The Secret Farm

In my series of images, The Secret Farm, I explore an unseen world modern large scale agriculture, the land, the animals, the people. In a world where GPS pilots tractors with data uplinks that allow crop yield is measured for each square yard of land, modern agriculture is often though of as sterile enterprise driven only by data. Data is a critical element in agriculture today, as in almost all aspects of modern life. Agriculture produces commodities, which are often sold on thin and sometime non-existent profit margins. To survive in modern agriculture, efficiency is maximized by analysis of every possible variable. Every bale of hay, each lot of grain is analyzed for nutritional content.

My images look beyond the stark numbers and data analysis, finding glimpses into the soul of modern farming. Farming remains a hands-on, dirty, difficult, and sometimes dangerous occupation, driven by the individuals who have a passion for farming. The Secret Farm is not a sterile, abstract place. My images offer a look at unseen, and for most individuals, unseeable part of modern agriculture. It is a dirty, complex, dynamic world marked by constant change. Tableaux spring up and disappear equally quickly, driven by the constant churn of the Secret Farm. Nothing remains unchanged or untouched for long. A scene of interest must be photographed immediately, as in a minute, an hour, or a day, it will be gone. There is no down time on the Secret Farm.

The Secret Farm images were created with film based medium and large format cameras, and prints were produced with silver gelatin printing on fiber base paper in a traditional darkroom. The prints are selenium toned and archivally processed