"Patchwork"

"There is a kind of beauty in imperfection" - Conrad Hall
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I've always loved a patched up, mismatched barn.  This one has wood going in all directions, it's leaning just a little, and the wood has turned gray with age.  I love all of those imperfections.  When I moved from Western Montana to Central Montana, I was worried that finding old beauties like this would be harder, but I've found more than I ever expected. This one is right outside of the city limits of Billings, and is actually visible from the interstate.  After admiring it for over a year, I did finally stop to take some photos of it.  The frontage road runs between the barn and the interstate, and it was a busy, loud, semi-dangerous place to stop for photos, but sometimes you just have to park, get your photos, and cross it off the list once and for all.  This image looks quiet and serene, but behind me it was all of the chaos of the modern world.  That's how many of my images are, a quiet spot surrounded by chaos.  Documenting those old buildings that still represent quieter days is my passion. I'd rather look at a charming old barn than an interstate any day.   

"Lost in Time"

Every once in a while, I come across a house that looks like someone meant to come back, but they just never did.  These ones are interesting and my mind starts asking all kinds of questions.  Why didn't anyone come back?  Were they elderly and thought they would come back, but went into a nursing home and never made it back?  Did they move to another house and still own this one, but never sold it?  The reasons someone would leave a house and a car parked in the front like they're in the back hanging laundry out on the clothes line, and not gone for decades, is so intriguing.  Apparently, it happens more than I realized.  Once I started paying attention to how these homes are left, there were so many odd things.  This one is in a canyon at the base of a forest and foothills, and the winters here must have been long and harsh.  Even so, it would have been that simple life that I wish I'd been a part of.  

"Independent Grain Co."

Finding a red grain elevator is rare.  I don't see them very often, even though I always look for them.  In the little town of Clyde Park, Montana, there are two of them.  I grew up about an hour from Clyde Park, and have seen them many times on those long road trips out of town.  They were always an icon that we were close to home and it wasn't going to be much longer.  They've stood the test of time, retaining their bright color through out the winters and sweltering summers.  Built to last, and they will. 

"Going to the Mountains"

Pilot and Index, two peaks in the Absaroka range in Wyoming.  This whole area is incredible, so if you haven't been through the Beartooth All American Road, I highly recommend it.  Being from the western side of Montana, I've seen Glacier National Park several times, and to rank this above Glacier is a bold statement, but being able to look out over the world at 10,947 feet is truly incredible.

"Sacred Heart"

The Sacred Heart Catholic Church, near Harlem, Montana.  As a lover of pastels, this little country church just gets me.  Pink and an aqua blue sky made the very hot day worth it.  It was about 103 degrees when this was taken, at the end of a beautiful June day.  

"Sandhill Cranes and Wheat Field"

When I love photography

All the time, but when I see something like this, it really gets me in the gut.  I'd never seen this many cranes in one place before.  Usually I see one or two together.  The sky was such a beautiful color.  This was at the end of the summer, when most of the wheat fields in Montana have been cut and it's very dry and hot.  It's miserable weather, but it creates wonderful color combinations in the landscape and sky. 

"Far Reaching"

I already miss the summer. 

The huge rolling clouds are my favorite part of summer in Montana.  In the winter, there are no defined clouds like these.  Mostly, the entire sky is gray in the winter.  Boring.  It's the definition in the clouds that makes them beautiful. 

 



"Red"

"Frosted Fall"

With the frost yesterday, everything was muted a bit and the colors were softer.  The fog made the landscape seem very isolated and lonely, but in a good way.  I love that the tracks of the machinery that cut the hay are still visible and the tips of the stubble are frosted white.  It seems so forgotten after a busy summer of harvesting.  That's what winter does, it hides everything that is so bright and full of vitality in the summer.  Of course I forgot my tripod at home, so this was taken with the camera on the bumper of my car with the timer set.  Yep, nothing by skill here. 

Winter is officially here!

