This barn was one of several I was asked to shoot for a historical society barn book driving tour. The owner is an accomplished artist who does beautiful work and as soon as I saw the barn in the distance I knew it would be an awesome subject in the snow! The owners were extremely nice and said I could come back anytime to capture its beauty. Well the finished barn book did not impress me in the slightest, because I spent hours shooting various angles at a bunch of barns only to have them use a single shot sometimes. I guess the positive side was getting to meet the owners of some barns I had never come across before and being given the opportunity to revisit them. I talk about what it takes for some of my images but until you actually see it visually you might not grasp it. The top image is my final result and in the lower shot you can see me with both arms raised over my head and that big square over my head is the barn window,not my gear! I am holding things high to hopefully help the signal from the tablet in my right hand reach my camera which is a hundred yards away and that in turn sends the signal back to fire the flash that is in my left hand as I pray that it works! Sometimes I get no response, sometimes the camera fires and not the flash etc etc.

The bottom image is my first exposure as I try to get my flash to light up the snow on the roof to give it some dimension. So basically I move around lighting things I want to bring out more. In this image you can see how little detail the flat evening light reveals but by pointing my flash toward my camera with a big blast, I now have contours showing in the landscape giving it dimension! I often mention how I like a cold snowy landscape with a warm inviting structure that suggests refuge from the elements. When I arrived here the first thing I did was knock to say hi and it appeared to me as if they were home but there was no answer so I assumed they were enjoying dinner. I then went about finding a good view and started shooting as it got darker. I kept thinking how great lights on in the barn would be but hated to bother them again. I had been in the barn once for the book and knew the light switch was right inside the door! I noticed the barn door was hanging wide open so I simply hit the light switch on and that warm interior illumination transformed the shot completely in my opinion. hopefully that helps explain a little of the technique I use