old – Denise Bush's Photo Blog

Road Trip Relics

On a recent overnight road trip, Brent and I discovered some fascinating relics. I enjoyed exploring to find and shoot them! Each one has its own imagined story, since there is little to no information about why the inhabitants vanished. I hope you enjoy seeing my latest captures below. These relics may not be around much longer!

And speaking of relics, it’s come to my attention that the theme used for this blog is no longer supported and needs updating to a ‘responsive’ theme (template). I will be studying the best way to do this and am hoping there won’t be too many kinks. I am concerned images uploaded before August 2021 may not look acceptable as they were sized very small. I’ve been sharing my images and thoughts about photography since 2009 and this theme has served me well. Blogging is a wonderful way to archive work and including this entry I’ve posted 452 times. Most often posts display several photos following a topic of my choosing, and I’ve posted 3,121 images to date. Thanks very much for following along … and please stay tuned!

UPDATE: I pulled the switch and this is my new theme. I chose something similar and think it worked out well, and without any apparent glitches … yay!

An old brick house glows in the golden hour sun below beautiful clouds. — ‘The Brick House’ © Denise Bush

Barns and sheds part to reveal a mound in the distance. — ‘A Distant Mound’ © Denise Bush

The sky blue color and unusual siding call attention to this little relic. — ‘Diamond Sided’ © Denise Bush

An old Dodge sits on top of a foundation providing a covered storage space. — ‘Storage Solutions’ © Denise Bush

A little house sits abandoned long ago on the plains of the west. — ‘Little House On The Plains’ © Denise Bush

A shelter built from adobe bricks and mud holds onto history with a weathered patina. — ‘Adobe Shelter’ © Denise Bush

A little house, quaint adn new at one time, weathers with age. — ‘Gone’ © Denise Bush

Old weathered buildings are in a perfect setting below Colorado's beautiful mountains. — ‘Relics Below’ © Denise Bush

An old barn stands out with its red weathered siding. — ‘Red Barn & Silo’ © Denise Bush

A windmill and some old tractor wheels make an intriguing rural scene under ominous looking storm clouds. — ‘Windmill & Wheels’ © Denise Bush

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Oldies But Goodies

In this post I am combining images from three of my working, blog folders. It dawned on me that the themes can easily work together … structures, vehicles and outhouses. My original goal was to collect more for each of these subjects and create separate posts. But, since I’m my own boss here, and lean on new work because of the smoky air, I figured … why wait? Here they are, in a trio of threes, some ‘oldies but goodies’!

–– Three Structures ––

A quaint little log cabin nestled among the aspen trees tells the story of a time gone by. — ‘Little Rustic Relic’ © Denise Bush
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An old mininer's boarding house, no longer needed is ready to collapse altogether. — ‘Mountaintop Boarding House’ © Denise Bush
*notecards, unframed, framed, canvas, acrylic & metal prints available*

An abandoned, old-style grocery store takes us back to a time when towns had corner stores to buy groceries and more. — ‘Groceries’ © Denise Bush

–– Three Vehicles ––

An old chevy truck rusts away in an abandoned farm field. — ‘Chevy Resting Place’ © Denise Bush

Close-up of an old door on a truck at one time belonging to Ouray County. — ‘Ouray County Relic’ © Denise Bush

Now resting at the bottom of a gulch, an old truck looks like it tumbled down the mountain. — ‘Wrecked Relic’ © Denise Bush

–– Three Outhouses ––

Weathered wood and a rusty tin roof make this outhouse, built for two a nostalgic find. — ‘Outhouse For Two’ © Denise Bush

A weathered outhouse is a reminder of less luxurious times. — ‘Outhouse & Barrels’ © Denise Bush

An old, weathered outhouse door comes complete with the standard moon cutout. — ‘Weathered Outhouse Door’ © Denise Bush

Wonderful Weathered Woodgrain

On a recent visit to nearby Silverton I decided to explore the train yard and back alleys with my camera. Among the mountain recreation opportunities like hiking, jeeping and camping, Silverton is known for its rich railroad and mining history. The quaint town is a midway point along the Million Dollar Highway between Ouray to the north, and Durango to the south. Many tourists come for a day trip back in time, to ride the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Train through the scenic San Juan Mountains. On this visit I started in the train yard, walking along the tracks to photograph some of the stationary relics laid here to rest. Afterwards I explored the back alleys where shacks leftover from mining days still stand and are now used for storage. For this set I limited my selections to one of my ongoing themes … windows and doors. Combined with the wonderful textures of rusting metal and weathered wood I found some subjects I thought were interesting, and hope you think so too!

