Near Hawk Moon Ridge, a photo from Colorado, West

Photographer's Note

I just realized that I actually never showed you how I lived for almost two weeks when we were house-sitting in Colorado last year. It is not THIS house of course :))) but it belonged to our neighbourhood which more or less meant that we had almost no neighbours at all. In the beginning this was a little strange for me and now that I think back I have a huge smile on my face how much the silence scared me, sleeping with the doors not carefully locked-up and last but not least wild animals. Yes I am through and through a city woman but by the time our vacation ended all I knew was that I wanted to return one day and if the luck is on our side, we will enjoy THIS view in late May … the flights are booked!

Maybe two months before we flew to Salt Lake City last year, the couple that runs the flight school in Grand Junction (we rent their Cessnas) wrote us that they would fly in Alaska with a group of other pilots during our stay and if we wanted to sleep in their house while they were on this business trip. The only thing was that we had to take care of a pussy cat and that they had 11 acres of land with a baby hawk we could watch with the scope. I was thinking of the noisy tent ground we were the year before and I mean who would say no to such a generous offer?

If you want to reach their home you have to drive through Colorado National Monument and you would not need a day pass to drive through but as we support the idea of National Parks we bought tickets for the whole stay so on our way home we usually stopped at one of the view points like any “other” tourist.

feather, jwmunro, Buin, Sistercosmo, bukitgolfb301, avene, delpeoples, gunbud marcou esta nota como útil

Critiques | Translate

feather (51130) 2010-01-09 6:00

Interesting story Barbara. Yes I thought you meant this house at first, but even if so it would be better than a tent! :D
I love the sky and the line of sagebush(?) makes a great lead-in. The green is refreshing; a colour I haven't seen lately, except for the combats I'm wearing at the moment! ;D
Kath

Dyerco (10185) 2010-01-09 7:07

I am always amazed when I see these little places in the middle of nowhere and wonder about the brave settlers who endured hardships to live in there. This image shows the wide open prairie perhaps how it was before too many people settled the country. I can smell the wild sage.
Phil

jwmunro (286) 2010-01-09 7:07

Hello Barbara -

Isn't Colorado wonderful? I have seen many of these old ranch houses in and around Colorado and some can be very picturesque as they all date back to a simpler and different time. You have done well presenting this ranch house by showing the wide open spaces of the west. Capturing the distinctive profile is another element of this image that really works. Simplicity is the other element making this a fine image. Well done!

Thank you for sharing.

John

Buin (42580) 2010-01-09 7:11

Hallo Barbara!
Ein sehr stimmungsvolles Foto! Die 1 : 1 Aufteilung ist hier angebracht - und schön. Die Wolken - immer ein schwieriges Thema - sind wunderbar wiedergegeben. Ein Gefühl von Weite kommt hier ganz toll rüber ...
Grüße aus dem tiefsten Winter in Westfalen!
Frank

zanzi (13690) 2010-01-09 7:23

Hi Barbara
True. Today is not the brightest day outside. Unfortunately.
I love the landscape you are showing us. I love to see it, but I would definitively not love to leave there. I would miss the mounains.
I have tried a workshop trying to make the colors a bit more flashy. I do not know if I succeeded.
Have a nice evening
Bravo
Chris

[workshop] [compare]

Pablo25 (3186) 2010-01-09 7:50

hello Barbara,
nicely taken. Good natural colors and excellent sharpness. Beautiful, wild scenery, I like it.
regards
Pawel

Sistercosmo (242) 2010-01-09 11:44

Hallo liebe Barbara,

ein wunderbares Bild von vorn bis hinten! Das Gras und die Sträucher, dieses "Haus" und der tolle Himmel - eine sehr schöne Komposition.

Du machst mich ja ganz neidisch mit deiner Erzählung! Wir haben noch gar nichts festes für 2010 geplannt. Aber so ein schönes Angebot würde ich auch nicht ausschlagen! Da nimmt man doch die Miezekatze und den Falken gern in kauf. ;-)

Schönes Wochenende!
Linda

rlrad (1845) 2010-01-09 12:14

Hi Barbara!

This looks like a fun place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live in it, either. I might try a metal detector around the yard after I looked out for rattlesnakes. I don't enjoy camping myself, not since I was a young man - now the Super 8 is my version of camping. And it has to be a newer Super 8... with wireless Internet access.

The sky looks so big here, I think I can see a hint of mountains in the background, though. I can almost smell the sage...

Have a great weekend and stay warm!
Reed

gneufeld (15890) 2010-01-09 12:55

Hi Barbara,
This is my kinda shot, Barb! I love these rural landscapes and this one, with the sagebrush bushes in the foreground lead us nicely to that old house with a beautiful sky overhead. I like it alot. TFS. Gerald

yquem46 (38752) 2010-01-09 13:30

This could be the place for another "Bagdad café" barbara
I like these places in the farwest USA with these very common abandonned old wooden farmhouses
A sky like in montana !
well done
patrick

bukitgolfb301 (54014) 2010-01-10 3:16

Hello my dear Barbara

This is an another great shot!
Marvelous impressive shot, perfect composition / framework, nice and calm color arrangement, solemn atmosphere indeed, deep exposure and light control are so admirable as usual. This is very much photogenic, so beautiful and wonderful.
Thanks for sharing and best regards,
Have a good Sunday evening!

