Tag Archives: barn

2011 Top 10 #4 – Mountain Barn



Mountain Barn, originally uploaded by tomkellyphoto.

The restored Tate Barn is an iconic landmark in Midway, not far from our Park City home. It’s an often photographed landmark, but one that has eluded me through the years.

On an early fall day, after the first snow in the mountains, I had an early photo shoot at Soldier Hollow, the 2002 Olympic cross country venue. The early light was cast beautifully on the barn with snow-covered Mt. Timpanogos in the background – an idyllic scene and a great HDR opportunity.

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2011 TOP 10 #7 – Birds on the Silos



Birds on the Silos, originally uploaded by tomkellyphoto.

I love barns. What photographer doesn’t? Barns are prolific in my home state of Wisconsin. So when I’m back there, I love cruising the rolling hills at sunrise searching for a great photograph.

I had spotted this particular farm several days earlier. I made several sunrise trips up there with no success. This particular morning, the shoot was going well with a magical sky and mystical light. But as I photographed the red barn, I noticed all the birds resting on a silo. I immediately changed the shot … and waited.

With camera on tripod (brand new Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-300mm zoom), I waited. And I waited. Suddenly, the birds flew. The sun reflected off them against the darkened western sky. And the magic of the early morning light through the clouds painted a colorful picture on the silos.

It wasn’t what I came for, but it was a fantastic result and one of my favorite photographs of 2011.

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Birds on the Silos



Birds on the silos, originally uploaded by tomkellyphoto.

It’s funny sometimes on how the best photographs are not the ones you set out to create. I had staked out this particular barn as a sunset possibility Friday evening. It’s brilliant red sides were perfectly in line with the morning sun.

Saturday morning, in the pre-dawn hours, I rolled the dice that the overcast would break. It did not.Sunday was much of the same. But I took a chance again.

After waiting and waiting, the line broke through and illuminated the barn. It was a brilliant shot with my new D700. Then I packed to leave, putting the tripod into the car.

As I looked back, I saw the silos against an amazing sky. I wandered back across the highway – the D700 loaded with my Nikkor 70-300. I knew the birds were there and that the photograph would HAVE TO include them flying.

So, I waited … and waited … and waited. I felt I should go back for the tripod, but decided I could handhold. Then, all of a sudden, a gust of wind send the birds scurrying.

Bang, bang, bang – I blasted off a burst on the motor drive as the birds found a new roost. But in that split second, they gave me a photograph even better than I had hoped from the red barn itself.

Photographer’s Note: The barn is located on US51 in the town of Leeds, just northeast of Madison, Wisconsin.

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Winter Countryside Barn

Winter Countryside Barn, originally uploaded by tomkellyphoto.

This has been a favorite barn of mine for a few years, located near the tiny village of Peoa about 15 minutes east of Park City. But as many times as I’ve driven by on photo tours of the Kamas Valley, this is the first time the light presented such a wonderful opportunity.

Grandaughter Hannah and I were on a photo drive a couple days before Christmas. She was attracted to the menagerie of buffalo, horses and llamas (or alpacas). I was attracted by the wonderful light on the barn and the texture of the new-fallen snow – plus Lewis Peak in the background.

There was reasonably even light, but it still somehow begged for an HDR opportunity. So I produced a five-shot (one stop per shot) HDR that worked well to fill in some of the lighting imbalance and create a fantastic winter scene.

The shot was mid-afternoon, maybe two hours or less to sunset. It was photographed with my Nikon D-300 with the Nikkor 70-300 zoom on a tripod.

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Sunset Barn

An old barn in a cornfield is illuminated in the sunset light glow in the rolling hills outside Hayward, Wisconsin. (c) 2009 Tom Kelly

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Sunset Barn

We had only a few nights in our old hometown of Hayward, Wisconsin, so only a limited number of sunset opportunities. On the first evening I had a decent shot planned, only five minutes from our daughter’s home. It was OK, but nothing special. But across the field I saw an old barn standing silently in the midst of a flourishing cornfield. It didn’t look very accessible, but it was worth a try.

The next evening, our son-in-law Ben showed me the way. There was a private access road through a field that put us into a perfect position. The sky was enticing, with puffy clouds starting to gather in the pink tint of the sunset while the tassels lit up in in a golden glow. It was a quintessential midwestern scene, an old barn with its weathered siding catching the evening light low on the horizon.

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Foggy Mountain Barn

Park City’s McPolin Farm – the White Barn – is one of the world’s most photographed buildings. Whether it’s the rushing creek in the springtime, the green fields in the summertime, blazing aspens in the fall or the soft blanket of winter snow, the century old farm is the community’s signature, greeting thousands of visitors every year. (c) 2008 Tom Kelly

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Foggy Mountain Barn

Park City’s McPolin Farm – the White Barn – is one of the world’s most photographed buildings. Whether it’s the rushing creek in the springtime, the green fields in the summertime, blazing aspens in the fall or the soft blanket of winter snow, the century old farm is the community’s signature, greeting thousands of visitors every year. (c) 2008 Tom Kelly

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