Life Observed

I finally managed to catch one of the local combine harvesters in action. Monsters like this Lexion 600 (at one time this was the most powerful combine in the world apparently) can cut nine meters at a pass and move at a brisk walking pace. The corn lorry has its job cut out keeping up with the process. Another sign of the times is the process that occurs at the blunt end of the combine, where I noticed a larger than normal cloud of dust and chaff. In years gone by farmers would simply burn the straw (which is now illegal) or bale it for bedding. Straw is not very valuable and these days it is often not worth baling and moving. This combine has a straw chopper and spreader in the rear, so there is no sign of a swath behind the machine.  There is nothing to collect, burn or bale. In fact the straw will get ploughed back into the ground as added nutrient for next year.

It seems to me that the harvest has come around early this year,. Some of the local fields were cleared in late July while others stand golden and ready to cut. It makes you wonder just how many grains of wheat there are in a field like this. Answers on a postcard please... The local farmers use agricultral contracters with their huge harvesters which can cut and bale a whole filed in a single day. Scarey stuff, especially down the local narrow country lanes.

Here's something that shouldn't be there. Hidden in the monoculture of the wheat field is this interloper... I would keep my head down if I were you, mate. That crop looks almost ready for the combine harvester. No deep message here, just a shot taken for a laugh...

Here's a mean and moody shot of a storm threatened crop.  Well, all is not quite what it seems, as I took my portable sunshine with me and created the mood myself. It was an overcast day, but I felt the look needed enhancing. This is a standard strobist trick. I used an off camera flash to put light down onto the corn from overhead, giving the look of a shaft of sunlight. It is then just a matter of adjusting the flash power and the camera exposure so that the background goes dark while the foreground is over-lit. The trick can also be used in a more subtle manner. In this case the post box has a small splash of light to lift it, while the background is once again allowed to be dark and brooding. In addition to the lighting trick, narrow depth of field also separates the post box from it's background.

The generic term for cereals here in the UK. This is wheat, I think. here in the South, there has been enough rain for a decent harvest. I guess the farmers will now be in search of dry weather to ripen everything, then more dry weather to be able to harvest it. This constant worry about the weather and the fluctuations in prices and Government policy probably explain why farmers are rarely happy.. .