Barns of Kittitas County, WA
Ok, I like taking pictures of barns; old barns, German barns, Hex barns, Western barns, Mail Pouch Barns and any other unique old barn. I suppose it is because they represent a part of the historical settlement and heritage of the area and our country. They are a symbol of the creation of our country just like lighthouses, covered bridges, meeting houses, one room schools and other reminisce of another life and time.....This last week, my wife and I came to be in Cle Elum Washington for a couple of days. While, Cle Elum had always been a place we had driven though on our way to someplace farther east or when returning home, for me this was the first time I had actually stayed there. Cle Elum is just a short distance from the town of Rosyln, WA a significant settlement in the history of Washington. Both were settled around 1886 because of the discovery of significant coal reserves in the area. The Northern Pacific railroad founded the Northern Pacific Coal Company and build the Roslyn General Store to help support their coal mining for their railroad operations. In the 1990's, long after coal mining stopped, the Roslyn became famous as the setting for the popular TV series, Northern Exposure. It is still a fun place to visit.
Having some time on my hands while my wife attended her meetings, I visited the local Chamber of Commerce visitors center, usually a good place for local activities and information. To my surprise I discovered that Kittitas County and the towns of Cle Elum, Ellensburg and the surrounding area had developed a historical Quilt trail of over 100 old barns and other structures. They have their own web site to support this endeavor along with a very nice map to lead one to the various structures. The web site, Barn Quilts of Kittitas County can be found here: http://barnquiltswashington.org
When we lived in Seattle, I would ofter venture over to the Eastern side of the Cascades to take pictures and wonder around the area. Kittitas County is known for its fishing and hiking but what a creative idea to get some of the visitors to their now famous resort of Suncadia out to experience the area and perhaps partake of all of the fresh fruit that can be found at the local stands.
Obviously, from the posted images, I decided to do some black and white images. I still have a Canon 5D II that was converted to a black and white body that I had not used in years. On this trip, I took it along and used it just for fun. Some of the images here were taken with that body and others were converted from the Sony A7rII. I find that converting colored images with Nik Software's Silver EFX Pro can be as good if not better than in shooting straight B&W. However, there is a lot of be said for seeing and shooting in B&W and on a sunny day, one can get some very nice results
