This photo story, done for Yankee Magazine, is a celebration of the sweet corn harvest in the Berkshires and quickly turned into an education about varieties like "sugar & butter" and "Kiss n' Tell." One in particular, "Fields of Gold" had so much more meaning once Dan Tawczynski told of the day when a limousine pulled up, cooler was loaded with the sweet variety and off it went to JFK, the Concorde and ultimately London, to be served later that evening. Tawczynski's crops were that special! Since his farming career started in the early 1960's, he worked to perfect some sugar-enhanced varieties such as Jubilee, 274A and the special favorite, Silver Queen. It became quite evident that Tawczynski's farm would be producing corn for quite some time, because summer would not be summer without it; whether here locally or even overseas.
The late season assignment ended up being a bit of a challenge when an early frost came through the Great Barrington, MA farm the evening before I arrived. We quickly pivoted and focused on an upward angle portrait of Tawcynski in the one field left standing. Afterward, we worked hard to capture the corn variations & recipes, working in the studio with food stylist, Catrine Kelty. With Catrine on board we were able to bring to life the beauty of the corn that we weren’t able to capture in the field.
Want to see more of my editorial food photography? Check it out here.