Member Monday Featuring Kevin Rose
Vermont-based photographer, Kevin Rose has a special story about a yellow barn to share with our community today!
Keep reading to hear the chat we had with Kevin about these images!
About the Photographer:
- Hometown: Tunbridge, Vermont
- Years in Photography: 45
- Years as a KO Member: 6
About the Photo:
- Title: High Drive
- Location: Hartland, Vermont
- Gear/Software Used: Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, Leica DG 8-18 / f2.8-4.0, 9mm, 1/50 sec, f/22, ISO 200, post-processed using Lightroom Classic and Photoshop 2021
Any additional description of the photograph: My fascination with this barn began while I was researching the hill farmers that had come before me on my own land. Pouring through old census records, I not only noted the residents along my road, but also others nearby.
About a mile from my homestead is a modest red barn that has been idle for many decades. I discovered that its original owner, listed in the 1940 census, had been a dairy farmer named Lesle Maxfield. Another search yielded the backstory that led to my desire to capture this image.
It turns out that Lesle Maxfield and family left the farm down the road from me in 1947, moving to the fertile floodplain along the Connecticut River in Hartland, Vermont. There, they purchased a farm from the family who had built the barn in this image in the early 1890’s.
But, there’s more to the story than the Maxfield’s newly acquired farm with this impressive yellow barn.
Eleven years prior to the Maxfield’s move, a photographer named Arther Rothstein, on assignment for the Farm Security Administration, had photographed the barn on a snow-covered February day in 1936. Rothstein’s image, which resides in the Library of Congress, became a favorite of his boss, the director of the FSA’s Historical Section, and subsequently, one of the iconic images of Vermont dairy farms during their peak.
This image was taken looking into the covered high drive at the entrance to the fourth story hay loft. Built near the pinnacle of the evolution of bank barns, the entrance to the barn’s upper level is at the end of a sweeping road that leads from the farmyard up the hillside and into the loft.
Describe your creative style in 3 words.
curious, textural, storytelling
Tell us about a time you struggled or failed with your photography, and how you overcame it?
There have been many times when I’ve found myself in a rut. Sometimes I’d try to regain inspiration by looking at what sells, generates “likes,” or is a popular bucket-list destination. My home state of Vermont certainly has no shortage of subject matter in all of those categories.
Whenever I start heading down that path, however, I have to pause long enough to remind myself that my inspiration comes through personal connections, backstories, in-depth explorations, and special relationships with my subject matter. Family, community heritage, working landscapes, and the natural wonders in my own backyard are the place to which I always return.
What sparked your love of photography?
It was the magical experience of the darkroom that hooked me. Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and that anticipation while watching an image come to life in the developing tray.
What’s your favorite class on KelbyOne and why?
I’ve taken so many of the KelbyOne classes over the past six years that it would be hard to name a favorite. The ones that have been most helpful in my own development are the in-depth classes covering Lightroom and Photoshop techniques. Those classes have given me the tools to enhance the elements of my images that are important in the storytelling that I’m passionate about.
Connect with Kevin
Connect with Kevin via Instagram here!
Thanks to Kevin for taking us behind-the-shot of this spectacular image!
Thank you for joining us for another Member Monday! If you haven’t yet, be sure to submit your photos for a chance to receive a Member Monday feature of your own.
