Tilting at windmills

I love the lines and shapes of windmills and how different angles and perspectives change the windmill's appearance.



This one is on an abandoned farmstead far out into the country. I wonder how often the inhabitants had been stranded by blizzards and how long their isolation had lasted. Maybe that's why the place is no longer used? The people who lived there just couldn't take the isolation any more?
The farm buildings and the windmill structure were falling apart, but the wheel and its gears worked just fine. Aeromotor must have made a good product. Windmill's gearbox does remind me of a nose.

I know of a bank that has a logo almost exactly like this, except reversed.



When I took a photography class many years ago, the professor told us to practice the use of perspective by taking pictures in old cemeteries. This windmill works as well as any cemetery I might find. I haven't quite figured out yet how to change the autofocus zones on my new camera. I didn't intend to have the tree branches in focus instead of the windmill. I mistakenly pressed too hard on the shutter and shot the picture when I hadn't intended to. I rather like how this "mistake" turned out.



This is what I intended to shoot in the first place. Just changing the focus changes the entire mood of the picture. I wonder how well the windmill actually works with all this foliage around it. Wind was calm when I took this picture, so I can't say.



Same windmill, different angle. I stepped into the structure and shot straight up. I found the lines of the structure and the chain fascinating. I don't know what function the squared-off wires serve, but those wires and the chain were an interesting addition to the standard windmill structure. Out of curiosity, I changed the image to black and white. Original is so monochrome that I couldn't tell the difference between the color picture and the black and white version.



This windmill picture took a bit more doing. I stepped into the structure, but the view straight up wasn't too interesting. When I hooked my legs around its legs and leaned backward, the picture became much more interesting. I had to shoot with one hand while holding onto the windmill with the other. Position was rather uncomfortable, but entirely worth the results.



Same windmill, different angle. I loved these clouds. The fluffy clouds made a wonderful contrast with the sharp windmill angles. But somehow the color masked the contrast. I tried changing the picture to black and white, but was entirely dissatisfied with the results.



When I tried sepia toning, I was very pleased. But sepia toning was only the beginning. I played with the photo filter, shadow/highlight and exposure adjustments in Photoshop to get these results.

Don Quixote, eat your heart out!