Meet Mike - Environmental Portraits series of 6

seastack

Meet Mike. This is a series of environmental portraits I did on an assignment. I spent a foggy morning with Mike at his farm. Mike is a very nice guy, a peacenik. He's never owned a gun. He's never raised a hand to anyone. He lives on his farm where he raises much of his own food and tests new permaculture techniques. All of that is now in question because Mike allegedly grew the wrong agricultural product and sold it to the wrong person, who was wearing a wire at the time. Mike faces up to 20 years in federal prison and forfeiture of his assets including his farm. He may have the option of buying it back from the federal government which would only be an option if he gets a little help from his friends. He is currently awaiting sentencing in federal court. It has been nearly a year since his arrest.

All of these btw were shot with a 50mm lens at f2, or 1.4.

RyanS

These are inspiring. Thanks for sharing.

bdcolen

Very nice series. I must say I was amused by "Mike allegedly grew the wrong agricultural product and sold it to the wrong person, who was wearing a wire at the time." What use of euphemisms.

The final three images are the best of the bunch, though they don't say farmer. But they definitely capture elements of your description of Mike.

Earache

Impressive, and, with the story, emotional and engaging - makes me want to get involved.
Hope you intend to publish in print.

For me, #2 is the eye-grabbing masterpiece (ethereal light and transcendent expression) , with #6 on it's heels.
Killer tones.

seastack

bdcolen wrote: »

Very nice series. I must say I was amused by "Mike allegedly grew the wrong agricultural product and sold it to the wrong person, who was wearing a wire at the time." What use of euphemisms.

The final three images are the best of the bunch, though they don't say farmer. But they definitely capture elements of your description of Mike.

Yeah, you know these are roughly in the order taken so it's interesting to look back and see how things progressed. It takes time for everyone to warm up. I liked his book choice in the last one, too.

lensmole

Interesting story , and nicely presented . Good work ! Sounds like he literally bet the farm on the wrong product.

seastack

lensmole wrote: »

Interesting story , and nicely presented . Good work ! Sounds like he literally bet the farm on the wrong product.

Yep. Unfortunate but hey, if you can't do the time ... a choice was made.

At the same time, it's interesting that the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Russia is number two. Roughly 1 in 100 U.S. adults are in prison (1 in 31 are in "the system" if you include parole) and while the U.S. represents 5 percent of the world's population, it holds roughly 25 percent of the world's inmates. More than one-half of prisoners in federal detention are in for drug related charges.

bdcolen

seastack wrote: »

Yeah, you know these are roughly in the order taken so it's interesting to look back and see how things progressed. It takes time for everyone to warm up. I liked his book choice in the last one, too.

I invariably find that the last images shot are the best, whether the shoot is a wedding, a day in a lab, or a walk in the park. Loosening up? Letting the eye see? Whatever.

Earache

seastack wrote: »

Yep. Unfortunate but hey, if you can't do the time ... a choice was made.

At the same time, it's interesting that the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Russia is number two. Roughly 1 in 100 U.S. adults are in prison (1 in 31 are in "the system" if you include parole) and while the U.S. represents 5 percent of the world's population, it holds roughly 25 percent of the world's inmates. More than one-half of prisoners in federal detention are in for drug related charges.

Interesting fun fact - probably should be a scandal or something .......truth is, inmates disappear - forgotten - into the system, and Average Americans like it that way.

What? You got something against lawyers already.........:D

Prisons are a very efficient vortex of money-sucking government empire-building. If you get bored, check-out the pensions for CA prison guards - you might just run out and buy a nightstick and a pair of jack-boots.

bdcolen

Actually, the prison system is becoming yet another example of he horrors of privatization, rather than big government run amok. But the real problem is a legal system now dominated by a "throw away the key," philosophy.

SciurusNiger

I would argue the real problem is "overcriminalization"; the unintended consequence of attempting to legislate morality. It has been estimated that the average law-abiding American now commits multiple felonies on any given day due to this. And, personally, I expect it to get worse before it gets better; witness the recent court ruling against the photographer who refused to shoot an event that conflicted with their personal beliefs.

PJ.

bdcolen wrote: »

Actually, the prison system is becoming yet another example of he horrors of privatization, rather than big government run amok. But the real problem is a legal system now dominated by a "throw away the key," philosophy.