This has always been one of my favorite old photos. It is not clear who it is. I am thinking it is either my great grandfather (the one on the blog last Friday) or his brother Ben.
There is a lot about this photo I like. The landscape scene is nice. I like the foreground and the wide shot showing the lay of the land. The trees and part of a building over to the right make a nice composition.
The dress of the simple figure is pleasing to the eye; the hat, white shirt, and pants (not too dark but darker). The angle of the scythe shows there is work at hand. I have a scythe that belonged to the other side of my family (grandfather). He would tell me of working all day in a field with it and eating his lunch from a bucket to earn a dollar.
It is disappointing to me to not be able to say for certain who this is. I have heard my grandmother say it was her father -- so I think it is -- but who can tell? If the photo was taken so that you could see the face -- a lot of the pleasing elements would be lost.
2 comments:
I have always had a fascination for old farm implements and tools. When I worked on the farm in the 1970's, one of the off-time, rainy day jobs was clearing grass from the fence lines. Before the days of gas-powered weed wackers, we used a scythe to do that (perhaps the only utilitarian reason to keep them around the farm). This was a drudgery task for many–but I enthusiastically volunteered, and proudly learned to wield it, and sharpen it. This photo struck a nostalgic chord with me.
I enjoy looking at your photos, then reading your observations.
It makes me aware of things I didn't notice. Very good point about not being able to see the face in this one.
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