black and white

Scanning an Old Story: Kentucky Farm Family

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Last week I bought a high-resolution film scanner by Jumbl. A simple 22MP scanner capable of 35mm film and slides. Super basic. I just need something to get the image into Photoshop so I can tone them properly. It’s not the greatest scanner in the world, but for what I need it for, it’ll work.

Welcome To Kentucky 

Welcome to Kentucky - The Cardwells during a hot October 1996 afternoon at their Ridge Road home in Warren County northeast of Bowling Green, Ky. The Cardwells are tenant farmers living with 8 other family members in a patched-together, 120 year old home on Ridge Road. The family makes less than $7,500 per year. (© Paul Conrad/Paul Conrad Photography)

Welcome to Kentucky – The Cardwells at their Ridge Road home in Warren County, Ky. The Cardwells are tenant farmers living with 8 other family members in a patched-together, 120 year old home on Ridge Road. The family makes less than $7,500 per year. (© Paul Conrad/Paul Conrad Photography)

One of the first projects I scanned was an essay I shot while studying photojournalism at Western Kentucky University. It was an assignment by my fave professor David LaBelle. He game a simple theme: Farm Family.

As this was the core course of the program, I took the class very seriously, yet still maintained a sense of humor and had fun. The assignments in this class ranged from simple singles, to complex essays.

The class load was heavy in that we usually had 2 or 3 single assignments as well as a weekly essay project. ON top of all that, we also had to shoot our semester long project on the theme of either “Religion” or “Death of a Loved One.”

Harvesting:

The Harvest - Billy Ray Cardwell, left, and his wife Nellie spike tobacco during a hot October 1996 afternoon on Jerry Hudnell's farm in Warren County northeast of Bowling Green, Ky. The Cardwells are tenant farmers living with 8 other family members in a patched-together, 120 year old home on Ridge Road. The family makes less than $7,500 per year. (© Paul Conrad/Paul Conrad Photography)

The Harvest – Billy Ray Cardwell, left, and his wife Nellie spike tobacco during a hot October afternoon on Jerry Hudnell’s farm in Warren County, Ky. The two say they’ve harvested tobacco for nearly 40 years.

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An Afternoon at Mt. Baker Ski Area: It’s Black & White

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Went up on Friday to #OptOutside to the Mt. Baker Ski Area east of Bellingham. Fact is, I needed to feel the crisp cold air in my lungs, view the snow-capped peaks, and hear the crunching of ice and snow underfoot.

Plus, I wanted to get the alpenglow on Mt. Shuksan. It was a beautiful clear day so no clouds in the west could block the light from the setting Sun. A LOT of people were up in the area. I would say most of them weren’t there for the skiing.

Last Rays

Sunset from Picture Lake with a view of Mount Shuksan on Friday afternoon Nov. 27, 2015, at the Mount Baker Ski Area in western Whatcom County, Wash. (© Paul Conrad/Paul Conrad Photography)

The last rays of the Sun ignite Mount Shuksan on Friday afternoon Nov. 27, 2015, at the Mount Baker Ski Area in western Whatcom County, Wash. (© Paul Conrad/Paul Conrad Photography)

In fact, many people were just enjoying the view with some sledding on the slopes of Picture Lake. Just a fun post-Thanksgiving romp in the Pacific Northwest Winter Wonderland.

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