Project 52 by Chuck Schneebeck

[Teton Chuck]

Thank you Terri, I had a great time. It was really special to step out of my comfort zone and just experiment.

[Teton Chuck]

This old cabin was built in the 1800's. It is on the Zapada Ranch near the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado, USA. The area is arid, wind is common and sand is on the move. You can see that the logs and door have been sandblasted and that the chinking between the logs is completely gone. It is difficult to know how long the skull has been hanging on the wall. This is truly a scene out of the "old west" in the U.S.

[Geoff F]

The door hinge also looks a bit out of alignment and difficult to open.

Did you also take a shot which shows the entire cabin?

[Teton Chuck]

Geoff, I didn't take a picture of that particular building, it is an out building, but I did take some of other parts of the ranch. I posted one of them in week 26 but thought I would post some others here just for fun. Hopefully you will get some idea of what this ranch was at sometime in the past. The first photo is the ranch house. The wood in these photos was cut in the mountains in the distance and brought to this location by horses and wagons. The only other option for building at that time was adobe, a mixture of mud and straw. That mixture was used as chinking between the logs.



This photo shows how the logs were placed together to make a building. This is a corner shot.'



The rest of the photos are of some of the fences and associated structures.

[terrib]

I really like the first and last shots in the fence series. The last one especially is a cool perspective.

[Teton Chuck]

Thanks Terri. It is interesting to see how the blowing sand is wearing out the wood. Makes for some really nice textures.

I bet you have places like this in your part of Texas. - Cheers, chuck

[Teton Chuck]

During a visit to Missoula, MT this past week our son and grandson raked leaves in the yard. Then the four year old decided to jump into the pile. These are not the best quality photos I have taken. In fact I really don't know how to photograph people, but I just want to share the fun of childhood.

[Geoff F]

Correct shutter speed is the important element with this sort of action shot.

You were possibly a little on the slow side; but with a fairly open aperture and high Iso you obviously had to make compromises.

These certainly captured the scene and atmosphere.

My only possible suggestion would be to crop the second one closer. Part of one foot is out of the frame to start with; so cropping closer would lose the out of focus foot in the foreground.

[Teton Chuck]

Geoff, thank you for the critique. I hope to expand into more action shots in the near future. Also will work on the crop when I get a bit more time.

[Donald]

Chuck - I think Geoff covered the key points regarding those pictures of your grandson.

I'd jump back to the images of the old ranch buildings. I think what you've done so well with these is bring out the texture in the wood, without going over-the-top on it.

[Teton Chuck]

Donald, thank you for the comments. Old wooden fences and buildings in the American west are weathered by blowing sand and also by blowing ice. The wood gets very dry in our arid climate and the weathering over time produces some beautiful patterns. It would be very hard for a human to get the same result even with all of our tools. I'm glad you enjoy seeing the photos.

[Teton Chuck]

We are expecting some big storms here that are supposed to last for a few days, so this morning I decided to look for open water and some interesting light. When I arrived at the place I wanted to photograph there was a sign that was dated yesterday that said: WARNING - GRIZZLY BEAR FREQUENTING THE AREA. I could see where the bear had walked the day before - I placed my tripod right over the tracks. The rest of the shoot I was looking for light and grizzly bears. Hope I didn't miss too much light.

Anyway this is what I got. C&C appreciated.

[jeeperman]

Well, a very nice image as a result Chuck. Once while living in Alaska, I was bowhunting Moose. As I came around the corner of the game trail I ran smack into a large pile of Grizzly poop. Would not have bothered me had it not been steaming.

[Donald]

The rest of the shoot I was looking for light and grizzly bears. Hope I didn't miss too much light.

Glad you didn't see the grizzly (well, not too close). Another very well, (I think) composed image. The banks at the edges of the water take us beautifully back into the frame to the peak of the mountain.

[Teton Chuck]

Well, a very nice image as a result Chuck. Once while living in Alaska, I was bowhunting Moose. As I came around the corner of the game trail I ran smack into a large pile of Grizzly poop. Would not have bothered me had it not been steaming.

Thanks Paul, I too have experienced the steaming pile. I was in a big willow thicket. Needless to say, I had bear spray in my hand with the safety off for the remainder of the willow bashing. Makes one appreciate the wilds.

[Teton Chuck]

Donald, thank you for the feedback. I wish I had noticed the reflection of the three cottonwoods in the lower left part of the picture when I was in the field . I would have tried to create an image out of those. Guess I have to keep training my eye.

[Nicola]

superb image Chuck!
this is the kind of picture I would like to have printed on my wall!

and, yes, definetly we live in two different climate! even if my surf picture comes from september, up to now in my city the temperature hasn't still drop under 10°C- only on january&february usually goes around 0°C (as minimum temp)-
but I think the very difference from my country and your, is that there isn't grizzly around here! the most dangerous animal nearby is ... a fox!
my hat is off for your courage.. if ever I will read that kind of warning, I 'll run so fast that in a few minutes I will be on sunny and crowded beach!

[Teton Chuck]

Cloudy grey days are common in Jackson Hole in the winter. This morning the moose were enjoying aquatic vegetation in one of the warm springs that have not frozen over yet. Just a very nice morning to share time with these critters.

[Donald]

Just a very nice morning to share time with these critters.

And that's the mood and atmosphere that I feel really oozes from every pixel. Just a glorious image. There is so much to just look at and explore.

[jprzybyla]

Donald said it better than I could, I concur. Beautiful...