Following on from a previous post back in May here is another of my portraits of grain elevators. I really do consider these portraits as each of these structures are individuals with their own grace and personality. I try to spend time with each of them, often going back more than once, attempting to understand what it is about them that is special and how they would like to be projected to the world.
They deserve the same dignity and consideration that I would give to any person that I was making a portrait of. Each of them has stood the test of time and the elements with grace and aged and weathered just as we do. They have served their communities well, taking in each year’s harvest and protecting it until it was time to hand it off to the railroad for transportation on down the line of the system that feeds this great nation of ours. Not many of them are in use these days, but here on the high plains they stand as stalwart beacons guiding travelers from miles away.
This gentleman stands watch over the rails passing through the small community of Melrose, New Mexico. I met him one chilly March day at sunrise, standing tall and silent against the steady wind with broad shoulders gleaming in the sun.
(Originally published June 7, 2016)