These photographs are from a series documenting two traditional family farms in central Kansas. I was commissioned by Kent and Missy McCarthy to photograph them in early December 2002. While these farms lie a mere two dozen miles south of Interstate 70 and just a mile or two from busy U.S. Route 75, the pace slows down as one travels the side roads leading to these farms.
Both are charming, well kept, and owned by descendants of the original owners. The interplay of natural landscape and man’s influence in domesticating these farms is rich subject matter for photography. Residential compounds of homes and outbuildings balance long, open views. The man-made structures punctuate the gentle valleys and bottomland that shelter them.
A farm’s textures are fascinating to a photographer working in black and white. They are not just opportunities to compose strong photographs, but clues to the weather, people, and activities that have passed during the many seasons since the land was first farmed. I can’t help speculating about the many seasons of hard work and maintenance that have been invested in making these farms both homes and places of business. The results are impressive.
My favorite cameras for these scenes are medium format, for best detail. I used a Hasselblad XPan camera for the panoramas and a Pentax 67II for the full frame views. They produce negatives with a 2:5 and 6:7 proportion, respectively. These are traditional silver prints, made in my darkroom, on Ilford Multigrade paper and processed to standards of archival permanence. Thank you for your interest in this work.
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