While there can be no doubt that the humble tobacco plant is the source of more ill in our society than can easily be recounted, it may also be accurate to say that it carries some positive effects, in biomedical applications among others, that we only dimly appreciate at present. Very few local farmers cultivate tobacco any longer; but a handful still do; and when you come upon a tobacco harvest story unfolding, it is certainly a reminder of the rich tradition that supported farmers in these hills when little else could be found to do so. My grandfather had a Ford 801 series tractor on his farm in the North Georgia piedmont, and finding this one still in use was like waking into a dream. When I saw this scene taking shape I knew that I wanted to tell an intimate landscape story of tractor, wagon, and tobacco stalks with no extraneous additional information. The wagon, parked just inside the barn opening, was being unloaded from the rear, so I was able to set up and compose without interfering in the work. A focal length of 90mm gave me the angle of view I wanted which included part of a rear tire and fender, a front headlight, part of the seat and steering wheel, and the portion of the wagon immediately behind the tractor. An aperture of f/16 and a shutter speed of 0.6 seconds at ISO 400 gave me an overall medium exposure. A combination of patience and a higher ISO setting allowed me to freeze the motion created by the intermittent activity in the rear of the wagon.
Nice composition but what “caught” me most was the rag under the seat. This wasn’t a model set-up; this was a workingman’s tractor. Nice touch.
Hi Judy, thank you for joining me. Absolutely, agree; when I noticed that rag I would not have thought about relocating it for anything. It is essential to telling this story well. Thank you for pointing it out. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of these tractors that did not have a rag associated with it in some way or another, if only in a farmer’s overalls.
This is a beautiful story. I lived in South Georgia in the early fifties and remember the tobacco, peaches and pecans. The tobacco with the vintage tractor is priceless. The lighting is beautiful. Being just inside the barn door made the background go dark which seems to make your composition even stronger. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Nancy T.; thanks for joining us. I learn new things about you all of the time. I never knew you lived in South Georgia. Then you have seen your share of tobacco being “put up” as they say. It was certainly the position of the tractor relative to the barn that gave the lighting the effect that it had. It was quite even except, as you point out, in the background where the barn structure gave some increased contrast that had a beneficial overall impact. I hope you are doing well.
As you mentioned,Don tobacco is no longer the financial foundation of thousands of subsistence farmers like it once was. Here in Kentucky it still provides a significant income for a few but the number is dwindling. The tractor and wagon is a little different fare from the landscapes I have come to know you for. I like the composition and story it tells. By composing vertically you were able to include just enough of the tractor to tell your story without detracting from the main focus which is the tobacco. I think I need to recalibrate my monitor because the color balance leans toward cyan more than I think you captured it at. When you mentioned your grandfather using an old Ford tractor on his farm I couldn’t help but be reminded of my grandfather who raised five children on a 40 acre hillside farm in the Kentucky foothills without so much as a wagon, much less a tractor! The only implement on the farm for moving crops from the field was a homemade sled pulled by a mule. There was not a hay rake, a mowing blade – nothing with wheels! Tobacco was the crop that provided the cash for those things they couldn’t make themselves. If only I had some pictures of those days!
Hey Dorsey, thanks, as always, for joining us. I’m looking at my monitor trying to see the cyan you mentioned. On my screen the cowling of the tractor engine looks slightly cyan, but it may just be old paint in the shade of the barn. I say that because as I look at the fender of the tire partially shown, it seems fairly white, as does the rag. I’ll bring the image back into processing and see what it does if I take out more cyan. Thanks for noticing that.The story of tobacco in the rolling hills of Kentucky is somewhat different from that of the mountain valleys of Madison County, but they are similar in some ways as well. The book we are doing on the barns of Madison County will tell this story in detail. When you talk about mules and sleds you are talking about my other grandfather who farmed in South Georgia. I can remember when he bought his first tractor. It was a very big deal as it meant going into debt in the short term on the faith that his crops in the coming years would allow him to pay off the investment and clear enough to support the other expenses. He was like so many others in the rural South, and while he always managed to break even, so many others never did; and the path of farming became what it did. Thanks for your insights.