afternoon at the Thaler dairy farm. I love being in the barn -- the smell of hay takes you right back to September and the light is always cinematic.

Jenn does not love the barn, but I guess it's hard to blame her. When I took this shot, she was mentally recuperating from stepping on a dead cat that had been in the hay for many months. All that was left was the fur.

I thought the cat was pretty sophisticated to pick such a dreamy resting place.

The barn was built in the late 1700s by German settlers. Without a movie screen, a laser pointer and a bull horn, I don't think I can properly describe the barn's construction or its many uses. But feel free to ask questions if you've got 'em.

Camera settings and post-processing: Shot with the Canon EOS 5D and the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L at 24mm, ISO 1600, 1/60s at f/4. Curves, color balancing, perspective correction.

Thank you for visiting Durham Township!

--Kathleen

How can a barn have such beautiful light? The subjects' faces are so well lit! The composition is wonderful. This scene reminds me of when I was a little kid and my friends and I would play in the hay loft in our neighbor's horse barn. We would always come in and pet Rusty, Brass, and Honey then climb the ladder up to the loft. My mom could always tell when I was there because I usually came home sneezing from being in the timothy hay, not to mention that I probably smelled like horses.

Russ: We were pretty close to the huge front door of the barn on the left side. The door was wide open, it was a clear sunny day and the sun was reflecting off the ground and the equipment just outside.

The blue light on the right is coming from the back door of the barn, where it was shady.

I was shooting at ISO 1600 and was making use of all available light.

Interesting lines and lighting. It is also interesting that the couple sat apart rather than together. Humans always add dimension to a photo.--- As a past president and current board member of a historical society, I appreciate aspects of the construction that are visible. What would those who raised the barn talk about with those who use it now? ---The rough hewn support beams that Jakey and Jenn cling to took skill and many hours of labor to create. Certainly, it is a testimony to the builders and the many owners since that the barn still exists in such excellent shape.---- The photo creates all sorts of conjecture for me about its history and all the people (and critters) that it has sheltered over time.--- Another fine photo---- Keep on keepn' on.

Such a lofty picture. Looking at the underside of the roof, did the barn originally have a shingle or slate roof? Does the far end of the barn behind Jakey have open one of those large doors for bringing in the hay? My home(though not as large)is built like this barn, pegs and all.

JPH: The front of the barn (left side of photo) still has a slate roof and the back (right side) has a metal roof. Not sure when the slate was removed from the back.

Amazingly sharp and stunning light - love your composition, as usual you don't do what we expect, you do the exceptionally terrific & unexpected!

Very cool!

Really cool shot. LOVE the composition. The grid pattern of the barn structure.. the lighting is great... I really like the blue light in the lower right.

I think I'd like to see the top of the image cropped a smidge lower... just above the post above Jakey's head perhaps?

Coolness.

Stack straight and high 'neath post and beam,
and company kept, as in a dream.

Two remain, one is gone.
Another sees, then she moves on.

An endless lesson in seeing. Thank you.

bouh, je suis allergique au foin !!

I believe natural light is the way to go, it can be so beautiful.

I love the different layers of both the barn, and the light.

That cool blue on the bottom and then the orange glow on the top.

It may be a little busy what with the lines of the roof that severely juxtapose the horizontals that make up most of the photograph, but it's still very nice.

I wonder, do you typically pose the people in your photographs? A lot of the time it seems natural. Although I suppose you mix it up between spontaneity and formal portraits...

David Tinnon: Poetry! WOW! Lovely. :)

rem_la: Good thing Jakey's not allergic!

Michael George: They're not posed. I usually don't pose people - I'd rather they act like themselves since that's what I want to bring out in the image.

i really echo Michael George's thoughts. the colors, lines, and people all play off each other in great ways. and maybe to add to that would be the hay and the metal roof being juxtaposed in their texture.

wonderful shot!

Re Mikelangelo, I suspect Kathleen is very deliberate here. The largess of this amazing interior is first, the people are second--or to put it another way; It's about the huge old barn with people, not about people who happen to be in a barn. To subtract the dominating space above would bring the barn and the people closer to equal.

The cropping here is a tool for establishing emphasis...and personally, I find the barn's framing so fascinating, I would not have been able to crop any of it out...not for the handsome Jakey, nor for the lovely Jenn.....well maybe for the lovely Jenn.

Am I splitting hairs here, or just grabbing at straws...or is it hay?

David Tinnon: Nice explanation. I rarely crop any of my photos - I try to do that before I press the shutter. The compositions are very deliberate. (If they're cropped I'll mention something in the post-processing notes.) If I don't get the composition right in-camera, I don't use the photo. I'll go back and shoot again, if possible.

I have many shots from the last few years that I still haven't got right, but I keep trying.

There is both hay and straw in the photo. The bales up near Jakey are straw and the bales on the lower level, near and well behind Jenn, are hay.

JPH: An update on the roof: the back of the barn has a metal roof (versus slate in the front) because a lot of the slate blew off the back during one of the hurricanes a few years ago. Jakey said they used a huge, inflatable swimming pool to contain all the water that was coming in through the holes in the roof!

The light is wonderful! The level of detail is miraculous. This is a poetic photo.

Poor Jenn though...Poor cat!

Man vs Woman

He is on the top. She is on the bottom.
His arms are spread wide. Her arms are closed tight.
His head is fully turned. Her head is straight ahead with only the eyes turned.
His area is stacked and orderly. Her area is bare and skeletal.
His area is bathed in light. Her area is dark and dreary.

Does this work personify man's continued dominance over woman? Adequately explain why the job opportunities for women are still limited based upon an ingrained prejudice that has existed for over 2,000 years? Justify the inequity in salaries, advancement, and rights? Address the continued exploitation of women based upon their physical appearance? Offer a solution as to who should have control of a woman's body? Determine who is really smarter, stronger and faster?

Sorry, no, she is just mad at him because he is waiting for the next hay wagon to arrive instead of taking her shopping at the mall!

Great Shot!

Well gee whiz Ms Willow, your closing explanation appears to reaffirm the opening scenario. The sweet Jenn victim, (figuratively speaking of course,) is helpless, frustrated and distraught--unable to shop to her poor heart's content because, after centuries of "male domination," the decision making power still lies in the callused hands of the insensitive, barbarous, and uncaring chauvinist pig....errrrr.....that is....I mean.... Jakey......figuratively speaking of course......(yet while Jakey toils daily in barn and field, we might soon have a woman president......Although I suspect I would prefer Willow in the role of First Person.)(Singular?)

Where but in KC's DT, can we have this much fun with pictures?

This is my favorite picture, of all your pictures. Thank you for the continuing effort! I've been checking your website 4 or 5 times a week for years... what a joy for me.

Victoria, BC
Canada

What great lighting, my friend!