Years ago when I first visited the Palouse Region, (south eastern Washington area) I had made mention of my travels. Several of my photography friends that had been running workshops there were eager to help out and share locations. I said thank you but that I wanted to explore it on my own. I think they understood. Anyway, I asked two good friends Lynn Fulton and Cheryl Slechta to accompany me on this trip. So we headed to the Palouse region to find all the hidden barns and gems that the location had to offer.
Within our first twenty minutes of exploration, I got a ticket for speeding! Yikes, it was long lonely road and I was going too fast. A nice police officer pulled me over, ticketed me and we had a nice discussion about the area. So much for the open road…After shaking off the ticket we went scouting for barns. Lynn helped me navigate and Cheryl kept her eyes peeled.
In one of the old towns that we passed we found a bunch of old farm equipment and shacks, but I needed to go to the bathroom. Cheryl, Lynn and I went looking for a restroom. As I drove around helplessly looking, I went down a dirt road, hoping it led to something. Oh boy did it! I was so happy when I saw this abandoned old farmhouse come into view.
I noticed that the sky was turning grey and it looked like a storm was approaching. The clouds were moving faster and faster and I had envisioned them over top of the old farmhouse at any moment. I started to run up a nearby slope to try to position the storm clouds above the house. The lighting was incredible. As soon as things lined up I took several shots. Within minutes the clouds had dissipated and the scene was finished.
The name Little House on the Prairie comes to me every time I see this shot. It brings back fond memories of when my daughter was six years old and we use to watch the TV series Little House on the Prairie which was based on the Laura Ingalls Wilder's series of "Little House" books. My daughter would sometimes cry when she watched the bullying or sad scenes-she was and still is very sensitive, so we would snuggle up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket to watch the show. Those sure were some good times!
Thanks to Joe Subolefsky for asking me to talk about this shot in a recent comment.