The Cow and the Combine

This a “busy” picture which I initially thought was too cluttered. Yet I kept coming back to it, fascinated by the complexity of the farm equipment, the contrast between the gray sheets of the harvester sides and the rough textures of the earth, the bark and the coat of the cow (actually a steer). I also liked the richness and varied tones of the browns and rusty reds. The steer watching me stolidly provides a counterpoint to the lines and planes of the machinery. Taken near Duncan, B.C. at f/11 with the Ross Xpres lens on my Ensign 16-20 on Kodak VC-160. It’s amazing to me how all these colours combine, with the obvious setting sun in the foreground behind the camera. It’s a wonder how farm equipment has developed so much, and the creativity that has gone behind each piece. For example you can see all these rusty metal machines, and it makes you wonder what they were all built for. With a cow in the foreground you could guess this was an old cattle farm, for meat or dairy perhaps. With this potential volume of cows, you might imagine this farm owns machines to help feed and water them, perhaps milk them too. Then other farm equipment like what we now call articulating wagon gear to help move bulks across uneven terrain. Oh, I could go on and on. The things you can decipher from one photo, they really are fun to study.