The Duncan House Photo

Photographer’s Note

We left Cortez after our day at Mesa Verde and set out for Silverton to meet John and Joanne Munro with whom we had planned to spend the next day and a half, before re-joining them at their home for the last days of our trip. I dedicate this first post of our time together to them both. Thank you John & Joanne for your help, advice and generosity, your company, and for your hospitality.

We left Silverton along the unmade road, part of the Alpine Loop, to the Ghost Town of Animas Forks, built for the workers at the Silver Mine, in the 1870s. It is high in the San Juan Mountains at an altitude of 11,300ft. The winters at that altitude are harsh and the area is prone to avalanches, so as silver mining declined, by 1920 the town was abandoned.

Only a few of the original buildings remain, as most of them were demolished by avalanche or vandalised. This is the Duncan House, the most impressive of the ruins. It was built in 1879 by William Duncan, who was a silver miner and mail carrier. The smaller house behind has two rooms and a two-seater out-house. (outside toilet) This was the first time the sun came out this day as it was previously wet and cold

WS1 - a wider view
WS2 - from inside the house

ISO200, FL38mm

Edit I did a WS to brighten the house.

ChrisJ, isabela_sor, cbrman, Sistercosmo, Photo65Net, carper, Floydian, jwmunro, fulvio52, gunbud, syrus_persia, Dyerco, saylan-cb, chrisnet, stego, coco, kiks, Royaldevon, riclopes, JCG, Emile, subhendu_bagchi has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ChrisJ (70443) 2009-01-25 4:22

Hi Kath

A marvellous blue sky, with good sharpness & a superb upward pov on the rustic log cabins. Tfs!

isabela_sor (42471) 2009-01-25 4:26 [Comment]

Show Comment

cbrman (19051) 2009-01-25 4:29

Hello Kath,

Quelle étonnante maison en ruine dans ce lieu magnifique. On devine que l'histoire devait être assez mouvementée dans cette région. Des maisons en ruines qui me font penser aux vieux westerns !
Un spéctacle étonnant.
Bravo !

A+

Dominique

Aviller (3108) 2009-01-25 4:46

The colors really look amazing and vivid. The composition is very nice. Putting the house in the lower right corner was a good decision since it is in my opinion the best spot within the picture for it. Fantastic deep DOF as well.

Sistercosmo (2691) 2009-01-25 8:00

Hi Kath,
excellent pov you've chosen, giving us a great view of the old houses with a nice f/g and set against the forest. Terrific capture and an interesting note, too. There is really such a thing as a two-seater outhouse?? Geez, that's not my idea of a romantic meeting place, but who am I to judge!
Have a nice week, my friend and see you around!
Linda

Photo65Net (43096) 2009-01-25 9:12

Hello Kath,
Wonderful landscape, and your choice for vertical format is just perfect here.
I like too your use of the house into the frame.
Have a nice day,
JB.

carper (65696) 2009-01-25 9:43

very nice Kath
the dark house is not easy to get good on the photo, with his dark colors against the dark green of the woods, but even that you too a fine shot here, well taken composition, good photo job, have a good evening.
regard jaap

gilou530 (35700) 2009-01-25 9:47

salut kath
it will not be necessary that the wind blows too strong bus I think that these old houses would not resist a long time, of the medium of this forest they have a good charm, beautiful saturation of the colors, can be a hair of clearness moreover
friendships
gilou

Floydian (30970) 2009-01-25 11:30

Hello Kath,

Very difficult light, very hard which result in an extreme hard contrast which some can please but others not. I find the subject very interesting, those old ghost towns are very photogenic (i like the second ws version taken through the window) and give you lots of playing room to find interesting things.
And although the light was not your best friend that day i like the subject...

Regards,

Henk

[2]

jwmunro (6255) 2009-01-25 14:11

Hello Kath -

Yes, Henk is right about the harsh light, but you have to work with what you got. The old weathered wood on the house is a bit dark and I am sure you worked it to get the best possible detail out of it. Here we had to expose for the highlights and you accomplished that very well. I do like the WS images a touch better but again well done for the conditions.

I am shocked at the lack of attention whether it be good or bad. Thank you for the dedication.

Thank you for sharing.

John

fulvio52 (8314) 2009-01-25 14:35

Hi, Kath.
At 11,300 ft. elevation, with this light, one's always taking chances, there's no other way, but I honestly think you've done an excellent job. WAY better than my Silverton over-polarized shots dating August 15. Now, three different pictures of an AMAZING location in my absolute favorite region on the Rockies... hard to tell what I like better... I like them all and they all deserve to be main post. Speaking of this one : on top of its colors and wonderful upward angle, what really strikes me is the atmosphere, which you've perfectly captured and portrayed. I love ghost towns, specially Colorado's... It'd be interesting to see what happens with an Ouija Board in one of these cabins... or maybe better not. Great post, TFS! Have a nice evening, see ya later,
Fulvio.

ps. I plan to tour this area once again in Aug. 2010.

robiuk (10763) 2009-01-25 16:19

Excellent job on this photo, Kath! I like to see all the
details of the side of the house that's in shadow. Amazing
ruin(s) in a great setting and I can only imagine what
winters are like there (not as mild as ours over here)!
Cheers,
Robi

gunbud (28163) 2009-01-25 17:23

Hi Kath,
Beautiful historic shot of this old mining town perched agains these high mountains that contrast well with the vivid blue sky.
I like the vertical format very well because it shows well the steep mountains backdrop of this remote spot at such high altitude.
Excellent note to go along with the fine image.
Regards, Tom

gneufeld (15235) 2009-01-25 18:47

Hi Kath,
This might not be your typical image, yet one definitely worth sharing as part of your north american tour. Good perspective, good light, and well detailed in clarity and sharpness. TFS. Gerald

syrus_persia (2222) 2009-01-25 22:44

Salam Kath
Beautiful landscape nicely composed and presented as usual, Excellent POV .great naturel colors and great colors and sharpness,
Excellent done.
cyrus

