The Sheep Lady's Lair

I stumbled upon this setting by chance while on a photo shoot in the Adirondacks. The sun was glowing through the morning fog. The air was cold and crisp. While walking down an old country road I noticed small snow covered cottage on the left with a large old barn on its right set back from the road. The property was marked for subdivision. It was obvious from the untouched snow that no one had lived there for a while. One of the locals described the previous owner as an old woman living by herself. She was known by her town’s people as the “Sheep Lady” since she raised sheep years before to make her meager living. When she was too old to care for them the sheep were sold off. Her only vehicle was a tractor, which she used to drive into town to get supplies. The home had no electricity and there was an out house located next to the home. Ts amazing that people are still living without the modern convinces we take for granted. The old women had died a couple of months before my arrival.

Making my way trough the thick two feet of snow to the barn. The large wooden door was blocked by the snow. After a couple of nudges the door opened enough to squeeze through with my camera and tripod. It took my eye’s a bit to adjust to the darkness inside the bard. It was very quiet and still. The musky smell of stale hay and the old barn fit the mood. There were rusted old farm tools hanging on the wall and stack of plank wood on the dirt floor. There was a small door on the left. Making my way over slowly not knowing what to expect on the other side I opened the door. My eyes were immediately drawn to the red chair sitting in the middle of the room. It was apparent that this was the place where the sheep lady would come to sit. You could only feel the solitude and loneliness she must have experienced her last days sitting there being warmed by the rays of the Adirondack sun coming through the window. Being very careful not to disturb anything taking only my pictures and leaving the barn as it was.

I felt as if I met the Sheep Lady that cold winters morning. It's a moment I will remember for forever.

Sunset Farms

The Adirondack air was brisk and still. The light glow from the setting sun on the snow under the old apple tree was captivating. There was very little time to get my gear and setup for this shot. The moment was slipping by quickly. Positioning the camera was going to be tricky. One step too far in the virgin snow, and scene would have been ruined forever. Carefully inching the tripod forward I was able to get the camera into position. The aperture set and the shutter locked and loaded all systems were a go. After taking on last look though the view finder the time was right. The shutter was released and the moment was captured forever. I was only able to capture this shot before the sun set behind the Adirondack Mountains for the night