Heirloom Photographs — Donna Hopkins

*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.