I recently picked up a book from photographer David Plowden, The American Barn. It is filled with beautiful duotone images of the grand old barns from the heart of America, structures that are vanishing from our landscape as the family farm fades away. The images are nostalgic but not sentimental, with a bit of melancholy in the air. I’ve always been drawn to the beauty of the barn and often amazed at the scale of some of these structures. They represent a level of personal industriousness and vision that I can barely imagine today.
Plowden has made documenting the vanishing parts of America his life’s work, producing 20 books covering all aspects of the the American experience of the last century. His books have covered the steamboats of the Great Lakes, the great and not-so-great bridges of this country, the railroads and both the small town experience and the grit of the industrial landscape.
The cover of one of his more recent books, Heartland, has an image that speaks to my own personal vision of the landscape so its no surprise that I find his work engaging. Looking at his photos brings on a great feeling of déjá vu, as though I have seen and walked in many of these places, at least in spirit. They are often spaces that are filled with space and emptiness but still have the air of occupancy about them.
Ghosts, perhaps.
You can see more of David Plowden’s work at his self-titled site. It’s it definitely worth a look. If you want a quick overview of his work, do s simple Google Images search using his name.
Redtree Times 