An old rail car with a window creates an image full of texture and nostalgia. — ‘Number 04965’ © Denise Bush
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A number of bent over nails assure a sturdy connection. — ‘Bent Nails’ © Denise Bush

A rusty hinge accents weathered wood in this close-up of an abandoned building. — ‘Hinged’ © Denise Bush

The side of an old rail car creates an image rich in texture and nostalgia. — ‘Railroad Relic’ © Denise Bush

A weathered and contrasting in white shutter provides an image rich in geometry, texture and history. — ‘Shuttered Portal’ © Denise Bush

To see more images in my growing ‘Windows & Doors’ collection, CLICK HERE!

More Winter Relics

There’s no hope and no changing me now … I can’t stop … finding new stories in old relics that is! Always loving the country and tales of a simpler time in American History I recall being attracted to like treasures at an early age. When traveling I’m always looking, and scanning the views left and right. Discovering new relics, or having a successful photo shoot with one is my kind of fun! Usually more selective, I was surprised by how many I had for this set. Since my blog also serves as a way to document current work I decided to include all the candidates this time. Some of the images were shot in cloudy conditions and others when it was sunny or during the golden hour. In this larger set we can again see how much the temperature of the light affects the scene. In cloudy weather the mood is cold, serious and sometimes sullen. And it’s quite the opposite when sunny. That isn’t to say I think one is better than another … they just convey different moods. With snow scenes even more of a difference can be noticed in the hue of the snow reflecting the color of the sky, time of day and quality of the light. I hope you’ll have fun looking and using your imagination. I wonder, if these relics could talk about what they have seen, what would they say?

An old log farm building is a reminder of the past as it survives another snowstorm. — ‘Where The Willows Grow’ © Denise Bush

Some aspen trees grow right up alongside and old cabin ... perhaps helping to hold it up! — ‘Close Companions’ © Denise Bush

An old rusty car from the past isn't going anywhere soon, content to sit in the sun and snow. — ‘Rusting In The Snow’ © Denise Bush

Chicken wire and a piece of metal are past attempts on discouraging rodents like marmots, opossums and squirels from entering this abandoned building. — ‘Critters Keep Out!’ © Denise Bush

An old log barn displays a lot of character in warm, late day light! — ‘Log Leaner’ © Denise Bush

Winter conjurs up the images of Courier & Ives in the snowy countryside. — ‘Winter Ranch Nostalgia’ © Denise Bush
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A small house and barn remind of how it was on the ranch in the old days! — ‘Ranch House & Barn’ © Denise Bush

A barn that was featured in the original True Grit movie, starring John Wayne still stands, surrounded by a new fence and snow. — ‘Old Barn With New Fence’ © Denise Bush

An old shed leaning to the right has seen better days. We can only guess what is inside ... violaters will be prosecuted! — ‘Posted Private Property’ © Denise Bush

An old cabin located on a Colorado ranch soaks up some warm winter sun. — ‘Cowboy Cabin’ © Denise Bush

What this shed was used for in the past is unknown. Now it has become a place to pile used tires. — ‘The Tire Shed’ © Denise Bush

Photos look sharpest when viewed within my actual site which features a black top bar and sidebar menu. For the best experience, click on ‘visit’ or ‘visit site’ in the blue reader and emails, or ‘view full site’ below the comments. Thanks!

Winter Relics

While making my rounds close to home, I couldn’t resist stopping to capture some familiar relics, now resting in the snow. In my view there is always a new image to be made when the subject has character and can tell a story. I also enjoyed stopping to photograph a couple of other subjects that have caught my eye, more than once while wandering. Looking at these together I am reminded how much the cloudy-cool or sunny-warm color of the light affects a snowy scene. The lighting influences the mood … cheerful and bright, or calm and peaceful. Adding to the stories, these the relics seem all the more vulnerable in the snow, making me wonder … how many winters they have sat in the harsh elements and yet survived.

