Life on a Hoosier Homestead Farm
By adniloj
7 June 2008
From beautiful relaxing sunsets, swings, barns, and weather vanes to the rust, texture and weathered look, our farm is a photographer wonderland. I've enjoyed many captures through the years and cut my teeth in photo-journalism at a young age snapping captures around the acreage.
All of the photos in this essay were taken during our family work days when you can usually find 4 generations doing whatever task(s) needs to be done to keep the farm running toward a prosperous harvest. With these captures, I've attempted to give not only a sense of a Midwestern family farm, but also a little piece of the history and heritage making this a wonderful place to work, play, relax and capture from behind the lens.
A couple notes about individual captures: with "A Hoosier Homestead", I attempted to replicate old photos I've seen from my grandma & grandpa. The title came from an award program that many midwestern states have for generational farms.
A Hoosier Homestead Award recognizes a farm in the same family for multiple generations. A Centennial farm is 100-149 years in the same family, Sesquicentennial is 150-199, & a Bicentennial 200+. In order to achieve this award, the history of the farm must be documented: when land was acquired, # of acres, # of acres actively farmed by family, farm income history, where owners were born, did owners engage in trade off the farm, crops & livestock history, etc. all must be recorded.
My grandmother sat with us & helped record an accurate history complete with stories, pictures, much joy & a few tears. Our farm is now recognized as a Hoosier Homestead by the state of Indiana.
With "Leaving The Barn Door Open", I attempted an inside to outside capture. Our big barn has a drive through for bringing in the crop to be hung after harvest; Inside, the barn is quite dark normally. When I opened both doors on a very sunny bright afternoon, just look what I saw! I really enjoy the feel in this capture.
With "Sure Is A Windy One", I was attempting a long term exposure on a very bright sunny day, which was an effort inspired by mail exchanges with other JPGers.
With "Glowing Tree Mystery", I decided to do some captures on the evening of a full moon. That was a fun one and came out much different than the look during the day of the tree.
And last to note is "Bricks At The Barn", which proved to me that sometimes, simple is best. I like the textures that came out in both the end of the bricks and also the wood in the background which is the side of the barn.
All in all the farm is very hard work & physical labor. It also entails putting your personal opinions & wants second to a priority of keeping the farm together. For that reason, trivialness just doesn't matter or carry much weight in the day as there's really no time for such stuff and the world's better without that anyway.
A farm can be a very humble place to exist. I most always find it a beautiful place where the worries & stresses of life dissolve as you walk the fence rows & the things that really matter in life slowly fall into perspective.
Life on a Hoosier Homestead is a great place to be.
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