Spring on the farm - final project for my photography class this semester

[Ms. Toad]

I belong to a CSA, so I asked the farmers if I could follow them around to document spring on the farm. (I also have several people images that show the planting, watering, and thinning process - and round out the collection - but won't post those without consent.)

Enjoy!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Wow, my dear Ms. Toad!

You really have the artist's eye. These are fantastically composed photos.

Love the close-up work. The details are very fine.

If this class is graded, you should definitely get an A!

[Ms. Toad]

2. Thank you!

The class is graded. I'm expecting an A. The final crit is usually pulling the best of your semester (or even career) photos that fit into a theme. But since I focused each critique on a different aspect of color I couldn't really pull a cohesive theme together with existing work. So I asked the professor about whether he wanted a less-focused theme that included older work, an entirely new project, or a combination (10 from each), his response was, "You have fulfilled all expectations as far as the actual color output of the class is concerned. . . I would say go with whatever you feel would provide you with a more enriching, but not too stressful, experience in terms of shooting and printing."

I took from that that I've met whatever standards he is measuring against and i should just have fun with the final project. So I did.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. Very well done! It's wonderful when you're doing great work AND having fun at the same time. nt

[Deuxcents]

3. Yes, definitely high marks for these great photos

We have the best photographers on the DU 🤗

[Ms. Toad]

4. Thank you! n/t

[WalkerinSC]

6. Well done!

[Ms. Toad]

7. Thank you! n/t

[Hermit-The-Prog]

8. Can't decide on a favorite

Red blooms, new growth through cracked earth, nest by red pipe, new flowers (narcissus?) through old.

Fortunately, I don't have to choose -- you shared all of 'em!

[Ms. Toad]

10. Thank you!

Interesting that one of your top picks is one that almost didn't make the final cut (the raspberries poking through the cracked earth).

The red blooms are part of a program they are beginning to reinvigorate the soil. There are three different plants in the mix. Something in the what family, something in the pea family, and a third I don't remember. After a season they will be cut down and used as hay or composted and the soil will be happy and fresh for a new crop of something delicious to eat.

The flowers are daffodils (very similar to narcissus)

[Hermit-The-Prog]

12. We have wild raspberries

I'm never as fast as the birds at harvesting the wild raspberries and blackberries, though.

The leaves of the red bloom plant look like clover, but red clover here has a lighter red, round bloom while alfalfa is more of a purple. Bet it's some kind of legume at least, possibly the pea family you mention.

I checked wikipedia and it says daffodil, narcissus and jonquil are all "common names [ ... ] used to describe all or some members of the genus." I thought they were 3 different flowers. We have ones like you photographed, some with the center the same light yellow as the rest of the bloom, and some all white ones. I take pictures of them every year just to see how much they spread.

[burrowowl]

9. Great photo essay!

The oil pump in the background, food for thought.

[Ms. Toad]

11. There are a lot of them in our area.

In general, even if the owners don't want them they can't get rid of them since prior owners of the property granted the oil companies a permanent lease.

We have a capped well on our property, as well as a big ugly green tank above an underground storage location used to store natural gas. But the lease granted several owners ago (in the 30s, if I recall correctly) gives them the right to drop a new well in any time they feel like it. We get a whopping $500 a year. We tried, unsuccessfully, to evict them when we first bought the property. They did double our rent . . . But no change since then - and whether/when the rent goes up is entirely under their control.

[yonder]

13. The flowers growing up next to the disk are symbolic and my favorite.

So many good ones, the red barn might be second for me.

[Ms. Toad]

14. Thank you! n/to

[Diamond_Dog]

15. VERY nice!

Beautiful photos. Clarity and composition are outstanding! I get the feeling of being out in that fresh air and smelling the straw and the soil and the grass.

[Ms. Toad]

16. Yay!

One of the photography professors (not mine) said my photos were very engaging - I suspect the feeling you get from them is part of what he was talking about.

And thank you!