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Sunday was a fantastic day for shooting. The weather was beautiful and I was anxious to get some good shots. I went shooting Friday, but it was one of those days where absolutely nothing was in sync. No new locations, boring sky, and very little motivation meant a long day of driving and nothing to show for it.
On Sunday, I stumbled across two places that I had visited early in the spring but had not been back to. The light was great and there was plenty of color, shadows, reflected light, and contrast to make things really interesting. It was one of the rare times where everything clicks and the time flies by. After an hour at the first location, I made my way north past Siebert, Colorado to the second location. This property is one of the most interesting , it is very close to the end of its existence as a standing structure. This house was once occupied, then it languished for years, and by this time next year, or maybe two, it will be gone. Rubble behind a stand of trees.
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Two things strike me when I am at a location like this. The lack of permanence of things, or more precisely, the illusion of permanence we assign to things. It only takes forgetting about something to destroy it. The other thing that strikes me is the power of nature. Throughout this spring and summer, I witnessed the power of nature in it’s most impressive form, scary ass storms. But the more subtle power, the more powerful power , if you will allow it, is the capacity the earth has to refresh itself. In 100 years, only people that know what they are looking for will know that this place existed. Very few things we build will be able to survive this ultimate fate.
The final location of the day was a fantastic abandoned farm on the outskirts of the little town of Arriba, Colorado. This tricky location is easily reached if you get off the highway at Arriba, but if you miss that exit, it is a round trip of 30 miles to return. I have missed it more times than I can count, and I rarely double back to a location. Must. Move. Forward. I was determined on this day to capture this farm at sunset, so I drove along the country roads until the time was right, listening to music, pondering things that need pondering. Mental maintenance, I guess. I arrived at the farm with about 15 minutes of sunlight remaining. The low sun poked through the pane-less windows, bathing the inside of the colorfully painted rooms with a very special kind of natural light. I spent the rest of the daylight in that zone where the camera is just an extension of the brain.
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The final 15 minutes of the shortest day of this year at a place like this. A fitting end to my time in Colorado. More daylight the next day, and a new season of adventure in a new place. I am very excited about the future and a brand new path. For me, this is what life is all about.
Here are the shots from this day:
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