Looking through a window onto the porch of an abandoned house in eastern Colorado. This location was littered with old appliances and every other manner of large, rusty debris.
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Planes trace graceful arcs against a star field north of DIA as they wait to land.
Free limited edition wallpaper. Only 50 will be released.This shot was taken just north of Byers, Colorado. The lights of Denver glow on the horizon.
Glow from Denver. Click the thumbnail, then right click the image to save.
[nggallery id=15] It was especially nice to hit the road after a intensive week of daddy duty. There were several locations that I wanted to visit during a winter-like day. I left Denver at 1230 or so on Saturday, headed east on I-70. The weather was cold and windy, temps just above freezing. A large snow storm was on the way, and the low clouds around Denver were a clear sign of what was on the way. Since the storm was primarily a foothills and mountain event, the plains would be windy and cold with low, broken clouds filling the entire sky. I headed east on I-70 then exited at Bennett. The plan was to drive east on US36, then south on Hwy71, ultimately ending up in Limon.  GPS Track The first location I returned to was an old Quonset hut on off US36, west of Strasburg, that at one time had been used for farming, but has since been left to serve as a dump ground for the locals. There is a fiberglass boat and lots of graffiti, tons of garbage, not to mention an impressive amount of owl shit. The shots feel cold and windy, which is entirely appropriate.  Hut and Boat From there I moved east on US36, the clouds became wavy due to the upper level winds. Approximately 10 miles west of Last Chance, a large trailer and a couple of pieces of farm equipment decay quietly next to a dusty road. Interesting scene, but hardly unique. The sky is very large around this location, so the weather plays big part with getting good shots. During the previous visit, a distant thunderstorm took up a good portion of the SE sky. On this visit, it was all about the low clouds and texture of the equipment. The shots came out with a sort of rusty sadness, a common vibe out in the middle of nowhere. I shot for 15 minutes, then moved on. On Hwy71, about 5 miles south of Last Chance, there is a location that is one of my favorites. The house sits on the rim of a small valley, set back from the road only about 50 feet. The entire property seems to have been several acres. A corral, a few old trucks, and some collapsed grain silos dot the landscape on the other side of the basin. The house itself is large and in very bad shape. It seems to have been abandoned relatively recently, perhaps sometime in the last 10 years. Like the Quonset hut from the previous location, the locals use the property as a dump. There are appliances of every type strewn about. Looking through the windows, I could see that the furniture had been abandoned along with the home. It is also possible that couches and chairs that had been dumped on the property were dragged into the house by teenagers with not enough supervision. Either way, there is furniture everywhere, and it has all been turned over.  Red Tractor As with many abandoned structures, there is a thin film of bird poo on every surface. The feeling of location is more dread than sadness. The place just feels unpleasant. I worked my way around the perimeter of the house, trying to take advantage of the gloomy sky, I wanted to express the feeling of dread in the shots. The big reason that this location is one of my favorites is because it incorporates my two favorite subjects: abandoned places and rusty cars. Along with the exceedingly creepy house, there are three beautifully rusted cars on the west side of the property. There is an old 30′s era truck with old equipment and rusty wheels on its bed, a 70′s era truck looks like an old dog that has settled for the night, and a 40′s era truck with its rusty door swinging in the breeze. The fifteen minutes I spent shooting these trucks were the best of the day. I climbed back into the car and headed to Limon, for a quick stop and then back to Denver to enjoy my family and the gathering snow storm. Shooting Info:
Shots from the day[nggallery id=15] Hitting the road on a cold, snowy Saturday. Winter storm watch tonight for Denver,6-12 inches expected. Will try to update locations via Twitter and other info here. Update: decided to change the route to I-70 east, the snow and low clouds will make I-76 more dangerous.
The week brought great news from our largest satellite. There is water on the moon! Plus, get ready for the upcoming Leonid meteor shower, and read a great article from Astronomy.com. We round out the day with the wise Carl Sagan, telling us about the pale blue dot. Wet moonNASA’s LCROSS project found clear signs of significant water on the moon. Evidence of water was detected in the plumes of debris ejected by the impact of rockets on the Cabeus crater.
The discovery helps explain why there is so much hydrogen on the moon.
While the over hyped impacts may have not made much of a splash with the media, the data gathered will help open doors for scientists in the future. LCROSS was launched on June 18, 2009. Extras
And finally… Carl Sagan drops the science:
Jumping in the car and hitting the road for a day of exploring is a great way to expand your horizons and improve your photography skills. But before you snap a single photo, you will need to cover a few bases. Listed below are several tips designed to help you avoid making mistakes that can ruin a day of shooting. Equipment checklist:
Vehicle Checklist:
Shooting strategy:
A full day of shooting could cover 500-700 miles and around 12 hours, so eat your Wheaties. You may have a cluster of photo opportunities all at once followed by three hours of nothing. There will be plenty of time to practice being patient. There are unlimited photographic opportunities on the roads that crisscross our country, leave the interstate and go exploring. [singlepic id=457 w=320 h=240 float=left] This was a short trip during the late afternoon on Halloween. While many people were partying at places made up to look scary, I was looking for places that were actually scary. I drove the side roads that run along Interstate 76 as the afternoon light grew shorter. I came to the town of Merino about 15 minutes before the sun went down. The old train buildings and the grain silos gleamed in the low angle light, and a few pools of melted snow provided a couple opportunities for reflections. On the way to the Interstate I found an old truck near an abandoned silo, the light was right for one more shot. Images taken as HDR, five frames over two stops. Nikon D300, various lenses. [nggallery id=14]
The town of Last Chance is barely more than a few dozen buildings at the intersection of highways 36 and 71 in eastern Colorado. Limon is 40 miles to the south, Brush is 80 miles to the north. Denver is 80 miles west. An abandoned motel slowly deteriorates on a large lot at the northeast corner of the main intersection. The 4 or 5 buildings have been stripped and vandalized. Missing floorboards and dangling roof elements make entering any of the buildings very dangerous. I was fortunate enough to have a fantastic sky, adding an extra dimension to the eerie scene. An operating burger stand occupies the lot directly east of the old motel. I have never seen it open, but it is clearly used on a regular basis judging from the obvious upkeep. [slideshow id=10] All images were captured as HDR, using 5 images covering two stops over/under a matrix reading. Nikon D300, Nikkor 18-70mm. HDR processed by PhotomatixPro.
[singlepic id=439 w=320 h=240 float=left] It had been six weeks since I was able to get out of town for a full day of driving and shooting. By the time shooting day arrived, I was very anxious to hit the road. My route would be: I-70 east to Burlington, Hwy 385 North to Julesberg, then back roads into Nebraska. I wanted to end up in North Platte, Nebraska by sundown. By mid October the days are short, and an early start is critical. I left Denver at 9am, stopping briefly for fuel and provisions. By 10:30 I was cruising past Limon, only an hour or so from Burlington. Heading north from Burlington on Hwy 385 is pretty typical of the highways that course through the plains, there are plenty of farms and quiet little towns. I passed through Wray, where I photographed one of the creepiest locations I have seen. Abandoned structures are scattered along the route, some provide great photographic opportunities, but most do not. I arrived in Julesberg, Colorado mid afternoon, the sun was well on its path across the southwestern sky, and the light was getting warmer as the sun got lower. I drove the country roads between Julesberg and North Platte, the opportunity to shoot came rarely, but I did get some great shots of some old cars as the sun set. It was a 4 hour drive back to Denver, it was time to get into get in the zone and hit the road. [nggallery id=12] |
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