Heirloom Photographs

Snead’s Farm, Melon Cart, July August 2025

I have taken many pictures of watermelons inside this little white wagon cart. A few each summer over the last decade. But for some reason, likely background distractions, I have never photographed the whole cart in its natural environment. On the side of the road, next to the stand where we pay for our corn and blackberries. The situation is not just right with regard to light; it’s midday and overcast (maybe a storm this evening). But I love the hot summer-ness of the whole scene. And the scene feels like an heirloom in my family of photographs. Something of special value, passed down from one generation to the next.

Honor System

Honor System, July 2025

This is my favorite way to buy fresh produce and support local farmers. Pay on the honor system. Choose a melon. Put money in the red lock box. Put a few extra dollars in—if you stay and take pictures. Always carry $10 in ones if you think you might stop at produce stands along Route 301. This is really good advice.

Once Again

Braehead Farm, July 2025

I’ve taken some version of this picture several times over the last few summers. The photo varies based on where the farmer plants the flower field. This year it’s in a perfect spot, photographically speaking. With the silo and barn in the background. It’s not easy to photograph Zinnias or Black-eye Susans on a hot summer day. Those bright colors, richly saturated, can appear as big blobs of colors when recorded on a digital sensor. It takes a little finesse to edit this type of photo so that the color is still vibrant and the details become visible. I’m never quite sure I’ve got it right, but I love trying.

Taking the same picture over and over reminds me of a lesson I’ve learned. My whole life can change in a year. I know now that I deserve to live a life that is mine. Full of lightness, full of choice, full of the love I never expected but always knew I needed.

Ship in a Bottle

Ship in a Bottle, July 2025

One of the frustrating elements of creating a photo book is that there will always be something you’d like to add or change AFTER the book has been sent to print. This is the nature of the work and something I accept. I’m not even sure this image would have worked in A Guidebook for Small Travels, but it sure looks like a good fit. After all, what’s more small + travel than a ship in a bottle. Turns out, it is actually quite difficult to photograph through glass in this way. There’s some kind of wavy distortion thing going on (which I will look up since I am a science nerd). But I kinda like it. It feels like a mirage or an impression of travel rather than the sharp focus of a definite destination. And maybe that’s exactly what the best travels give us . . . a change of perspective.