Leaving the Nest
~~~~~
Did you ever have your parents wish really hard that you would follow in their footsteps? This is part of an abandoned cattle farm, something the kids did not want to continue. This was photographed near a full winter moon, one of my favorite times for night photography. I love it nice and cool with a longer night for photography. I lit the small cottage with a handheld ProtoMachines LED2 light painting device during the exposure. This trip, I met up with Tony Donofrio for a two-night trip filled with a lot of fun and good food. Thanks!!

(Plate 6202) Pentax K-1/128-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. 2 minutes f/9 ISO 200. November 2021.

[MikeNArk]

Wishing and hoping didn't get it done. From the looks of this area, cattle farming would be a difficult task. Great image of this dilapidated shack. Like the interior lighting cast out of the shed. The moon provided ample light to provide a detailed look of the exterior and surrounds. The Mojave Desert provides an excellent location for this type of photography.

[pichaser]

This is not as remote as many of your images yet it evokes a melancholy desolation . It is hard to imagine a carefree life here.

[ToddK]

Another terrific image! It would have to be a difficult occupation ranching in the desert, and probably not easy to talk the kids into continuing.

[RICHARD L.]

Raising beef cattle and producing meat is less and less profitable. Everyone wants to make a buck fast (grocery stores, rendering enterprises, transportation) so there is nothing left for the producer, even if meat prices have never been higher. Beef producers have to work like slaves and can barely survive financially (Governments subsidize them a little, thankfully).

Finding this kind of "ruins" in the American Southwest isn't really very difficult. Ghost towns and relics of the past can be found in multiple locations. I was driving from Colorado to New Mexico on Interstate-25 (from the Stateline down to Santa Fe) and the quantity of abandonned homesteads is flabbergasting. Lots of material for you, Ken, if you have the time to explore this part of the U.S. Southern California has its share of ruins too (Rice on Route 62 near Vidal Junction, along the Cima Road inside the Mojave Preserve between I-15 and I-40, Nipton near the Nevada Stateline, Bombay Bay on the shore of Salton Sea, Amboy and all along Route 66, etc).

Best Regards

P.S. Very nice image and lighting technique !

[angkymac]

Some of the desolation of the US Southwest is attributable to the efforts of settlers to live off the land with a profitable enterprise. The land simply did not have the resources to be grazed as hard as was necessary to make a profitable enterprise of it. Overgrazed and then abandoned.
Angky.

[Ken Lee]

Wishing and hoping didn't get it done. From the looks of this area, cattle farming would be a difficult task. Great image of this dilapidated shack. Like the interior lighting cast out of the shed. The moon provided ample light to provide a detailed look of the exterior and surrounds. The Mojave Desert provides an excellent location for this type of photography.

I don't know how cattle farming would be in this area, but it certainly is the high desert. Not sure. Thanks. I love doing night photography near a full moon.

---------- Post added 04-04-22 at 10:08 PM ----------

This is not as remote as many of your images yet it evokes a melancholy desolation . It is hard to imagine a carefree life here.

It certainly is for me, although it is near the foothills of some beautiful mountains. But seeing this shack definitely evoked melancholy.

Oh, and you're right. This isn't super remote compared to some of the stuff I do. It's in fact quite accessible. Some of the things I photograph requires a ten or fifteen mile dirt road and then additional hiking, sometimes a mile or more. No paths, no roads for the past part. That's pretty remote, I would say. But this one? No, I could have gotten food at a restaurant about three miles away!!

---------- Post added 04-04-22 at 10:09 PM ----------

Another terrific image! It would have to be a difficult occupation ranching in the desert, and probably not easy to talk the kids into continuing.

They certainly didn't seem to be too into it. If I recall correctly, they didn't stay in town either (really really small town, and kids sometimes want to move on to other things). Thanks!

---------- Post added 04-04-22 at 10:15 PM ----------

Raising beef cattle and producing meat is less and less profitable. Everyone wants to make a buck fast (grocery stores, rendering enterprises, transportation) so there is nothing left for the producer, even if meat prices have never been higher. Beef producers have to work like slaves and can barely survive financially (Governments subsidize them a little, thankfully).

Finding this kind of "ruins" in the American Southwest isn't really very difficult. Ghost towns and relics of the past can be found in multiple locations. I was driving from Colorado to New Mexico on Interstate-25 (from the Stateline down to Santa Fe) and the quantity of abandonned homesteads is flabbergasting. Lots of material for you, Ken, if you have the time to explore this part of the U.S. Southern California has its share of ruins too (Rice on Route 62 near Vidal Junction, along the Cima Road inside the Mojave Preserve between I-15 and I-40, Nipton near the Nevada Stateline, Bombay Bay on the shore of Salton Sea, Amboy and all along Route 66, etc).

