Fotografaire - Blog and Photography

What is a Barn?

July 10, 2006 on 7:01 pm | In General, Photography |

What is a barn?

A barn is an architectural building/structure, normally found on a farm. It is usually used as a shelter for animals, for storing hay, grain and other animal feed, and also used to store farm equipment, and/or vehicles. Barns have also been used as lodging for farmworkers, cowboys, those who are journeying through, etc.

To me, a barn is so much more than an architectural structure, so much more than a deteriorating, wooden building, so much more than an outbuilding with either a wooden, metal or shingled roof. For me, a barn holds the secrets of life, whether it be the stories of animals it housed, or secrets and lives of the people that inhabited the barn.

Many barns date back hundreds of years, and when driving by them, I can almost hear the silent whispers of what once was, and can feel the aura of life surround me. The vision of “Americana”, country and rural human beings, working hard to earn a living, intensifies, whenever I see a barn. I have always held a fondness for barns.

Why…I am not sure…maybe it was due to the fact I was brought up in the suburbs (which was the countryside at the time), and was surrounded by farms, ponds, and beautiful barns. All I know, is when I drive down the rolling hills of the road that my house is located on, and I see those old barns, and wave back to the farmers standing in front of them, I feel a sense of connection to both people and land.

A barn’s beauty is never diminished, in my eyes, by age, deterioration, or weather. Those elements enhance the loveliness, for me.

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