Any Roosters Home ??

[TARNATION !!!]

I find long abandoned farm yards throughout rooster country. I can't resist spending time with the camera, right after a pass by with the Parker. Over the years, the cover behind the white two storey home below has given me many roosters. It is not a lot of cover and cultivated land all around, so it is ideal. I don't know how many hunters I have seen ignore that spot and carry on to the creek about 1/4 mile south. This shot is taken from the north side of the house.



And so is this shot



And this. I took this shot for the purposes of a discussion about guns and ammo on another site long before finding PGCA. The point was that any gun and any ammo can do the job provided the bird is in the pattern. I was Parkerless at that time due to a barrel failure on the family VH. During the search to remedy that, I found PGCA. Still haven't got a barrel set for the family gun but "Parkeritis" has taken its toll on the "entertainment" budget.




Cheers,
Jack

[C.O.B.]

Just like our beloved Parkers the stories those old buildings could tell. Hopes, dreams, and expectations swept away by the endless prarie winds.

Jack I just love your pictures, you have a good eye for them. Perhaps Santa will bring me a digital camera and a tutor to teach this Old Dog how to use it After all I have been very,very good this year

What type of camera are you using? Is it a small one that can fit in a pocket? I know nothing about these and neither does Santa?

[Autumn Daze]

Jack, I really enjoy those pictures of the old plains homesteads. I can almost envision the familys trying to scratch out an existance in such places. Do you happen to know the time period that some of these buildings?

[TARNATION !!!]

Richard: For starting out, I would go with one of the point and shoot pocket cameras. They are pretty good these days and do all the necessary stuff automatically. Once you start enjoying the digital camera world (for me it was realizing I had 8000 pictures from a small camera), you might get bitten by the "shutterbug". The next level would be a DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera. No longer point and shoot, you have to take control and learn some photography basics. The introductory level cameras run in the several hundred $. After that, there is the "pro-sumer" level, around $2K and after that you need to be making your living from the camera or have more $$ than you know what to do with. I think of the equipment cost in these terms.
Good pocket point and shoot = a parts Parker
Intro DSLR = a reliable shooter
Pro-sumer = a reliable shooter with some decent engraving and maybe some nicely preserved damascus barrels
Professional = high end collectibles

I still use a pocket camera for ease while hiking.
I keep a pro-sumer Canon in the car for more relaxed shooting, taking some time to think about the shots

Here are a few point and shoot images, which, on a computer screen, compare to much more expensive equipment. Where it can fall down is printed enlargements but you would have to go to poster size to really tell the difference. The other issue tends to be focus, as they average out a scene which may then not focus on what you really want. But they keep getting better and many now have facial recognition software included, so people will be more in focus than background. Anyway, once you get going with these cameras, you may never stop

Camera used below: Panasonic Lumix which was around 150$ a couple years ago. It was Santa who brought me the first little digital camera in 2003, so he knows where to find them.

[TARNATION !!!]

Dave: Most of the places I come across are depression era "Dirty 30's" farm yards. They are long since abandoned and great locales for upland birds.
Cheers,
Jack

[Side X Side]

This photo reminds me of a old barn in N. D. that was filled with cow feed that the deer lived on! The most tender deer I ever ate!

[Twice Shooter]

When looking around these old houses, no matter where they are, be very cautious for old wells. Some were hand dug and not filled in when the occupants left. Some were covered by boards and the wood has rotted and grown over by weeds and grass. They could cause a very fast disappearing act. Cheers, Tom

[TARNATION !!!]

Richard: This particular barn is about 15 miles from the 49th parallel. Closest ND town is Ambrose. I guess they would have been same era construction.

Tom: You are quite right and no one needs to unceremoniously find the bottom of an old well. I have encountered a couple where a local farmer had recovered with new wood. During one summer, I came across an ice well that obviously still worked. The wooden cover had rotted out, some slats still in place but the rest dropped in. Snow was able to fill the hole and in the heat of a prairie summer, I could see a lot of ice down there. I imagine more than one deer had been stored in that walk in (well climb down) freezer during the Great Depression.

Cheers,
Jack

[Autumn Daze]

Jack, Have you ever bothered to investigate the innards of some of these old homesteads? Or would that be too hazardous?

[TARNATION !!!]

I have not set foot inside any. Many are ready to cave in on themselves. I have peered through windows or doors. Most are vacant. Occasionally there is still a rusted out wood stove. Whatever wasn't taken when abandoned has been "liberated" (stolen) years ago. But they do make great pictures.
Cheers,
Jack