Twelve months, 365 days, one year… lately one year seems to pass so quickly… I feel like I just took down the holiday decorations and we are already halfway through the next year… time is definitely flying for me…
This past June, RRPT went on its second photo tour of The Palouse region of Washington state. This area is simply extraordinary, presenting so many photographic opportunities. Although it may seem easy to navigate, it actually takes planning and mapping to locate the real gems hidden in the vastness of rolling fields of grain.
Two years in a row, Don and I have continued to populate our maps with all of our “finds”. We use this system to ensure our guests get the most bang for their buck when traveling with us. We usually arrive at a tour destination a few days early and spend long days checking out our favorite spots from the year before to make sure that they still exist, as well as travel new areas to continue to develop our population of subjects. For perspective, in 2013 we did 1800 miles, this year we did 1750 miles.
So this was how we approach this past trip… hit the road, search, map, continue. It is amazing to see the constantly changing landscape. We found abandoned cars no longer existed (likely sold as scrap); regal trees toppled by weather; farm houses that last year were bustling with activity now lay abandoned; barns and other structures that stood proud now felled by time.
Here is simply one example of the toll of time… This was such a find in 2013! A great foreground of wildflowers, a barn sitting right at the top of a ridge, and a vast sky.
2013
Definitely on the hit list this year… we drove up a very tight dirt road and found… planted fields, no wildflowers, not a one, and that time had ravaged the building, leaving only the roof intact.
2014
These experiences really highlight the beautiful of returning to locations time and again. With each successive trip you get to witness change; change made by nature and by man.
Next year (2015), we plan to head back to The Palouse. This time we plan on experiencing the harvest! Fields of grain ready to harvest, so beautifully described in America the Beautiful, “O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties. Above the fruited plain! ” On this trip, we will experience the farmers harvesting and bailing the grain. The winds will carry the dust of longs days of hard work creating rich sunsets.
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Below are some additional images from our tour. Enjoy!!
JB
8 Jul 2014Wow, we all got to shoot it as you probably saw in my blog post…. I did say to our group, I’ll be this will not be here next year…. Prophetic huh? Too bad, such a great old barn, but you’re right, they are all going and quickly.