Back Road Beauty: Soft Blue Barn

I was up north for a few hours on a recent Saturday afternoon, and on my way back from an errand with my sis and my niece Katie, I did a double-take, turned the truck around, and then again so I could photograph this side of the barn: a rare color that I just caught a fleeting glimpse of...

We all took turns, and we must have taken a hundred shots as we sat on the roadside for fifteen minutes as the sun was lowering in the sky for better and better shooting. (I hope you're not weary of my barn shots! Since the snow's all gone, this will probably be it until next winter.)

I don't believe I've ever seen blue on a barn, lots of white, lots of red, and even some that have been green...but blue? I love it, especially as the years have worn away most of the soft color on all sides except that which faced north.

I've pretty much decided that barns lend themselves to the best pictures when surrounded by snow: it allows their beauty to shine through without the distractions of leaves, flowers and green grass.

I've seen barns best lit with a setting winter sun, best framed by old trees, best background a white carpet of late winter snow.

Don't you agree?

It's especially rewarding when the barns bare their all and allow the sun to show their bones, the light comes peeking shyly through, showing a thing of rare and true wonderfully-aged beauty.

The barn makes a wonderful silhouette and glorious shadows when the sun is too low for lighting up its features, and it is time to say good-bye and good-night, knowing I've captured this beauty....for keeps, but still it leaves me sad...

Why?

Because this barn story is its own;
kept quiet.
A mystery it only knows,
and how I wish I could know its story...

Special thanks to my niece Katie, for helping me take these pictures!

(I'm hoping to use many of these barn shots in the series to frame as artwork gifts for my son in his new home.)