Archive for the ‘Mail Pouch Barns’ Category

I never travel more than 50 miles away from home without searching the web for Mail Pouch opportunities near where I’m traveling. Irecently traveled to Prestonsburg, KY for work and discovered I would be passing near these 2 barns.

I located the first just outside of town on Route 114 (Old Middle Creek Rd.). My normal method for shooting on private property is to shoot as though I’m supposed to be there. If I can see for sure someone is home, and I don’t fear being shot at, I’ll ask. If it appears no one is around I just go for it and pray there’s no “killer” dogs around. As soon as I got out of the car a dog ran up to me barking, which sent me running back to the car. Just as I got my hand on the door a lady yelled to me, “he won’t bite!”. I wonder how many people have heard that right before getting bit? I’m a trusting sole so I stopped running and the dog was indeed fine. Although he did bark the entire time I was shooting, he was fine with me being there. After I introduced myself and asked if I could shoot the barn she said that would be fine and that it has been shot many times in the past and is “on that computer Internet thingy”.

The second barn was less than a mile away on the same road. I almost drove right past it because it’s hidden behind some trees. This made it difficult to shoot an overall shot. I did get some overall shots, but nothing I was happy with. I love the red versions of the barns so I shot some detail shots and 12 image panoramic (shown above).

Click here to see the entire gallery. Enjoy!

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Every year on New Years Day I take a road trip to shoot photos. Usually I just get in the car and go wherever I end up. This year I missed New Years Day due to “not feeling well”. At least that’s what we’ll call it.

This year instead of just heading out I decided to go find myself some new Mail Pouch Barns to add to my collection of images. I specifically decided to find some of the rare red versions. Here are a few shots from the trip. Stop back soon to see an entire gallery of shots from the day.

Fayette County, Ohio. Rt 41 north of Rt 28 (Greenfield) by 5.7 miles. Map

Fayette County, Ohio. Rt 41 north of Rt 28 (Greenfield) by 5.7 miles. Map

Adams County, Ohio. On Rt 136 north of Rt 125 by 1.2 miles. Map

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Betsy and I had planned a trip to Oxford, Ohio so she could show me a covered bridge she had seen and have a little “alone time” with a picnic at Hueston Woods. She was looking forward to the alone time, but I think I ruined it with another Google search for local Mail Pouch barns. I had a list of 5 barns to shoot for the day, but decided she should have her Hueston Woods visit so I just shot this one.

This is on Old Colerain Avenue in Cincinnati. Just when I think I’ve found all the local Mail Pouch barns, I get surprised with one I didn’t know about!

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Last week I spent most of the week on a mountain top just outside of Morehead, Kentucky. Yes it was a good time but after a while you kind of get tired of “the mountain”. So I decided to get up one morning and go on a photo excursion. I actually found a Mail Pouch Barn on US 60 about 1 mile from where I was staying. I have passed this barn at least twice a year for the past 12 years and have never noticed it! I also found a few cool church signs and another Mail Pouch Barn on US 60 at the entrance to Carter Caves State Park.

There’s not a bunch of images in this gallery, but I think they turned out very nice. Take a look and see what you think.

Here’s the entire gallery. Enjoy!

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I was out on Route 50 near Marathon, Ohio today and ran across this barn. Can’t hide a good Mail Pouch Barn for long! It’s a shame this barn has been covered. I can appreciate the owner’s spiritual message, but covering a sign that appears to be in great shape really should be a sin!

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On a recent trip through Wheeling, West Virginia I made it a point to visit the Mail Pouch National Headquarters. I had really hoped they would have a museum or a historical display of some sort, but not the case.

As I was shooting a lady came out and I asked her about a museum. She said the building was not open to the public for safety purposes. She did however show quite a bit of interest in what I was doing. She also informed me that Mail Pouch does indeed still paint barns. Apparently there’s a small amount of new paintings a year. She invited me in to get the name and email of the lady that’s in charge of the new paintings. Once we were inside I met another lady that also showed quite a bit of interest in my obsession with Mail Pouch barns. She even apologized for not having a historical display for me to visit. She also informed me that Mail Pouch is actually owned by Swisher, which I was not aware of. Feeling like I was let down, she offered me a free pack of Grape Swishers! I had hopped to buy a Mail Pouch book or t-shirt, but the cigers were a nice gesture!

When I finished visiting with the ladies I shot a few photos and ventured on to my next “subject”. As I was driving I kind of felt let down by the whole thing. Maybe because I was looking so forward to it. But after I got home and started to edit the shots it became clear to me that it was a good trip, and well worth it for my collection.

You can see a few of the many shots from that day here. Enloy!

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A friend of mine has a big all-weekend jam session at his farm in Robertson County, Kentucky every year. I’ve gone gone a few times in the past and thought this would be yet another good reason to get out and use the new camper, listen to some good music and shoot some photos while I’m at it.

This is not all the images I shot over the weekend, just some of the “stand outs” I noticed while going through the raw files.

I actually headed out to find the “Johnson Creek” covered bridge, which I located and as you can see in the gallery, was an awesome find. There was a tobacco field right next to the bridge which I thought really made the shot. I also ran across my first “See 7 States from Rock City” barn, a great find in my book. It was sunset when I ran across that barn. The shots in this gallery are from that night. I ran back the next day and shot it in the daylight. Those images will be posted soon. I also ran across another Mail Pouch barn. All in all, it was a pretty good weekend of shooting.

Take a look at the first part of this series here. More to come soon. Enjoy!

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My sister recently told me about a Mail Pouch barn she had seen on a ride with her husband. A Mail Pouch barn right here in Campbell County! Now I’m pretty sure I’ve shot every one in Campbell County so I went off on a mission to find it. Afterall I can’t miss an opportunity to add to my collection. She didn’t remember exactly eher it was, but was pretty sure it was on Krift Road. I did a search and couldn’t even find Krift Road in the county. I then called a friend that works for the Agricultural Extension and he told me that he knew for sure I had indeed shot that particular barn. He knew that because I had called him one Saturday from out in the county asking him to walk me through getting to it that day.

I knew I hadn’t missed one! I’m 90% sure this is the barn she was telling me about. The reason I hadn’t posted it up till now is that I really wasn’t happy with the shots from that day (31 December 2008). It was a rather gray nasty day. I thought I’d go ahead and mess with it see if I could make something decent out of the shot. The shot above is the result of about an hour of editing.

I need to make it a point to get back out there and re-shoot this barn. Shooting it from the side will reveal and American flag painted on the roof. Maybe someday soon I’ll get back out there. This will do for now!

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