I shot this a couple of weeks ago while working in St. Marys, Kansas. I was working in St. Marys and staying at a small motel in Wamego, about 12 miles away. This area is in northeastern Kansas, so there's lots of corn and some soybeans, but not the ubiquitous wheat one usually associates with this state.
Mornings and early evening, I drove
between the work site and the motel. I was always looking for something
to shoot. At first, nothing seemed photo-worthy. But slowly, the
landscape revealed itself to me. It revealed its simplicity. I stopped
to photograph a sign that I found interesting. As I turned toward the
car, I saw this view. I took a chance. I was using a camera that I had
owned for several years but only shot one or two rolls with it. I didn't
know how it would render what I was seeing.
I received my scans in the same hour that I read a short posting by the photographer David Carol, whose work and demeanor I have come to very much appreciate. He was discussion the three essential traits of a good photographer. He wrote, "The second important attribute is the ability to notice. You must see what is not always obvious and be visually aware of subtle nuances in the world around you."
I was doing that without being conscious
of it. I have a reputation among the Scout leaders and parents of my
sons' classmates. I was constantly getting "lost" on field trips and
outings -- usually photographing things that the others either did not
see, or did not see as something worthy of a photograph. Until they saw
the work later.
This shot epitomizes my approach to noticing
things. The evening I shot this, I was having dinner with the client and
he asked about my delay in meeting him for dinner. I apologized for
making some stops along the way to take pictures. When I told him I had
been taking photographs of the cornfields, the look on his face said,
"WHY?"