From the Archives of 2005—5
July 26, 2020
Photographs from the archives of 2005 finish up with scenes and objects in Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
1 Before we moved back to Oberlin, we lived next door to this barn and silo.
2 Around the corner, a quarter mile away or so, is an old barn. I have often wondered if that Future Farmer of America stayed on the farm.
3 Further down that road was another, even older, barn.
4 I longed to get closer to it, and finally one day, I did. The hand-hewn beams alone were worth the dare.
5 Not too long after I visited it, the barn was demolished. I often wonder if its owner, across the street, saw me go inside and considered it too dangerous. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to go back.
6 Did J.E.J. put his initials in the barn out of pride? Did someone save this plank?
7 Continuing down the road I saw more history played out in the fences. I wonder how long this one has stood.
8 On the other side of the road a living tree was put to service in guarding the property or corralling livestock.
9 Heading back home I came upon a gorgeous maple tree on that gorgeous October day.
10 In Michigan for a niece’s wedding, I had some time for photographing before the festivities.
11 In Wisconsin my daughter drove while I played photography out the car window. This is one of my first Intentional Camera Movement images—taken before I knew there was such a thing, and maybe before the term was coined.
12 At Dr. Evermor’s I played with mirrors.
13 This may be part of Dr. Evermor’s Forevertron.
Romancing Reality 
Lovely post, Linda, and the short texts with each one are really a plus. I tried clicking onto the links in 12 and 13 but got a message saying they’re blocked for my country. Adrian 🙂
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July 26, 2020 at 4:59 AM
Thanks, Adrian. Too bad you can’t go to those links, but here are two others: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/offthemap/html/travelogue_artist_2.htm?true and https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/dr-evermores-forevertron. The first is long on information, and the second is long on photographs.
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July 26, 2020 at 9:48 AM
I saw a set of cards for sale that gave lessons on photography composition. So many of these could have been examples of beautiful composition, especially the barn slats with light through them and the maple.
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July 26, 2020 at 6:45 AM
Thank you, Lynda. I think I’ve become more picky about composition over the years. I so dislike seeing one of my photographs and thinking, “Oh, why didn’t I stand just a smidgeon to the left!”, or “Why didn’t I get closer,” or any number of other regrets.
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July 26, 2020 at 9:57 AM
Ah, the pull of ruins: where we’ve been, where we’re going. “This too shall pass away.” The last picture called out to me the most.
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July 26, 2020 at 9:29 AM
I wonder if photographers like ruins more than other people. They certainly do pull at us. Glad you’re not tired of my photographs of peeling paint and rust, like the last one.
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July 26, 2020 at 9:59 AM
It’s interesting to see your phot evolutionary process looking at these older photos. #2 and #13 could have been taken yesterday and others are quite a bit different from your shooting style today. But your color sense and composition have remained constant through the years. Nice work.
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July 26, 2020 at 10:09 AM
Thanks, Ken. I think you’re right! Numbers 2 and 13 are the kinds of things I prefer to photograph today. I drove around the countryside with the camera yesterday, though, and may have taken more retro photographs. To get at some shots I would have preferred to take, I would have had to get out of the car, something my still-mostly-locked-down community prohibits. Someday . . .
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July 26, 2020 at 10:25 AM
Fantastic images. I am really enjoying them.
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July 31, 2020 at 5:49 AM
Thank you, Jessica. I’m happy that you are enjoying them. It’s fun for me to look at my old photographs, but I’d love to be able to get down to the Vermilion River again. Our community still won’t allow our being out of the car and off of the property except for medical visits.
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July 31, 2020 at 7:42 AM
Of course I enjoyed your last with the layers of colors and shapes. The first though…that fooled me at the start. I thought there was an odd shaped door to the barn until I caught on to the shadow. 🙂 I’m also impressed with your ICM attempt although you knew not what you were making.
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August 4, 2020 at 4:50 PM
Thanks, Steve. Guess I’m all about layers and shapes (and lines and color); that may be why the first photograph threw you off. I seem to see abstracts more readily than objects. Glad you like the ICM; they’re fun to do.
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August 4, 2020 at 8:05 PM
Please excuse me for being so late…your FFA remark was a cogent one – it’s so hard to stay on the farm these days. I can see that your predilections for certain subjects like the worn signs and initials on siding have been there all along. But I think you have grown in your ability to make art out of what you see. The story of that barn is sad – hand-hewn, wow. I don’t think I’ve seen that, or maybe I haven’t looked closely enough – it’s good that you took the chance before the barn was gone. I love #7 and #8 – rural beauty! That yellow maple is beautiful too, just glorious. The light in #10 is interesting, the early intentional movement experiment is as well. THen #12 – so confusing! But I like this confusion. And the last makes me wonder about the angle – if you went today would you photograph it head-on? All in all, it’s fun to see these! (Oh, I love things like Dr. Evermore’s…)
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August 9, 2020 at 12:20 PM
It’s never too late, Lynn. 🙂 Thanks for your close attention. The problem with head-on-ness in the last photo is that the object is a sphere. There probably was some angle I could have tried that wouldn’t have made the image as wonky as this, but I didn’t see it at the time. If I ever get to go to Madison again (!), maybe I’ll see about going back to Dr. Evermore’s to have another try.
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August 12, 2020 at 8:08 AM
This is a beautiful series. I miss seeing these landscapes and this took me back to many memories I love of New York state which is similar. I really like #11, the blurry trees. It moves me.
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September 27, 2020 at 4:51 PM
Thank you, Caren. I’m glad to know that you like #11. Hm, the blurry trees moved you. Having tasted your sense of humor on your blog, I have to wonder if you are kidding around with me on that. 🙂 I had intended to take more photographs with Intentional Camera Movement this past weekend, but got caught up with the mundane kind of reality. I’m not complaining. It was pretty nice mundane reality. But maybe next time I will do ICM.
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September 30, 2020 at 8:36 PM