The original portion of the structure of the Henry Peek home in the Ebbs Chapel Township of Madison County, North Carolina was built sometime around the turn of the Twentieth Century up on the side of a hill across the then dirt road that traced the run of Big Laurel Creek on its way to becoming Laurel River. When the last of the Peek family who lived in the home moved out fifteen or twenty years ago, it is almost as if they walked out, leaving the old home just as it was when occupied, ceding structure and contents to the eventually encompassing arms of the natural world. Just below the house, along the edge of the now-paved road, the once-lovely old stock barn-converted-to- accommodate-Burley-tobacco anticipates a similar fate. The Henry Peek barn is the final barn we documented for our upcoming book on the Appalachian barn tradition of Madison County.
A focal length of 78mm, very short telephotoland, gave me the angle-of-view I wanted, which revealed the entire width of all of the panes of glass in the window, but cropped off the tops and bottoms of those same panes, thus showing most, but not all, of the window casing. An aperture of f/20 provided depth-of-field from the near window to the far window, and a shutter speed of 1.3 seconds at ISO 100 gave me a slightly darker-than-medium exposure. Rather than opting for full polarization to eliminate all glare from the near glass, I allowed for a very small amount of glare so that the texture of the old glass could be slightly seen. This was done to enhance the “old house” look.
When I am in the presence of these wonderful old structures, I hear the voices of ghosts who remind me of the lives lived in times beyond my reckoning and the obligations I owe them for the paths they revealed that I now walk.
Absolutely love the creativity in this composition. You enter the scene through a window and exit through another window. Since this is a very old home, the blurriness caused by the things on the window places you in the period.You also captured just enough of the first window frame so we know what it is, but not too much where we get caught up in it’s detail. Thank you for the trip back in time.
Wow! Of course, I’ll want to order a couple of copies of your book when it’s ready. This image is so instructive. Thanks for your detailed explanation of compositional choices. By cropping the front window frame, you eliminated a problem I’d have wrestled with — the parallax of the top and bottom edges. It doesn’t bother me in the rear window. But in the front window, it would have been so prominent as to keep my eye wandering around the frame and exterior wall, instead of moving into the house.
What a beautiful peek in to the past. Your composition tells a story about the people that lived there with just a hint of the structure of the home. The curtains say a lot about the tenants/owners making it appear to be a happy place. It seems they left everything in tact to show their gratitude and share it with the future. Your capturing and sharing this image will help preserve it. Thanks for sharing.
Just a note to thank you and bonnie for all the great photos you have shared with us this past year. You truly are a great photographer and teacher of the art.
Good morning Everyone. Thank you all very much for joining me for this conversation. When we next put our thoughts and observations together, it will be the beginning not only of a new year, but an entire new decade as well; and the Image coming out on Sunday will mark the completion of the eighth year of Image for the Asking. It has, indeed, been one of the delightful experiences of my life and my career to have the opportunity to share, with any- and everyone who might be interested, an image each week and the collective comments that might flow from that sharing. Each of you, regardless of the length of time you have been part of our enterprise, has been a wonderful participant in our community; and I am grateful to have all of you in my creative and photographic life.
Hey Kev, it’s always good to have you join our conversation. I have truly appreciated our continuing collaboration and the chance it has given me to get to know you. I’m looking forward to the continuation of that experience during the coming decade. I love your description of the visual flow of this image, stopping at places to notice the elements that are participating in the story. This barn/house have never been part of a workshop, so I’ll have to share it with you the next time you are here.
Howdy Donald. I trust you are settling in comfortably to another winter in the desert; and I hope it will prove to be pleasant and creative one for you. Thanks for pointing out the treatment of “parallax” in the front window. My thought was, too, that the rear window was at such a distance that parallax would essentially go unnoticed. Most of my surgery recovery time will be devoted to assembling the book, so we certainly hope it’s ready to fly the next Holiday Season that rolls around. Enjoy your time in the Southwest and let us know how you are doing. Walk in Beauty.
Hey Nancy T. It was really good to talk with you last week. I am so glad you are having the chance for an extended visit with family. I love your description, not necessarily of the image, but of the home itself. Having grown up with country folks as relatives I can easily appreciate you description. These were folks who cared about their material life – simple though it might be – and wanted others to enjoy the visual creations they had crafted. As a read your words, I began to think of this image as an intimate landscape for an entire structure, and it brought a smile. Be well and Happy New Year.
Hey Chuck. Thank you very much for adding your kind thoughts to the milieu. They are appreciated. It has been a pleasure having you join us since we shared a Road Scholar adventure; and I hope we get to share more time as we wander down the road. Have a beautiful and creative winter.
So, again, thanks to all of you for being a part of our journey. We look forward to a spring with a new ankle and a new step that will carry me into 2020 and beyond.