A little log cabin completes the picture to make a quaint winter scene. — ‘Log Cabin Between Trees’ © Denise Bush

A weathered shack, surrounded by farm equipment makes a fun subject in the snow. — ‘Shack & Relics In Winter’ © Denise Bush

An old log cabin, weathered by the elements reminds us of a day gone by. — ‘Cabin Remains’ © Denise Bush

An old style barn lights up in the late day sun on a cold winter day. — ‘Barn On Winter Slope’ © Denise Bush
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Old cabin remains hang on by a thread in the winter elements. — ‘Weathered Remains’ © Denise Bush

I started out with more images in this post but even while I liked all of the images, something was bothering me. I ended up deciding to delete a couple of them, and in doing so I realized the group then made a stronger set. For me, sometimes less is more!

Immobile Mobiles

Finding a piece of history along the way is always a thrill for me. A ghost town with tales of hard times and murder was no exception. Fascinated, I went into over-drive … exploring, composing and shooting. Vehicles left behind and posed among the June grass, grabbed a lot of my attention. Here are some, once mobile favorites from two sessions at this location.

Three Ford Falcons line up together … all belonging to the same club! — ‘Falcon Club’ © Denise Bush
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This abandoned car looks like the kind gangsters and bank robbers used back in the day. As a matter of fact, that’s an abandoned bank in the background! — ‘Getaway Car’ © Denise Bush

Looks like this truck has been stripped clean, leaving just a shell of its former self. — ‘Stripped’ © Denise Bush

An old truck is at home in its abandoned surroundings. — ‘Parked Out Front’ © Denise Bush

A small tractor style lawn mower sits among tall grass in this ghost town scene. — ‘Where The Grass Grows’ © Denise Bush

Cabin Collection

It has been a while since I’ve posted the weathered little structures found along the way. I’ve been all wrapped up in shooting and then processing my fall foliage images! This set shows several photos that document the finds and record their existence. They’ve been patiently waiting to be shared. Evoking all kinds of questions I wonder who built them, used them, and what are their stories?

‘Cabin Amid Hay Harvest’ © Denise Bush
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Tiny Shelter Beside Aspens’ © Denise Bush
*Added to my ‘Remnants & Remains’ Gallery*

Crystal Mill … Check!

Crystal Mill has been on my bucket list since moving to Colorado. Apparently it has been on many other photographer’s lists as well. It is one of the most photographed subjects on the Western Slopes. Yes … it has been done but that didn’t discourage me … I wanted to shoot it for myself! Only accessible by jeep or hiking 4 miles, I had to wait for an opportunity. At an elevation of almost 9,000 feet, hiking uphill with an assortment of heavy camera gear and a tripod would be out of the question for me (unless I could hire a sherpa)! As luck would have it my good friend, having access to a jeep invited me and another friend on this long awaited adventure. We were grateful to have overcast skies which allowed us to capture the scene without harsh shadows and highlights. Spending over 2 hours shooting at the location, I tried many different compositions and camera settings, to make sure I had what I wanted. It was a great day, with good company and I’m happy to be able to check it off my bucket list. Presented here are some of my favorite compositions … I hope you like them!

‘Crystal Mill I’ © Denise Bush
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‘Crystal Mill II’ © Denise Bush
*notecards, unframed, framed, canvas, acrylic, & metal prints available*

‘Crystal Mill III’ © Denise Bush
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Historic Close-ups

Museums are great places to take your camera, if they let you … not all museums do. So when an exclusive opportunity arose for a photo club trip to the local, ‘Museum of the Mountain West’ I was in. Because it was in the middle of a bright, sunny day I decided ahead of time that I would concentrate on details inside, starting out with my 100mm macro lens. Having arranged tours to a farmstead museum Back East I was familiar with this kind of shooting. The shear number of artifacts can be overwhelming, the lighting can be difficult and you must isolate yet reserve the urge to move anything! Here are a few detail shots from the fun outing.

‘On A Shoestring’ © Denise Bush
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‘Corona Keys’ © Denise Bush
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New, Old Windows & Doors

Old windows and doors have been a favorite and recurring theme since starting my photographic journey years ago. They are popular subjects among many of my photog friends as well. For me they can hold a mystery about what is on the other side. A reflection, often distorted can have a playful and sometimes magical quality. Traditional symbolic ideas might convey a passage to spirituality or portal to transformation. When I find windows and doors that are weathered, and have that ‘something extra’, I am even more intrigued. Whether the main subject or playing a role in a more complex scene, their stories are easy to imagine.

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