(I)Landscape Photography: Osseo barn, silo, Jane and farm dog
November 5, 2009 by Alec
Filed under Landscapes
Last weekend I went to Madison, WI for a halloween/Badgers Football/euchre/croquet weekend with some friends. On may down I decided to take an hour to just PLAY around in the Osseo, WI area. Despite its international fame for the Norski Nook pies, Osseo is really just a sleepy farming community. It was cold, cloudy and blustery and I felt this could produce some nice conditions for photography. I exited the interstate and started driving around.
My first lap around the community yielded a few photographic opportunities, but I had yet to get out of the car. Then I swung back in towards town and saw a worn one-lane road cut back crossways up a hill and quickly out of sight; the kind of road that grabs you around the wrists and snaps you into its gaze. A 1/4 mile down that road I saw some old silos peaking over a hillside of corn and thought, “This is a good place to start. Stretch my legs, get the shutter moving a little bit.” Almost immediately a dog runs down the road and cozies up to me with a huge smile and familiar body language that said, “excuse me, dear stranger, but would you drop what you’re doing and please pet me?” How could I say no? While giving the old timer a good scratch his owner, Jane Brown, came down the road to say hello.
Jane grew up on farms around the area and was full of advice on good photography spots. I spread my map out on the hood of the car and Jane gave me route right down to Fuller Coulee. 53south, left on EE, right on something, then figure your own way on to Fuller Coulee. I don’t even know what a coulee is, but was it stunning. On my way down into the coulee I came across this barn which caught my attention enough to stop and photograph. This is when I appreciate photography the most; no other agenda than to just drive around and be present, without a care for what gets photographed. Meet the Jane Brown’s and their dogs and snap the shutter a few times. play.
Technical: Canon 1Ds MarkII, 70-200mm lens at 100mm, ISO 100, f/16, Singh Ray Vari-ND filter, Singh Ray 4 stop split ND, 25 second exposure
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Beautiful image, with that unmistakable Alec Johnson style.
I don’t take enough time to slow down and smell the roses. I’m going to have to subscribe to your “camera therapy” treatment, and just take off some day.
Hi Kevin,
I highly recommend it. I’ve been reading up a lot on the concept of the “Beginners Mind.” It takes PRACTICE and I need lots of it.
Thanks for stopping by,
alec
LOVE this story and the photograph Alec. You’re so talented and you have such a gift in your ability to connect with strangers.
Hi Megan,
Good to hear from you and thanks for the kind words. We actually need to connect soon. I have some questions for you. Hope all is well.
Cheers,
alec
That’s stunner Alec. Like Kevin said, it really reflects your unique style and vision.
I really feel like I experienced this along with you
AO, it was our phone conversation that dropped (thank you ATT) that sent me exiting at Osseo. You were definitely part of the process!
Did you dance today?
I really, really like this photo Alec. While studying it earlier I felt a familiar tug. It took me a bit but I just put my finger on it. Andrew Wyeth. If he was a photographer and not a painter, he would have taken pictures like this.
Hi Justin,
Thanks for stopping by and introducing us to Andrew Wyeth. I went and checked out his work. I am definitely drawn to his work. So simplistic, elemental. Thanks for the tie in…has me considering how much we as photographers can learn from painters.
Cheers,
alec
Your photograph is beautiful! Stunning!
Hi Frances,
THANK YOU for the kind words and for being here. I appreciate both equally!
I have been visiting weekly with Mark Johnson’s site and heard your recent post there and decided to visit your site. Wonderful! Practice? I’ve been at it for over thirty years and I still don’t produce wonderful images that could be classified as art. I get the exposures correct and am learning to do more with photoshop but man, it is difficult for some of us. Oh, it’s fun to try to be an artist but, as you know, you have to have some talent. Love your site!
Ron
Hi Ron,
Thank you for the post and for supporting Mark Johnson. He’s a good friend, great photog and obviously knows his photoshop! There is nothing easy about producing consistently good work. I was watching an interview conducted recently with the band, Rush. If you’re not familiar with them, thing 1970’s megasuccess band. The three members oozzzzeee with talent, yet they spent the better part of an hour interview discussing HOW MUCH WORK, PRACTICE they put into becoming what they became. More importantly, they were very clear that they never rested on building their skills. Lesson in that for all of us!
Thanks for stopping by. Hope you visit again!
Cheers,
Alec
Hi Alex, I can’t hear any of the audio on your video tutorials but It is probably on my work computer’s end.
Your Osseo shot, What a blast from the past. I Opened a restaurant on the corner of the interstate and the exit on the west side back around 1973. I also married a girl from Osseo way back in 73. I wonder if I know the Jane you met. I have a dear friend who has a sister living on a farm in Osseo, and her name is Jane. Maybe……….
Great photo, love to see your work, and thanks so much for the trip down memory lane.
Tim Clifton
Tim, I had no idea of your roots. I wonder too if its the same Jane. Wouldn’t that be amazing?
If you think of it, send me all the parameters of the your system. OS, browser and version, Flash version, etc. I do think its something on your end, but its good to log issues. Alex, at Mark’s site, also wants the info.
Hope all is well, Tim.
Cheers,
Alec