New ideas for barns!

[kmstephens]

I am new to this website and just got my first DSLR (Nikon D3000) on Wednesday I live in a very rural area on a farm in the middle of the Shenandoah Valley, VA. We have gorgeous mountains and awesome old barns and equipment, but I am running out of composition ideas for everything, especially the barns I've been taking pictures of for the past three years...HELP! I have wide angle and telephoto converter lenses for my 18-55mm kit lens.

See the attached for a preview of one barn very close to my home.


Thanks in advance for the help and ideas! I have learned so much from this website already!!

-kms

[digirebelva]

How about closeups, macros, sunrise & sunset shots...morning shots with the fog still on the ground patially obscuring a barn or field, images of fields full of crops or just a few rows in focus with the rest blurred out, a deer out feeding..etc...I am in Richmond and you are where I am trying to eventually move to..I ride around looking for shots everytime I get up there

[lucas107]

try taking pictured of the back of barns...they always look different and noone ever takes pics from the back or back side its almost always the front...i do some barn pics when im in the country and always try to go behind it

[pix_e_l8]

If it's the barn itself you're into, I'd do closeups of the windows, doors, rusty hinges...there are fantastic textures in the old wood, growing mosses, creeping vines, etc. Maybe contact the owners and move inside, there are great beams of light inside those old barns and the doors and windows make excellent frames for the beauty outside, silhouettes of old farm equipment or maybe a model or two!

ok...officially jealous!!

[digirebelva]

You are suffering from familiarity with your surroundings...since you see it everyday you cant see the forest for the trees ..think about it this way...when you go somewhere different dont you find yourself looking more closely at things that the locals seemingly pass by everyday and no longer notice...I have heard it a few times after I have posted shots online..."You know I ride by there everyday and never thought of stopping to get pictures"...

[dcclark]

I second (or third?) close-ups. Details! Rust, decay, peeling paint, bright colors, geometry of windows, boards, etc.

Familiarity with your surroundings is not bad -- it means that you know everything inside and out. That just means that you have to think a bit more, and you'll see photos that other people might never have thought of!

If you check out some of the "ruins" photos in my flickr stream, you might get a sense of what I mean, too.

[digirebelva]

Originally Posted by dcclark

Familiarity with your surroundings is not bad -- it means that you know everything inside and out. That just means that you have to think a bit more, and you'll see photos that other people might never have thought of!

Didnt say it was bad, but it does color how you view your surroundings..that thing you might not consider interesting because you see it every day..is going to be spotted by someone who has never been there. Again when you go somewhere different and start taking photos dont the locals look at you funny because they cant figure out whay you are taking a picture of something so un-interesting...to them anyway..thats how they mark you as a tourist..

And like somebody once told me (business owner), sometimes knowing too much doesnt necessarily benefit you...

[dcclark]

Originally Posted by digirebelva

Didnt say it was bad, but it does color how you view your surroundings..that thing you might not consider interesting because you see it every day..is going to be spotted by someone who has never been there. Again when you go somewhere different and start taking photos dont the locals look at you funny because they cant figure out whay you are taking a picture of something so un-interesting...to them anyway..thats how they mark you as a tourist..

And like somebody once told me (business owner), sometimes knowing too much doesnt necessarily benefit you...

This is true, but in my own experience, I considerably improve my photography when I'm more familiar with my subjects. Perhaps the reason is that I can explore them more and find those new angles, while refining some of the old ones which I've seen before. A fresh eye is always good, but familiarity is not bad!

[Harnum]

I love taking pictures of old barns! The wood, hinges and rust really make an awesome shot. If you don't mind, I'll post one of my pictures in this thread for an example. (The picture is a bit overexposed, but this was one of my first shots, haha.)

Feel free to comment if you like.

[Browncoat]

If you're in God's country like I am, you might just be lucky enough to have some of the most interesting barns of all nearby! Check out this site: http://www.ohiobarns.com/mpbarns/locat/location.html

These historical barns kick it up a notch and it's really fun to go for a drive and take photos. I haven't done any digging on Google, but I know for a fact that WV and VA were once home to a lot of these barns as well. If you can't find anything online, most of these barns are located along popular state routes, with the barns facing the road. In Ohio, some of these roads are marked with signs that say "Scenic Byway". You might have something similar in your state.

They were in a sense, billboards, and are easy to spot most of the time. If not Mail Pouch, then there are several other brands that used to advertise this way too. Some barns were in a unique enough spot to have ads paint on BOTH sides.

Good luck and happy hunting!