The Dance | Payday In The Heartland

In rural America, life unfolds under expansive skies, across a patchwork of fertile fields connected by seldom-traveled roads. For those born to it, farming life moves in rhythm with the seasons, and it is never far from their heart; for others drawn to it, the connection becomes just as deep.

We knew capturing the unpredictable nature of the harvest would require work that was precise, fast and controlled—we could argue that a rural twist on street photography would describe our techniques well. Although the environments are very different, we were inspired by the street work of Garry Winogrand and Helen Levitt to see and capture the quiet drama of fleeting moments during the harvest.

To bring this vision to life, we followed four distinctly different farming operations with one common thread; all are multi-generational family farms. Over 23 days, we captured images from dawn until well after dusk, documenting every aspect of this extraordinary season.

Although we had access to the people and activities taking place, we chose not to rely on posed setups. Instead, we approached the shoot with a blend of street photography and photojournalism, focusing on honest, unscripted, and authentic moments that convey the emotion and intensity of the harvest.

While working on THE DANCE, both in the field and in the digital darkroom, we focused on presenting the impact of place and time, along with the dynamic relationships between natural scenes and human interaction.