Takero

Waylim (25436) 2010-01-10 10:42

Grussi Barbara,
This is classic view of rural American Landcape, sometimes when we drove by, I always wonder if people do live inside? For us city people, it is very hard to get use to the quietness at the first day or so, but after that we get use to it love it and then we have to be back in the noisy city again. It is a very different life. We just have to get use to it. Though now we have internet out in the remote area too, so maybe it would be as difficult like it use to be. Anyway, love the open space here, bueatiful nature, big sky, baby hawk and who know what else are lurking behind all the bushes :) You'll find out.
Way

gilou530 (34) 2010-01-10 12:30

salut barbara
un petit ranch perdu dans la cambrousse voila une photo magnifique de simplicité avec un beau ciel qui donne du relief a la photo, bon boulot
amitiés
gilbert

MarianneS (15338) 2010-01-10 12:58

Hi Barbara,
A lovely place, so quiet! But I have to say that the sky is really impressive and probably the element I prefer here! So amazing!! Because of this, I think I would have given more space to it.
Have a very nice evening,
Marianne

Greg1949 (9011) 2010-01-11 3:20

Nice one Barbara, I love the solitude that comes through in this, it really captures well the size of the open plain and triggers thoughts of all that accompany that openness. Nice colors and lovely deep shadows, great work.

Greg

mkamionka (75009) 2010-01-11 5:54

Hi Barbara,
very fine shot. I like the bushes in the foreground, the silhouette of the house and this pretty sky above.
Nice catch, TFS
M

rford (30) 2010-01-11 9:09

hi Barbara,

what a wonderful image evocative of the 19th century american west... with beautiful velvety green sage, lonesome plains, settler's homestead and God's country big sky composition. clearly you are expressing what you felt and your deep love for this vast rural countryside. best regards... richard

avene (12675) 2010-01-11 10:33

hi Barbara,
what really fascinates me in this photo are the contrasts between the textures. moss green and gray on the ground, spiky and sharp and dry, sort of angry and sort of cocky :) while the sky is smooth, relaxed, meditative and very "New Age", lol :) the off-center placement of the house adds to the sense of wide open space, no wonder you wanted to go back :)

best,
Kristine

p.s. we also have tickets for the end of May, just going in opposite direction, to Peru :)

wolf38 (30) 2010-01-11 22:56

Hallo Barbara. Eine weite Landschaft, Gras und Sträucher, eine einsame Hütte, - und ein wunderschön bewölkter Himmel. Das ist alles, und doch ist es sehr viel. Denn das Photo wirkt sehr still, friedlich, beruhigend und schön. Bei Photos dieser Art sage ich immer: es ist ein Bild für Auge und Seele. Und wie immer, ist der Text auch diesmal absolut lesenwert und informativ. Viele Grüße, Wolfgang.

hardyuno (4652) 2010-01-12 11:02

Salut Barbara,
ein toll ausgewogenes Bild mit den Hauptfarben blau und grün und der Klecks braun sehr gut positioniert. Harmonie kommt noch vom diagonalen Aufbau der Büsche im VG. Das Bild hat Tiefe und der weite Himmel von Colorado kommt super rüber. Gefällt mir sehr gut.
Viele Grüße in die Schwyz
Hartmut

delpeoples (60342) 2010-01-13 1:10

Hi Barbara, having been away for 12 days, I've missed your photos and your "Baba-isms" :) I love the simplicity and desolation this photo evokes. The countryside is so remote, huge and silent. The positioning of the hut to the right of the frame is well-executed and your DOF something to be emulated. Great job, I wish you a beautiful day, hopefully it isnt snowing to hard over there, Lisa

Nicou (193814) 2010-01-13 9:16

Hello Barbara,

alors tu as passé sur ma tête avec ton avion, je me réjoui de voir tes images, car il faisait très beau lundi, comme celle-ci aussi, cet effet des buissons se rendu avec la ferme dans cette immensité, ce ciel fantastique, grandiose image.

Merci et amitié

Nicou

gunbud (34066) 2010-01-13 14:30

Hi Barbara,
This image show well the vastness of the western sky and the desolate emptiness.
Love the dramatic puffy and wispy clouds in the blue sky that contrast so beautifullly with the green sagebrush.
The deserted homesteaders cabin is a big plus to this fine image.
Regards, Tom

plimrn (21344) 2010-01-23 19:22

Hi Barbara,
Your photo tells the story of wide open spaces; not a word is needed. The sky is wonderful. I so glad you have saved your life & breath for three years now. I smoked for about 20 years and quit about 20 years ago. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, and I am so glad to be free. Glad your tickets are booked too.
HLJ, Pat

Photo Information

Copyright: Barbara Kehl (baba_flies) (8829)
Genre: Lugares
Medium: Cor
Date Taken: 2009-06-03
Categories: Natureza, Arquitectura
Camera: NIKON D 300, Nikkor AF-S 18-200mm 1:3.5-5.6 G ED, Circular Polarizing
Exposição: f/6.3, 1/160 segundos
More Photo Info: view
Versão da Foto: Versão Original, Workshop
Date Submitted: 2010-01-09 5:27

Viewed: 2492

Points: 48

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