Ferny’s place, Cuming County, Neb., 2007. (Nancy Warner)

Photographer Nancy Warner traveled to the Great Plains to document the disappearing farms and tell the stories of once-bustling buildings that are now abandoned, places where animals used to roam that have now been taken over by nature.

For Warner, surveying the disappearing farmhouses was also personal. “The photographs are an exploration of my childhood memories. Growing up I spent a lot of time on farms of aunts and uncles in Cuming County, Nebraska,” she told weather.com. Her mother’s grandfather immigrated to the area in 1865 and filed a claim under the Homestead Act.

During a family reunion at her family’s farm in 2001, Warner was inspired to create a photo series around abandoned farmhouses.

“I wandered into the unoccupied upstairs of the Stark place and discovered a black and white photographer’s dream: torn curtains, layers of peeling wallpaper, objects left on shelves and untouched for years. Excited by the possibilities, I returned a few days later to make what would become the first photographs in the series,” she explained.

It was with the help of her family and other locals that she was able to locate other abandoned and neglected farmhouses in the area for her series. When Warner was shooting outside she tried to avoid the worst weather, but she mostly focused on interiors.

“In the Great Plains, the wind is always an unavoidable force to contend with. I usually had to weigh down my tripod when photographing outdoors,” she said. “My primary interest was the interiors of the house and they tended to be quite dark and smelly, so my ideal weather was bright, sunny and not too hot.”

When shooting indoors, Warner would observe the light in the room, a process that involved patience. “I would often sit and wait for the light to travel across a wall, floor or ceiling just to see what it would reveal. Sometimes I was able to make a beautiful image — and sometimes not.”

While it may sound tedious, this method excites Warner. “One of my greatest pleasures is observing what’s around me. I’ve always had an excellent visual sense.”

Warner’s images are featured in the book, “This Place, These People: Life and Shadow on the Great Plains.” To see more of her work visit her website.