Inspiration part 21 - Cattle Farm

Welcome back,

While looking through my old files, I found several unused photos from my urban explorations. Given I have no overall theme this month, it is the opportune moment to showcase this material.

This article will feature an abandoned cattle farm. This location has closed for a long time. Since then the land was sold and now has houses built on it. However, the original barn is still present, so I took the opportunity to investigate the area.

**Please note, that abandoned locations are dangerous and one should not travel there without permission or supervision. These photos were taken from a safe distance.**

A cattle farm is a workplace normally consisting of a large tract of land along with facilities needed to raise livestock (especially cattle). In this case, the main barn was still present, along with enclosures where cattle were kept and herded onto vehicles. Since I could not enter the building for safety reasons, the article will focus mainly on two parts of the building; the barn itself and the enclosure.

           First, let us take a look at the enclosure. It is mainly composed of wooden fencing, meant to contain cattle within a desired location, and to navigate them to a ramp for loading them onto a vehicle. We can also see a few feeders, where the farm hands would place food for the cattle. In this instance, the fence has not undergone maintenance in years, so you can see it falling apart in some locations.

           Then we have the barn. The building has tin roofing and metal siding which, though they have lost their color over time, are not rusted. The entire structure is supported by a system of wooden beams, which has started to mold. There is a wooden staircase on the side of the barn which leads to the upper level, and is now completely overtaken by plants.

           A structure of this nature could serve as inspiration for a few different story types. Could be part of the setting in a western, or maybe in a romance between a ranch hand and the farmer's daughter. Maybe a murder/mystery story can use this location as the dumping ground of a crazed serial killer. Perhaps a comedy about a protagonist learning to be a rodeo clown. We could even use this location in a horror story, much like Hershel’s farm from the Walking Dead series.

Hope you enjoyed today’s exploration. I had a great time, and maybe these images will come in handy for your next story. Until then, get out there and get inspired!

Cheers!

Patrick Osborne

Inspiration Part 10 - Field Museum

Welcome back!

            Since March had no theme per se, I was left wondering what to talk about in this month’s inspiration post. Going over my files, I realised there is still plenty of content from my trip to Chicago that is still unused.

This presented itself as the perfect opportunity to share these pictures. I had taken hundreds of photos, so deciding which to chose was not easy. But then it dawned on me; the Field Museum was mentioned in the book I reviewed last month (The Time Traveler’s Wife), so best cover it now while it was still fresh on everyone's mind.

First let us take a look at the building itself. The outside has a strong greco-roman feel to it, giving it an appearance that is both sophisticated and imposing. Once past the main doors, we enter the main hall, with its white walls, marble floors, high ceilings and the presence of giants (two elephants, totem poles and of course SUE, the T-Rex) succeed in making you realise just how small you are. Truly an awe inspiring experience.  

              Further inside, the main hall divides into several exhibition areas, each showcasing displays with different themes. There was obviously way too many things to list here, so I will stick to some of the most memorable. In order to try and include more content, the picture I will be posting will be panorama’s, so sorry if the images seem a bit distorted.

             First on the tour we have the animal displays. Large rooms with multiple aisles, each composed of large glass displays. Each display contained real, stuffed animals from various regions around the world. I believe it was mentioned somewhere that all of these animals had died of natural causes, either donated from zoos or wildlife reserves (but don’t quote me on that, since my memory has been known to be hazy). For those who have read The Time Traveler's Wife, below you will see Bushman the ape, who was mentioned in the book during Henry’s first encounter with himself.

             Next we had my favorite exhibit: dinosaurs! I have had a love for dinosaurs ever since I was a child, so I was super excited to see this exhibit. I have posted only a few pictures here, as I plan on making an inspiration post in the future centered on bones and archeological research, so I don’t want to give too much away. For now, enjoy some of the panoramas I took.

             The museum had two floors, a large portion of the area was dedicated to exhibits featuring cultures from different countries from various time periods. Among them were Ancient Egypt, Tibetan artefacts, the african slave trade, native indians and so much more. I wish I had had the time (and memory on my camera) to take more pictures from each display. These displays contained a plethora of potential reference material.

             As you can see, a trip to the museum, especially one as diverse as the Field Museum, can be especially beneficial for a writer looking for inspiration. Maybe you need references for a period piece taking place in Ancient Rome, various animals for a jungle setting or maybe just the layout of a museum for a particular scene. Bottom line: go visit one, you'll be surprised at what you will find.

            I hope you enjoyed this month's inspiration post and that I encouraged you to go out there and experience it for yourself. Until next time.

Cheers,

Patrick Osborne

Inspiration Part 9 - Snow

Welcome back!

Winter had a slow start this year, but has finally arrived and is making up for lost time. Since our (green) Holidays, we have had a few heavy storms which have brought us back to the seasons regular, snow covered standards. The accumulation started off slowly, giving our surroundings a nice, peaceful air… and then this happened.

BAM! Snow.

           This month’s inspiration post will focus on “the white stuff”. The idea for this blog entry came to me after watching countless Christmas themed movies over the holidays. Being able to describe snow in its various incarnations can be a very useful storytelling tool, depending on the application you are working with. It can add ambiance to a romantic scene, such as a couple walking through a park during a gentle snowfall. It can be a plot tool, like a blizzard trapping characters in a cabin. Or it can be an obstacle, like an avalanche chasing the protagonist down a mountain.

For those of you who are not Canadian or do not live in areas which get snow, here is a quick list of items you might want to research further. Keep in mind I am glossing over these terms, and there is much more information to find for those interested in learning more.

Types of snow

• Snowflake: Single ice crystal with multiple facets.
• Polycrystals: Snowflakes composed of multiple ice crystals.
• Graupel: Single ice crystal which has become rounded and. Normally 2 to 5 millimeters.
• Hail: Solid ice precipitation, usually in rounded clumps of 5 mm or higher.
• Sleet: The result of freezing rain, manifested in transparent ice spheres.

Types of snowfall

• Blizzard: Violent storm, accompanied by strong winds, subfreezing temperatures and a decent amount of snowfall.  
• Drifting snow: Storm caused by strong winds blowing the snow that is already on the ground.
• Flurry: Precipitation that lasts for a short period, with little snowfall.
• Snow squall: Brief storm, accompanied by strong winds, poor visibility and snowfall.
• Snowstorm: Normal levels of wind and temperatures, but accompanied by a large amount of snowfall.

Types of accumulation

• Cornice: Overhanging accumulation of ice and wind-blown snow
• Crust: Hard layer of ice covering a softer layer of snow.
• Ripples: Formation of waves on a snowy surface caused by winds.
• Sastrugi: Irregular snow formation caused by winds. Often fragile in nature.
• Barchan: Horseshoe-shaped snowdrift.

           Now that we have established that snow is much more complicated than it sounds, we can move on to the photography portion of today’s post.

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

That is all for this month's Inspiration post. I hope you enjoyed it and managed to  learn something in the process. In closing, I would like to thank Wendy Papenburg for generously supplying the pictures, it is truly appreciated.

Until next time.

Cheers

            Patrick Osborne.