The subject matter I chose for this project is depicting the everyday life of farmers more specifically my family's farm. I was skeptical about photographing the life I grew up in because the lifestyle and day to day activities seemed to normal and uninteresting for me to want to photograph. Coming from a farming background then deciding to pursue a degree in art has created a divide between two worlds for me. With this series, I’m trying to connect and reflect on these two parts of my life. Photographing where I grew up has allowed me to accept a lifestyle that has made me the person I am today.
The images for me are personal but for others, it’s a small look into the lives of the 1.2 % of people who work every day to produce the food they consume. For farmers, it’s a look at their lives from a different perspective. We live in a world of cheap food. People outside of the farming community blame farmers for the use of GMO’s and pesticides to grow and protect crops. They forget about the simple fact of supply and demand. Until the consumer is willing to pay for higher-priced organic food, farmers are not going to change the way they produce. The demand for cheap food also takes a toll on family farms. In order to make any amount of income from mass-produced food the idea of “go big or go home” is a common theme throughout the farming community. We are in this endless cycle of one side blaming the other it’s time to step back and look at the bigger picture from both sides.
Some of the influencers behind my work are Sally Mann and Dorthea Lang. Mann makes experimental photographs using the wet plate collodion process. Her work explores the overarching themes of existence: family, desire, mortality, and memory. Lange uses photography to confront the urgent circumstances around her, and others. Lange spent her life documenting humanity through her revealing, empathetic photographs of the lives of others. Her ability to show the hardship of farmers during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl bonds to an idea of social justice and her faith in the power of photography.