Bill Buchanan, HonPSA, FGDC  


Montana Barn by Bill Buchanan, HonPSA, FGDC

May 2022 - Montana Barn

About the Image(s)

A few years ago while at a PSA conference in West Yellowstone some of us took off for the ghost town of Bannack. This old barn was seen along the way home.

This was photographed with my old Nikon D70. It was a relatively good image because I had used a polarizing filter for those clear western skies.


This round’s discussion is now closed!
7 comments posted




Erik Rosengren   Erik Rosengren
We were shooting together on that trip, and you captured a piece of history. From my perspective it is cropped too tight, and the sky is over polarized.   Posted: 05/07/2022 07:48:48



Guy Davies   Guy Davies
Those Montana skies really are an intense blue. It is easy to overdo the polariser and I have done this many times before. I have found that using about half polarisation works best. I love the texture in the woodwork, and putting the wheels in the foreground creates nice composition.   Posted: 05/08/2022 08:03:18



Dr Isaac Vaisman   Dr Isaac Vaisman
Bill, I also was there. Very sharp image, all the detail in the wood is available, and the wheel in the front brakes the verticals of the wooden wall. Yes, the blue is oversaturated, and yes, the crop created a long and narrow image   Posted: 05/09/2022 15:58:24



R Gary Butler   R Gary Butler
Bill, I won't be redundant. I would just add that for my taste I would lighten the shadows in the "stuff" on the lower right of the image to bring a little more balance to the overall composition.

From my experience the polarizing effect at the higher altitude of the Rockies is much greater than we are used to in the east. From the top of Rocky Mountain National Park you can get a fully saturated sky with no filter on a clear day.   Posted: 05/09/2022 16:28:19



R Gary Butler   R Gary Butler
Bill, I won't be redundant. I would just add that for my taste I would lighten the shadows in the "stuff" on the lower right of the image to bring a little more balance to the overall composition.

From my experience the polarizing effect at the higher altitude of the Rockies is much greater than we are used to in the east. From the top of Rocky Mountain National Park you can get a fully saturated sky with no filter on a clear day.   Posted: 05/10/2022 16:53:04



Vella Kendall   Vella Kendall
A beautiful in good shape barn. It looks new. Very interesting textures, did you try a black and white version with a totally dark sky? My husband loves to photograph old barns.   Posted: 05/25/2022 10:12:42



Ian Chantler   Ian Chantler
Hi Bill
Absolutely pin sharp from back to front love the range of warm colours on the barn,the crop is a little tight but it certainly cuts out any distractions.I like Vellas idea with that sky it may really look good in black and white as well.   Posted: 05/25/2022 15:55:03