Burnout in Sullivan

It is so sad to see anyone lose whatever they have accumulated as it is so hard to get ahead without substantial resources. Fire has been a devastating cause of heartache and loss of lives this winter, and there seems to be no end, as the colder it is the more heat is required to survive.

The photo I am posting is of a house burned out near the High School in Sullivan, and I was struck by the very real sense of loss and abandonment from several points of view. The fire, of course, and the resulting loss from that, but also the objects that were left at the scene, the things frozen into the ground and the missing windows all lent more detail to the paint inflicted by fire.

The photo uses the setting sun as a backdrop on the trees behind the building, and that contrast to the blue tint of the building increases the sense of severity in the shot. I took a number of these and as I thought about the above I was trying to balance values in the composition. The photo tells the story.