“Storm Coming”
AAEA Communication Awards 2021 Photo of the Year
Award Winner: Joel Reichenberger, Progressive Farmer
Sometimes you show up at a field and everything is a bit gray and dull, and sometimes there’s a big thunderstorm coming over the Western Kansas horizon during wheat harvest. I was happy to see that storm!
I had been out there a few hours already and had all the photos I needed for my assignment squared away. It was probably time to go, especially because I had family waiting on me a few hours down the road. But that storm kept getting bigger and bigger, and the clouds were so interesting and the wheat so vibrant. I just kept saying, “Well, a few more shots.”
I didn’t actually leave until it was dark, just as the rain finally arrived. I got the chance to really look at the photos late that night, but I knew the scene was pretty special as I was driving away.
I shot it with a Nikon D810 with a 14-24mm f/2.8 lens, at 1/160 sec, f/6.3, on a tripod.
Joel Reichenberger took home a total of 10 AAEA Communication Awards, plus 1 Honorable Mention in both writing and photography categories. He was also named the 2021 Photographer of the Year at the AAEA Communication Awards ceremony.