I had the best job from 2005 until the spring of 2008 writing about Oregon farmers and the food they cultivate for the Portland Tribune. The "In Season" column became mostly my own those three years as I visited farms all around the state ranging from vegetable farms and fruit and nut orchards to ranches and aquaculture farms.
For the stories I chose a seasonal food, found a grower, visited with the grower and then dredged up additional culinary information. For most stories the paper either sent out a photographer (although many of my stories were too much of a trek), staged a studio shoot, or relied on already existing stock or PR imagery. After a few less than desirable stock and PR photos I decided to start toting my camera and taking my own photos.
A fair few of those photos were used with my stories but I have many that never made it to print. This is the beginning of a series that I'm devoting to these photographs, more importantly the farmers and ranchers in the photographs. For this installment I'm including photos from a farm and an orchard that I visited in the late summer and early fall of 2007.
Winters begrudgingly took off his sunglasses for this photo. I sent the one with sunglasses to print because I knew that's what he wanted.
Winters coaxing words of wisdom from his yellow sweet. He usually grows about 40 acres of it a year.
Corn is beautiful.
Winters leading the way out or else we'd be lost. He was born and raised on the farm.
Claus Eggers harvesting English walnuts on his farm Eggers Acres in Dundee.
The 100 plus year old walnut grove is 15 acres. The entire farm is 45 acres.
Mardi Eggers in the walnut grove on the diesel powered blower machine.
Mardi filling a bag of filberts for us from the Eggers Acres Farm Store.
Eggers Acres' walnut grove.
Claus' dog Jelly is never far from his side.