Abandoned Home in Sanpete County, UT

This old abandoned home is near Wales, in Sanpete County, UT. Portions of the house are old logs, so the home most likely dates to the time before 1900. This photo works best for me as a monochrome rendering because it is the weathered wood which attracted me. This home must have been standing abandoned for some time, since the vines have grown into the exterior wall. I chose a tight crop to show this detail. The detail of the weathered wood appealed to me, hence this image was rendered with enhanced contrast.

I get off the beaten track and keep an eye open for opportunities. They seem to be everywhere. I study the setting for some time to decide how to portray what is interesting to me.

Old Barn in Rush Valley, UT

The combination of the puffy clouds in this late April shot of an old barn in Rush Valley, Utah - Tooele County works well as a monochrome rendering. The image is pre-filtered to emphasize the red channel which darkens the blue sky and therefore increases the contrast between the clouds and the sky.

This is a typical spring sky in Utah which often occurs after storms. Summer skies tend to be featureless Moreover, the trees have not yet leaved so that the tree branches show stark against the bright clouds.

Abandoned house near Faust Utah

Could not resist this shot of the billowing curtains in the windows of an abandoned house near Faust, UT. This is an home near where the road crosses the railroad tracks. The home is not that old but is obviously abandoned. All the windows and doors are broken or removed. It was a mild sunny day in April and wind was blowing, so the curtains were wafting in the wind. This image had to be rendered as a color image because the color of the curtains adds to the feeling of the image. Monochrome renderings did not have the character I sought.

Black and White conversion of Hay Loader

Another view of abandoned farm machinery in a field near Vernon UT. The shot was taken from a low perspective so that the top of the loader appears above the background mountains. The farmland in these rural counties of Utah are 'target rich' environments these often striking settings. They render so well as monochrome images especially when made up of weathered wood where color does not add but rather subtracts from the detail.

Abandoned Hay Loader in Tooele County , Utah

This old farm implement is rusting in a field in Vernon, UT located in Tooele county. My assumption is that it is a hay loader either horse drawn or more likely tractor drawn.

Dune Buggy Draws in the Sand

This is Sand Mountain. From the base it rises over 700 feet. This "mountain" is largely responsible for the sand dunes in Little Sahara. The southerly winds pick up sand from the dry Sevier lake bed to the south and deposit the sand at Little Sahara when it is slowed upon hitting this mountain. There had been a significant storm the night before this image was taken. The normally soft dry sand was wet and hardened. The topmost inch of sand had dried to its normal light color. Just below this surface the sand was wet and dark. When the dune buggy or motorcycle climbed the mountain the dark tracks were "drawn" in the sand. It looks as though the "Off Road" artists enthusiastically made patterns in the face of the dune.

Little Sahara Sand Dunes

Original color and black and white rendering of a view of the Little Sahara sand dunes looking north. The clouds render dramatically in black and white. The view was chosen so that the dunes are on the horizon. The rendering uses a red-prefilter so that the blue sky is darkened resulting in large contrast between the sky and puffy clouds.