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It’s prudent to be mindful of your surroundings when you’re out exploring.

Always on the lookout for good locations, we passed by this scene and I couldn’t help but note the John Deere tractor parked next to an old shed. The placement looked idyllic – a perfect setup.

We turned around in a driveway down the street and came back for the shot. The tractor and sheds were set back from the road quite a ways, and I wanted to get closer. But, a small, abandoned house was just to the right, and there was a prominent, hand-painted sign hung on an old tree that conveyed a clear message: “No Trespassing.” The driveway where we had just turned around was for a newer house, and as is often the case, the newer digs are built off to the side while these old beauties dissolve into the landscape.

The whole setup was just creepy enough that I didn’t choose to find the owner for permission, and I sure didn’t think it was a good idea to go any further onto the property. People can get ornery around here when you mess with their stuff.

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Processed as an HDR image with texture overlay and sepia toning via Silver Efex Pro. I wanted to create deep, mysterious shadows on the edges while maintaining a lighted path for the eye to travel to the tractor. Hopefully, the overall effect gives the viewer the same trepidatious feeling I had when taking the shot.

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Just one of the many fun things about photography is that in researching your subjects, you can learn new things. I can’t suggest the number of times I’ve taken a picture of something interesting, only to find out more about it when I got home and cruised the internet looking for more information.

When I first developed this image, I decided to call it ‘Early American Screen Door.’ I figured that the wood slats on this shed door had deteriorated to the point that you could see through, and the wind would whistle through.

I showed the finished image to my neighbor — the one whose family farm is featured in GOAL!!, Cooning Boat, and Put Me In, Coach! The neighbor said, “The door is made that way deliberately in order to ventilate the corn crib.”

Call me a city boy, but I never knew that. Now it makes perfect sense.

I seem to always be pleasantly surprised at the ingenuity of previous generations during a time when there weren’t the amenities and conveniences that today we take too much for granted.

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