Best Regards

P.S. Very nice image and lighting technique !

Thanks!

I'm sure you are right about beef. That said, I think the kids didn't want to do this many decades ago, and from what I understand, some (or all?) of the structures are somewhere around 100 years old.

I have never been on I-25 (Colorado-NM). I never seem to make it that far east, especially now. I had plans to do so before, and it just never happened.

I have been along Rice and close by Vidal Junction, but not photographed it at night. I have, however, been to Salton Sea and Amboy and along Route 66 and gotten into Mojave National Preserve a bit.


Mojave Desert way way north of Route 66. This is probably about fifteen miles from the closest paved road.


This is Arizona - Route 66. Like I say, I don't seem to make it as far east as New Mexico. Yet. Someday.

Apologies for the late replies. I am slowed by recovery from surgery for a detached retina, internet woes, and life in general.

[RICHARD L.]

I am slowed by recovery from surgery for a detached retina, internet woes, and life in general.

We all had our share of misery during these pandemic years (I had a biliairy duct blockage and nearly died 4 months ago, we have to stay inside because of the coronavirus, Russians are massacring Ukrainians and threatening the World with nuclear Armageddon, in short "LIFE IN GENERAL", like you just said so well.

Receive my Best Regards and take care of yourself, my friend

[Ken Lee]

We all had our share of misery during these pandemic years (I had a biliairy duct blockage and nearly died 4 months ago, we have to stay inside because of the coronavirus, Russians are massacring Ukrainians and threatening the World with nuclear Armageddon, in short "LIFE IN GENERAL", like you just said so well.

Receive my Best Regards and take care of yourself, my friend

Oh crap, glad you're alright. I hope you're alright. You are alright, right?

Agreed with the rest!

[RICHARD L.]

My Doctor told me I survived only "because I'm built like a bull" (his exact words). Nine out of ten people would have died with the ailment I had (blocked biliairy duct and generalized infection called septicemia). I'm 5'10" and weighed 300 pounds, all muscle as I lifted weights all my life. I was in the Hospital on and off for 5 weeks between August and November 2021 and I lost 50 pounds. I'm much better now, almost getting there. Don't worry, I'll be O.K.

Regards

[Ken Lee]

My Doctor told me I survived only "because I'm built like a bull" (his exact words). Nine out of ten people would have died with the ailment I had (blocked biliairy duct and generalized infection called septicemia). I'm 5'10" and weighed 300 pounds, all muscle as I lifted weights all my life. I was in the Hospital on and off for 5 weeks between August and November 2021 and I lost 50 pounds. I'm much better now, almost getting there. Don't worry, I'll be O.K.

Regards

That's good to hear! Well, apparently it pays to be built like a bull.

I am not. I am tall and skinny. I'm healthy, but no one is going to mistake me for a bull.

[RICHARD L.]

no one is going to mistake me for a bull.

Ha Ha ! Good one ! Some people find me "intimidating", yet if they needed help I would be the first to rush to rescue them. We do not choose our appearance, it seems.

Best Regards

[Ken Lee]

Ha Ha ! Good one ! Some people find me "intimidating", yet if they needed help I would be the first to rush to rescue them. We do not choose our appearance, it seems.

Best Regards

I was born a bit thin already. And then going to kindergarten and catching measles, mumps, and chicken pox in a single year didn't do me any favors.

We do not choose our appearance, or certainly much of our physical being anyway.

I am definitely not intimidating, but I am tall, so sometimes people might find that intimidating.

[John in OZ]

Thanks for sharing your experience in composing this image. This post has been an interesting read as well.

[Ken Lee]

Thanks for sharing your experience in composing this image. This post has been an interesting read as well.

I'm so glad! Thanks.

I'll try and post some more soon. Been busy with a lot of stuff, including recovering from eye surgery. Also - and I realize this is blasphemy - but I photograph with a Nikon as well as a Pentax. I'm a more recent convert to Pentax. I am a long-time Nikon user. But the K-1 was so good, I couldn't say no! That's how great of a camera it is. It's my main camera, while my old but trusty D750 is my secondary camera.

But anyway, I can't share a lot of my photos here because they're created with a Nikon.

Oh, by the way, just for fun? I have two intervalometers, one for each camera. Naturally, I've labeled them "Kentax" and "Niken". I'll be here all week, folks.