Picture of the day - August 20, 2007

"Nebraska Reflections"

Photo courtesy of Dan Waltz. Today's picture "reflects" a true image of life in rural America. I have written many times about the important role our family farms have played in helping to build and sustain our great nation. Today, many of our farmers are struggling to remain in operation in an economy that favors huge corporate farms and cheap imports over "the little guy", and we Americans are watching this rich part of our heritage simply slip away right before our eyes. Having grown up in a farming community, many of my childhood memories consist of "puttin' up hay", "cuttin' tobacco", or "plantin' taters" and such. I didn't much care for farm work back then, but nowadays whenever I drive past one of the farms I used to "help out on" I realize that I'm looking at an icon from a simpler time, a by-gone era when we knew all of our neighbors as well as we knew our own families and we could count on them for help in times of need. Sadly, those days are long gone, most likely never to return. But still, I have all of those precious memories... Which brings me back to today's picture. When I first saw this photo I said to myself "Oh, that's a pretty scene.", but I didn't really have much interest in using it because I have already featured a number of barns, hayfields and other "farm" images as "Pictures of the Day". But then I read photographer Dan Waltz's comments about how he had helped bale hay on this very farm as a youngster, and all of a sudden what was a beautiful picture became a great one. There is often more to a photograph than the image itself, and so it is with this one. The following is Dan's story behind the image: "This photo is one of many of the barns that I worked in or around during my youth. The photo was taken about 2pm using my Canon Xti with 24-105L IS lens, hand-held with no filters and inspired by wonderful memories." --Dan Waltz Dan Waltz is a photographer from Omaha, NE who specializes in rural scenes invoking memories of the past. He invites you to visit his website at www.midlandbarns.com.   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!            Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"