Wheat Field

I went driving in rural New York last week. I came around a turn and before me lay this field of golden grain. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was expecting to see maybe some cows or a small dairy farm. But this looked like a calendar photo from International Harvester. The colors were deep and rich, the sky so blue. A great tree stood in the corner of the field, close to the road. Shadows stretched across the grain tops and the ruts left by the harvester. The machine cut golden roads with steep sides and feathery tops, tracing the contour of the land. Somehow, I had to capture this image. All I had with me was a ballpoint pen and a scrap of poster paper. So I sat on the side of the road for about an hour trying to do it justice. It took my breath away.