Graal (58732) 2009-01-25 23:19

Hi Kath,
very nice 3 images. Amazing wild nature and old houses. I like it a lot. Great travel You had.
Gr., Aleksander

danyy (69465) 2009-01-26 0:12

Bonjour Kath,
les couleurs sont les vedettes de cette photo au format vertical bien choisi. Elle ne manque ni de profondeur, ni de hauteur.
Un bien joli paysage.
Regards.
Daniel.

ktanska (16695) 2009-01-26 1:26

Hi Kath,
Fascinating place high on the mountains, I'm glad that the sky cleared finally. Those dark buildings dearly disappear on the forest background even on sunshine. But that's no wonder after so many decades on tough climate. I like those colourful shrubs, you have a talent finding such, don't you.
Kari

Bluejeans (33081) 2009-01-26 6:07

Ola Kath,
que linda esta tua foto vertical , ficou magnifico este primeiro com esta casa de madeira em ruinas esta vegetação colorida, bom contraste de cores, parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

Dyerco (9304) 2009-01-26 7:02

Hi Kath
The vertical format really suits this image. The sky and BG are nicely exposed but I do find the house a bit under exposed. Unfortunately the light can be more contrasty than normal at these heights which makes for difficulty in getting everything exposed properly.
Phil

saylan-cb (12726) 2009-01-26 7:50

Hi Kath,
Very nice view with strong colours and great capture.Excellent POV,well done.
TFS/Regards

chrisnet (20376) 2009-01-26 12:01

Hello Kath,
Another great landscape with a amazing light and vivid colors, nice shot, thanks Kath.
Regards
Christian

stego (22478) 2009-01-26 17:03

Hi Kath,

As usual, very wise choice of POV's and spotless compos. The may not have ore any more, but it is still a mine, now for photographers instead of miners.

You were unlucky with the light, but I am glad that didn't stop from posting because you did an excellent job in PP. After all, not every one has the chance to have enough time to wait and plan ahead to get better light.

If you were one of those that finds that the light has to be very near perfection you could have put the WS2 as main post.

You may already know of my difficulty in judgements like "this one is better than that other", however, I find the WS1 more appealing than the main post, but I wonder why you haven't turned slightly to the left - was it for putting the house on the right in accordance with the rules of thirds?

Regards, José.

coco (28130) 2009-01-27 0:49

Hi Kath.

The three pictures are really great, but I think I prefer the view from inside the house.
Beautiful place, good note and very good compositions.

Regards.

kiks (6149) 2009-01-27 5:27

Wonderful bg landschape and this image is a good document of the USA story.
Thanks for sharing
KIks

Royaldevon (5944) 2009-01-28 1:14

Hello Kath,

A perfect use of the vertical format which gives depth and perspective as the eyes travel across the different horizontal layers.

You have coped really well to give detail to the dark house which is set against an already dark b/g. It is perfectly placed in the frame.

Kind regards,
Bev :-)

riclopes (33135) 2009-01-29 2:47

I might be hesitant between this pic and the wider view that has appealing saturated colors and a lovely graphism from all the pinetrees that can be seen along the steep side of the mountain. This one is more interesting photographically although it's a pitty that the house doesn't stand out more against the pinetrees. The sequence of stripes with the sky on top makes a pleasant image to look at and I also like to see the other houses at left. Nice porch this closer building has, from where you took WS2. Quite a high altitude - one should almost feel the lack of oxigen here...
ricardo

Didi (36452) 2009-01-29 7:18

Hi Kath
Very nice picture of this scaring old house, perhaps there is one ghost inside :)
I have done a WS just for giving more lights.
Cheers.

[workshop] [compare] +

JCG (25753) 2009-01-29 11:03

Hi Kath,

Dwellings patinated by the time which is, in spite of the successive weather, remained upright. Interesting photograph, just like those in WS, I like much the wider view. It was be likely to take a photograph of the interior of the old house !!! The image processing is welcome, thank you Kath.

With all my friendships and a very good evening,

Jean-Charles

Emile (20127) 2009-01-31 11:56

Hola Kath.
Isn't the best light to work with, but you did a good work brightening the house in your WS, anyway I find your shot very good, same as the shot posted in WS2 taken from inside the house.
TFS.
Best wishes

Angshu (34119) 2009-02-05 0:26

Hello Kath
I was about to write that the 130 years old house could have been brightened & then I remembered to always read your notes carefully...I like the WS with the brightened colours much better :-). In fact I liked the wider view as well. Lovely colours in the FG. Looking at the darkness of the house, was it the reason why you chose to take this picture with ISO 200? Well done!
Best Regards
Angshu

plimrn (19720) 2009-02-15 11:00

Hi Kath,
The trio of pictures you selected for posting give a nice sense of the area with the addition of the inside and broad view. The framing here has the best balance and I really like the way you show the details of this formerly fine Victorian. I noticed your comment that it wasn't a very bright day so I'm wondering if that bright sky might be related to the high altitude polarizer effects I've been reading about recently on TE. It is sure a big and welcome change from the wide view WS.
HLJ, Pat

subhendu_bagchi (3516) 2009-08-13 12:05

Namaste Kath, you composed it beautifully. There are so many layers in this shot... In background there is sky followed by row of tall trees, then the house and at foreground the green grass. Beautiful contrast. Exposer selection would be altered, I think the brighter the house can improve the visual. Anyway nice seeing and nice capturing. W.S. images are also fantastic. Tfs.
Regards
subhendu.