Fences

Fence and Himalayan Mountains, Wenhai Lake, Yunnan, China

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In big, open landscapes like we have in Wyoming, fences and rivers are often the only boundaries that catch the eye as well as the cows that wear trails along them. From a photographic perspective, they are lines that lure a viewer's eye into an otherwise open scene.  But fences are often collections of objects and materials that reflect local culture.  In China, I found wooden fences woven into exquisite patterns, but still practical enough to keep the yaks out of the vegetables.   In Wyoming, discarded drilling casing and cable gets dragged into fence lines by hard-working ranch hands. Barbed-wire has become a symbol of the West.  In Mexico, fences are an opportunity for working people to decorate their small, brightly-colored stucco houses tucked between bigger houses in big cities.  Cemetery fences are constructed with care, a last show of respect for the dead worldwide.  Laramie, where I live, has its share of wrought iron fences, beautifully crafted and sometimes found in unexpected places engulfed in weeds.  These fences speak to a time when the status of the houses they surround was higher.  

Drilling pipe in fence, Lamont, Wyoming

Woven fence, Wenhai Lake, Yunnan, China

Picket fence, Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

Fence, Hawk Springs, Wyoming

Fence, Oaxaca, Mexico

Iron fence, 1st Street, Laramie, Wyoming

Old fencing material, Van Tassel Road, Eastern Wyoming

Fence with blowing snow, Laramie Basin, Wyoming

Drilling cable coral, Adobe Town, Wyoming

Fence remnant, Chalk Mountain, Wyoming

Fence and snow, Laramie Basin, Wyoming

Tumbleweed in fence, Laramie Basin, Wyoming

Fence with fog and frost, Laramie Basin, Wyoming

Antler fence tightener, Adobe Town, Wyoming

Cemetery gate, Upper Green River Valley, Wyoming