In 2016, I carried out a portrait project of collectors (now part of the Documentary Portrait series). The first subject I photographed was Jeff, a tractor collector. Jeff lived about 150 kms from Melbourne and owned a farm with livestock and poultry. Jeff’s hobby was collecting tractors and engines, which was passed down to him by his father along with a collection of hundreds of tractors and engines from all over Australia.
I met Jeff and got to know him before scheduling a photoshoot on a suitable day. On the day of the shoot, Jeff took me on a tour of his farm, which could also be called a warehouse storage for his tractors and car parts.
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Jeff owns a very large farm, but it seems that it is still not spacious enough for his collecting hobby.
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Jeff said that these are the cars he kept to use for spare parts. Restoring vintage tractors is his biggest interest.
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For Jeff, these are extremely important and valuable vintage tractors in his collection.
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In the first experiment, the photo shows Thomas measuring light and white balance. He is a photography classmate of mine.
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Jeff still looks awkward in this experiment. He confessed that he has never had his portrait taken before.
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I asked Jeff if these vintage tractors are still functioning, and he immediately started a few of them and showed me that they are still operational.
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The photo above is the result of the photoshoot, with Jeff posing in front of a vintage tractor made in Melbourne 100 years ago that is still operational.
I am happy that Jeff felt comfortable during the photoshoot, and I appreciate even more that he gave me a very relaxed moment in front of my lens. In just a few snaps, Jeff looked like a professional model.
For me, this was also an ideal portrait session.