A real barn burner

Char Burrill saw one old barn fall victim to age and come tumbling down.

Then, another ancient homestead was demolished.

Each time, Burrill cringed.

"Both were structures that I wanted to take pictures of, but just hadn't stopped and done it," she said. "Then couldn't."

The Rathdrum photographer was determined not to miss another chance to snap a picture of the area's disappearing history.

For years, she had seen a weathered, worn gray barn, roof peeling off, just off Interstate 90 between Moses Lake and Ritzville, a stretch she traveled often while visiting parents in western Washington. It had long caught her eye.

"Coming home from the coast in May, I decided that I would make this barn a destination," she said. "I didn't want one more barn to fall down before I got its pic."

On May 14, Burrill made the drive. Armed with her Canon EOS Digital Rebel and a Canon EFS 18-55mm zoom lens, she clicked off a series of shots from different angles. Some were of the barn itself. Some were wide views of the field, the barn, clouds and blue sky. Others of surrounding fields and details.

Later, when she reviewed her work on that bright, spectacular spring day, there was one shot that caught the color, the light, the moment, just right. The barn was off center, yet still the center of attention.

"Of the pictures I took that day, this isn't the only one that I liked enough to print," Burrill said. "So, why did I pick this as one of the pics to submit? I liked the feel of the barn standing in the wheat with the threatening clouds approaching."

Others like it, too.

The picture, labeled simply, "Old Barn," was awarded first place in the adult category of the 2011 Spokane Ag Expo photo contest. There were a record 138 entries. Burrill also received Honorable Mention for "Barbed Wire Fence."

The theme of the contest was "Agriculture in the Inland Northwest."

"The purpose of the contest is to promote Inland Northwest Agriculture and to give amateur photographers, particularly from rural areas, an opportunity for their work to be shown and recognized," according to a press release.

All of the entries will be on display Feb. 1-3 at the Spokane Ag Expo at the Convention Center Complex in the Group Health Hall.

Burrill said she rarely enters photo contests. In the past 25 years, just a few.

"So, I really had no expectations," she said. "What a great surprise to find that the judges also liked my pic."

Still, she's an experienced shooter who got her first camera when she was a child.

"It wasn't until I was a young adult and developed an interest in field botany that I really started taking a lot of pictures though," she said. "My motivation then was to record the beauty and diversity of the natural world around me."

Plans for publishing a book of native plants never went beyond taking pictures, though, as her family and work took priority.

Since she retired, she's resumed her photography and has started - "on a very small scale" - to offer pictures for sale at local arts and craft fairs.

"I enjoy the entire process - taking the picture, printing it and framing it and sharing the finished work with others," she said.

Burrill has used Canon equipment since buying a 35mm film Canon Rebel.

"Because I invested in several lenses, was familiar with the controls and liked the results I stayed with Canon when I went digital," she said.

Her photography, she said, "is a reflection of the things I like to do." She tends to focus on landscapes with an emphasis on details and patterns.

"I like to be outdoors and have always been amazed by the natural wonder around me," she said.

While Burrill loves being behind a camera, she's not sure where it will lead.

"Realistically, I have no expectations of making a living with my photography. That would require a commitment that is beyond me," she said.

That doesn't mean you won't see her winning work around town.

"Do I hope that my photos will be enjoyed by others and, perhaps, increase someone's awareness of the beauty just waiting out there in ordinary things? Of course," she added. "I also hope that my pictures demonstrate that one doesn't have to go to iconic locations to find beauty, that ordinary places are extraordinary if you look."