Monday, March 23, 2009

Expect the Unexpected

One thing I really enjoy about getting out with my camera is that I never really know what to expect.  I always make a plan, deciding where to go and I try to envision what kind of photographs I want to make.  More often than not, though, I end up discovering something new, or getting distracted by something that catches my eye.

This weekend was prime Maple Syrup weather around here (temperatures are below freezing at night, and above freezing during the day), so I decided to visit a local pioneer farm where they have original farm buildings and demonstrations of how sap was collected and processed in the past.  I was planning on photographing the old buildings and maple syrup production.

 
Log Farm Buildings 
I really like the textures of the old buildings and log fences.  I'm really glad that these buildings have been preserved to show us what kind of life the area's settlers had to live.
 
Original Barns at the Log Farm
I ventured inside the barn shown above, where it was completely unlit except for the light from the door.  It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the light, but then I really got a feeling of what it must have been like back when the farm was running in the mid 19th century.  The interior was not as weather-worn as the outside, so it gave a feeling like you had been thrown back in time seeing the barn as it may have been all that time ago.  I made a few photographs there -- using only natural light and exposures in the 10's of seconds.  
 
Riding equipment

 
Ropes hanging in the barn 
I know that the materials and colours are not quite the same as 150 years ago, but the feeling inside was quite unique.  I think these two photographs are my favourites of the day, even though this kind of photograph wase the furthest from my mind when I started the day.

. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca