50 Barn Cupolas

Karl Johnson's family moved to an old New Hampshire farm when he was nine years old. It hadn't been a working farm for decades, but its nineteenth-century barn and outbuildings were still intact. The barn quickly became his favorite place to climb and play. He loved the dark, cathedral-like interior with its rough plank floor, hand-hewn beams, and built-in ladders up to the haylofts. Narrow stairs led down to the stable with its six wooden stanchions and mangers. Six wooden chutes, worn smooth from years of hay being dropped down from the main floor, were just the right size for a young boy to slide down. After graduating from design school, Karl worked as a graphic designer and copywriter. He later started and ran an advertising agency in suburban Boston for many years. When he took up photography in the 1970s, old barns became his favorite subjects. He has shot more than 10,000 photographs of barns in the northeastern US and Quebec. Karl is now retired and living in northern New Hampshire. His photography is available on his storefront, https://9-karl-johnson.pixels.com