The first full day of snow cover was here today, and I decided to step outside and see what kind of scenery it brought with it.  The frost hung out all day, making the trees and grass white.  I got several good shots of the "frozen" fall willows, and even a few of a moose in the white grass, munching on the willows.  I will post those photos soon.  These little bird tracks were on my patio this morning.  I've always loved how delicate the bird prints look in the snow.  I think these were magpie tracks.  They like to sneak around early in the morning. 

"The Restless Beyond"

This photograph is one of a series I took in one evening when I was experimenting with lighting and exposure.  The clouds were moving fast and the light changed from bright to dim several times in the few mintues I took the photographs.  To my immediate right, there was very active lightning and thunder, not to mention the mosquitos were out in full force.  Sometimes it's a little unnerving to be out in the lightning, as it seems to strike a little too close for comfort once in a while.  It's such a powerful part of nature that I can't help but be fascinated by it, but at a distance.    

"Welcome Aboard"

Everytime I see a train, I get super excited!  I film them with my cell phone when one "drives" by along the highway.  I take photographs of them obsessively (the ones I have listed in my Etsy shop and on this blog are a very small percentage of the number of train photographs I actually have).  My great great grandfather was a train conductor, so maybe that explains the fascination.  I love their aesthetic.  The rivets piecing the large plates of steel together, the heaviness and massiveness of them is imposing.  They seem so reliable.  I love the messages on the risers of these passenger steps.  "Watch your step", and "Welcome Aboard."    

My new camera bag...

I have to be honest, I'd never heard of Ranchero camera bags before.  They're not really bags, so much as briefcases for a camera.  The sides are rigid and stiff, and would not squish easily.  The leather is soft and velvety and the inside is lined with pine tree green  felt.  How retro!  I love it! 

 I love to design packaging.  This is for my photo necklaces, which I make by hand.  The little photographs are mounted permanently to birchwood.  When I started to think about packaging, I liked the idea that they were mounted to wood and how to make that fact come across in the packaging without having to use a bunch of words to describe it, hence the photograph of the wood stack cross-section as the background.  With the topper, again I didn't want a lot of words for customers to read.  I went with a yellow-green like that of a leaf on a tree, and rounded the corners to give it a more organic feel.  They are easy to assemble and will keep the necklaces clean when on display at artshows or brick and mortar shops. 

I took this last summer near White Sulphur Springs, Montana.  No matter what the setting on my camera, the colors just looked terrible.  This led to a long time in post-production editing, but I'm very happy with the end result.  For every day that we curse the winter in Montana, those few short months of summer weather make up for it ten-fold.  Everyday of summer in Big Sky country is beautiful and has its own unique atmosphere.  

"The Lavender Bottle"

This is the first of my dried flower series.  Many times people used wild grasses instead of flowers for their table because it was too expensive to buy real flowers.  If you couldn't afford a fancy vase, you used an empty bottle or cup.  Personally, I love these impromptu arrangements.  

"Red and Blue"

This is another of my series of photographs of dried flowers.  This old blue bottle was found in a junk store in Butte, Montana.  I love to collect colored bottles.  I have over 40 of them and they sit in the windows around my house.  

"Farmhouse Bouquet"

one more in my series of photography featuring dried flowers.  

Photographer of the week: Jack Radcliffe

Image by Jack Radcliffe

I've been a huge fan of Jack Radcliffe's since I saw his work on Behance three years ago.  I'm particularly drawn to his portfolio of photographs that he took of his daughter Alison throughout her life.  It is a visual representation of how a human finds who she is.  She dates different people, grows up and goes through many phases of style and preferences, just like all humans do.  It's a truly beautiful and meaningful body of work. I recommend looking at the portfolio from beginning to end, which you can find here:   http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Alison/49837

Here's a link to an Etsy Treasury featuring some great photography of old barns....including two images from my shop!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NzA2MDg5N3wxOTk3MzIxNzcy/beautiful-barns-and-their-afterlives?ref=pr_treasury