Snow came upon us in January, which inspired me to drive to Washtenaw County to capture some red barns that are prevalent along Clinton Road. This particular road trip was a first for me, photographing barns in snow, as I am not a big fan of winter (I usually look like the Michelin Man bundled up to the nines). But, my desire to capture the red pop of color with the white driven snow gave me the proper motivation to make the trip.


One thing I did not take into account when driving these rural roads is...where do I park my car? There isn't always enough side road to pull off to take a photo, and that is doubly so in the snow. There were a few barns where I found an actual road to pull off, but a couple of barns I had to forego because of nowhere to park. And I wasn't about to get myself stuck in a snow drift by myself in the middle of nowhere! Whatever happened to the promise of The Jetson's where your car folds up into a suitcase?🤔


This first barn I came across was down a side road, so it made it easy to pull over and photograph it. Because of the line of pine trees, I wasn't able to get a clear shot of the barn. After further contemplation I realized I do like the framing of the trees with the barn. The sign on the barn reads, "R. Yannone and Sons". There is a date but it was obscured by a tree branch (in future photos, the date is 1992, which is perplexing because the barn definitely looks older than that).

Red Yannone barn with snow-covered roofs surrounded by winter trees outside Manchester, Michigan.

I sighted this barn from my car after photographing the Yannone barn. It was off in the distance, so I put on my 300mm lens and captured it (I liked the diamond-shaped windows). No way was I hiking across that frozen tundra to photograph it lol! This is where a telephoto lens comes in handy.

Classic red barn with white roofs nestled in a snow-covered countryside near Manchester, Michigan.

I saw this barn as I was driving, and had JUST enough room to pull over on the side of the road (and the snow wasn't too deep). I had to hike through a few trees and a couple of snow drifts to be able to come out to an open area to photograph it.

Red barns in snowy rural winter setting outside Manchester, Michigan.

As I continued down the road, the next barn I came to belonged to Wegner Farms. This was the only farm/barn I saw that had a white fence, which I think adds interestingness to the scene.

Snow covered red barns in a serene winter landscape at Wegner Farms in Manchester Michigan.

The most noticeable feature of this barn is the white horse on the front of it. I photographed this barn from several angles, but this was my favorite, as I liked the tree on the left framing the barn.

Red barn with a white horse emblem stands out against a snowy rural winter scene outside Manchester, Michigan.

At this point, I saw all the barns I could see with the amount of time I had, so I headed back towards I-94. I was traveling back roads for several miles when I came across this barn on Scio Rd (as I like to call a "surprise" barn!). I really loved the line of trees with snow on the branches. But, to get the shot I wanted, I would have had to walk on private property, which I don't like to do without permission (it's much different in rural vs the city). But, with a drone, no problem! This was a 9-image panorama. I liked how it turned out and was happy I was able to capture what I saw in my mind's eye.

Panoramic view of red barn and snow-covered trees in winter in Michigan.

Thanks for reading my photo story, while you are here, check out some of my Michigan Barns!

Urban skyline panorama featuring modern skyscrapers and office buildings of Detroit, Michigan.