The Artful Engineer

I mentioned last week that I was going to show off some of the random gems that you can find just driving around the San Luis Valley. One of the first I found was the wonderful abandoned house above. At the time we were driving towards the Great Sand Dunes, which start just off the right side of the frame against the mountains in the background. The image above was taken on a return visit the next day. I have several interesting perspectives of this house; my favorites all exploit the open windows and doors to see things inside—or, as in this case, through—the structure. I love finding structures like this and am so glad that they’ve been left to their fate rather than torn down.

This house below is only a few miles from the one above. Unlike the first one, though, there are other (occupied) dwellings in its vicinity. I’m not sure why the house is raised up on blocks—perhaps it was going to be relocated and for whatever reason the effort was abandoned.

The San Luis Valley is not, of course, the only place in Colorado to find abandoned structures. On a trip back from Wyoming last year I paralleled the interstate on smaller roads and stopped whenever I found something interesting, like the old structures in the next two images, which were very close to each other.

I enjoy the little details in these kinds of images. In the image above, it’s the pattern of light from the gaps in the roof that are visible through the window. In the image below, there are two: the warped lamp post and the cattywampus door with the resulting dark triangular opening that contrasts with the other doorway.

The eastern half of Colorado is the western edge of the Great Plains, which are famously less populated than they once were. The structure below is in what is left of a town ironically called Last Chance, which has clearly come and gone for this establishment. The overgrown weeds, dingy sign, and bare tree all communicate the same story of a place that is largely forgotten.

Returning to the mountainous areas of the state, I’m not 100% convinced that the barn below is not still being used to store things, but it is not in very good shape.

This final image is a detail from an outbuilding in a different area. Nothing in these structures is square or straight or plumb, so it is a bit of a judgement call how to line things up with the edges of the frame, something I am usually careful about. I like this composition—I made several—with the far window framed in the near window, the diagonal plank hanging in from the upper left, and the curved gaps in the roof planking at the very top. I find the textures of these weathered structures fascinating to look at; honestly, they deserve a gallery of their own and are another good reason—along with lichen, rusty stuff, and peeling paint—to get a macro lens again.

I hope you enjoyed this collection of images from around the state. Often these sorts of images are taken on the way to somewhere else, so the light is what it is and they tend to be pretty out of the way to return to, but now that I geotag my images, it is at least possible to try. Of course, there is always the next road over, and who knows what is there? So many roads, so little time.