Recently, I was lucky enough to visit some family friends who live and work on a proper Illinois farm. Its harvest season, which means golden, beautiful light, cool big machines and long days. Photographic opportunities abounded so despite mainly being there on a social visit, I managed to snap a few stills that I really, really like.
For a city slicker like me, it was profoundly interesting to learn about the intricacies of soybean sewing, growing, harvesting and exporting, to take a ride in a Polaris side-by-side and in a combine harvester, and to hear tales about the rich soil in the Mississippi River valley and how its second only to certain dirt in parts of South America.
There is a visceral, honest feeling about being ‘on the farm’, and I feel like I got close to capturing it in these images. Close, but not completely. I think you have to be there, covered in dust and soybean hulls, to really get it. I’m glad I got to.
