Nbr 2 - What I Like About This Shot

I drive by this place almost everyday. As a result I have been able to photograph this scene in all seasons and in just about every kind of light you can imagine. Why is it then this single image stands apart from all the other attempts to capture it?

Before discussing the technical points of the image, those of us who grew up in small towns or perhaps entertained opportunities to spend time on a grandparents farm will understand the emotional impact this image contains. There is something about a country road that takes us back to those times, to rememberances of our youth. An effective image does that. It will rekindle dormant memories of fragrant fall leaves, the aroma of a summer shower, the feeling of a season changing breeze. It serves as a reminder of who we were and bridges the gap of changing times between then and now.

Oddly enough even though I have photographed this location numerous times, most of those images turned out rather ordinary in nature. This one, however, was different, and I knew it from the moment I arrived that somehow, all the right ingredients were there to create something special. It was late fall and most of the leaves had already turned and dropped, but a few were still hanging around. All the fields had been harvested and the cooler seasons were about to settle in for the long haul. I headed down the road just before sunup hoping to see one of those legendary Kentucky sunrises. It was not to be as I was greated with mostly overcast skies that were stirred and churned into a deep caldrun of shape and texture. In reality I had not intended to photograph this location on that day, but as I drove by, as the sun began to burn through the clouds right at sunup, rays of light swept across the landscape in random beams striking where they may. I pulled into the road, ran down the lane about a hundred yards and started shooting.

After a few shots a single beam of light caught the tops of the dry grass growing along the fence row and just lightly highlighting the corn stalk stubble in the field. The one tree that still had leaves on it caught another beam. Still another bounced off the storage silo and the clouds broke into several layers of dark, middle tone, and paler grays. When this image appeared in my view screen, I knew I had captured the one shot I had always knew was there. The range of darks, grays, and lights blended almost perfectly adding a measure of distance and space. The road winding toward the home and beyond connected the view, and the old home standing resolute...well, it just looked and felt right...even in its original color version. When converted to black and white, all the best traits represented here became even more profound.

Why do I like this image? The Depth of the image in all of its aspects is what sets this one apart. It brings me home again. It shouts with nostalgia, with country living, with what is right about America. It is one of those ageless photographs where one can once again remember good times from the past, where wholesome values still exist, values that still encourage with brighter hopes for the future.

What I like About This Shot....

Over the next few weeks, from time to time, I am going to share some ideas about certain pictures I've managed to take and why I like them. Every picture I have ever kept I kept for a reason. Usually there was something unique about it, or circumstances surrounding them were unique. I am all the time trying to explain a picture to someone who may or may not have much reason to care or want to know such details. Guess it is sort of like a car buff who just can't stop talking tech about his hot rod.

Here is a photo I took a few years ago of a farming friend of mine. Always thought he carried himself well,

distinguished, yet down to earth, humble, yet proud of his contributions to...well...the rest of us. We timed the shoot perfectly as the day was covered with low hanging, dark, clouds with lots of texture. I asked him to drive his tractor out to the field so we could use it as a prop. You know, a tractor, the kind I think of anyway is something you can park inside a typical garage. As it turned out he wheeled out this piece of machinery that was the size of my first house...and that was just his mid-sized tractor.

Even so, it added so much to the story, without it, the image would have just been of someone standing in a field. The dark clouds full of texture really added a great deal of drama. The image would not have been the same without those clouds. At the time I only had one speedlight, and it by itself was not going to do the job, so I brought the big gun studio lights with a small softbox attached. I used two lights both powered by a homemade power supply consisting of a lawnmower battery and a power converter. Worked like a charm.

My approach was to take one of those larger than life images. My friend is rather tall at about 6' 4" or so, so I wanted to take advantage of his height. I framed him with the tractor in background with its lights on, against that dark ominous sky. Farmers and weather tend to have this love hate relationship...the weather sometimes makes their life difficult, and sometimes it provides an ideal situation that produces bumper crops. When its good, they love it...when its bad...well, I can only imagine the difficulties they must endure.

Anyway...as far as why I like this picture...simply stated, it captures the symbolic nature of farmer vs weather and how both of them must work together to grow the crops we as a nation depend on. He, standing firm and resolute, maybe even a bit defiant. The weather doing what it always does, friend or foe. The way the clouds appear to be racing across the sky...indeed they were...portrays the volatile nature of the farmer/weather relationship. The overall look of the image, being dark and moody, reflects the struggle farmers must endure every season. Images like these are not always easy to construct...sometimes they just happen, and sometimes you just lucky. For this particular image, well, I knew what I wanted, I just got lucky how the weather cooperated with those desires.