The Old West – This barn is located in the Grand Tetons National Park in an area known as Mormon’s Row. Along with several other historical buildings and homesites, the barn attracts primarily photographers looking for buildings that represent their concept of the Old West. The original of this photo was a color image which has been processed in PhotoShop and Nik Silver Efex Pro. I think the sepia toning adds even further to what I was trying to capture in the photo.
If we think about the hardships that the original western settlers had to go through it makes the things that bother us today seem much less challenging. These early settlers had few or no roads to follow, they had to pack all of their belongings for making a new home into relatively small wagons. These wagons were powered by horses, mules, or oxen and could only travel a few miles a day. The settlers were often challenged by the weather or illness but knew that they had to keep moving because the number of days each year when travel was practical were limited. They often had only crude maps so when faced with mountain ranges like the Tetons they either had to find a route through or settle where they were. Then they were faced with building their homes and their other buildings like this barn and try to find or grow the things they needed to live.
It is only when we think of the entire story behind buildings like this that we can truly appreciate them as photographic subjects. If you get to Wyoming, I encourage you to visit these old buildings as well as both the Tetons and Yellowstone.
