I realized this week that it’s been a while since I posted an agricultural photography shoot on my blog. It’s been a while since I’ve shot on a farm here in Minnesota, or anywhere, and I miss it! It’s one of my favorite things to shoot, but there just hasn’t been many requests for it lately.
I remember back in the 90s when I was working as a photojournalist for the Rochester Post-Bulletin and Agri News, I hated when they would send me on agricultural shoots. Back then I knew nothing about farming, had little appreciation for it, and it just didn’t interest me. I remember pulling up to fields in my BMW, while sporting a foot-long ponytail and Birkenstocks, and getting out to photograph a farmer working in the field. Eventually, they would stop to ask what I was up to, and I would explain that I was just looking for some farming images to run as a feature photo in Agri News. And I would usually have to ask what they were doing so I had caption info, and they would explain that they were harvesting corn, or soy beans. Then I would ask what the machine was called that they were driving and they would tell me it was a combine. Then they’d usually follow with, “who did you say you work for again?” Haha!
And now 30 years later, farm photography is one of my favorite subjects. And although I still don’t know that much about farming, I do now recognize the difference between a combine and a planter. 😂
Rochester, Minnesota, photographer, Dean Riggott, has specialized in commercial, editorial and corporate photography since 1991. Besides agricultural photography, dean also specializes architecture, industrial, healthcare, food & hospitality, people, science, product and Rochester, Mn, photo stock.
