The 10 Percent man Photo

Photographer’s Note

This is the 10% guy; he separates the clumps and redistributes the individual plants to the gaps in the line of plugs, the 10% that the machine missed. He is walking in the same mud but does not have the floating machine to hold on to. I am sure I would be covered in mud by this point; having fallen several times I am sure.

I think this is a form of dedication and faith, which is pretty rare today. The field is small, the yield will be small and like farmers everywhere if the harvest is great they will do just a bit better than break even. Yet here they are breaking their backs in the mud, planting individual stalks of rice, and I expect each plant only produces a spoon full of grains. These farmers, and their wives have faith in the weather they can’t control that the crop will be bountiful and that the buyers will be fair. I think they must see this as a field full of life giving food and not the mud and toil and risk that others see. I doubt that they even see the beauty of their reflections in the water as we do.

And with all this said, when they look up at the crazy WayGooking (outsider) taking photographs of their daily labor they smile and wave at me in a way that could not be faked. I honestly think these folks do this because they love it.

Please take a look at the workshop, I have posted another picture of the whole operation. At the end of the paddy on the bank you can see the pre-positioned trays of rice that will be used on the machine, the truck carries a pump to control the level in the pond

skellywag, Serendipity, nels, scobert, pablominto, xkolba, gunbud, jlbrthnn, Zelanda, jackart, WepWaWet, branley, JPlumb has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

skellywag (887) 2007-05-22 4:35

Hi, this is an interesting shot, the work must be back breaking and take such a long time. You have very good detail and clarity and provide us with a good insight into this world. TFS, Jean

Serendipity (1045) 2007-05-22 4:35

Hi Greg,
this is a very good picture of daily life in Korea. I like the POV and the framing, but the face of that man is a little too much dark.
Regards
Marc

bracasha75 (22125) 2007-05-22 4:42

Helo Greg
Very good shot of this farmer who work on rise field
I like it match
well done
Cheers,Braca

nels (2455) 2007-05-22 10:21

hi greg,, like the colours and tranquility in this shot, just goes to prove man is better than machine!!

adrian

diverdown (35) 2007-05-22 11:26

good daily life picture. good coloring and cropping

Nathan

scobert (5333) 2007-05-22 13:19

Hello Greg,
You are getting real good with your telephoto shots. This looks like an ad for a chiropratic clinic. My back simply would not allow me to do this work. An excellent photograph!
Stan

pablominto (40732) 2007-05-23 3:29

Hello Greg,
This is hard work under the burning sun!
A well composed presentation, telling the story well...
An educational series putting spotlight on rice farming!
Greetings,
Pablo -

:-) OK-

xkolba (3188) 2007-05-23 16:19

Hi Greg,
An excellent daily life shot. Very good compo, You perfect shew hard work of this man. I like natural colors of this picture.
Thanks for sharing
Regards
Maciek

gunbud (27891) 2007-05-23 22:19

Hi Greg,
They do it because they love it and can't image doing anything else for a living. This is the type of work that humans were evolved to do and not in a stuffy office. Wonderful colors and sharp details. Love the determined expression you have caught on this dedicated man's face.
Regards, Tom

Hellas (5125) 2007-05-25 3:29

Greg,
this is a very nice daily life photo. Farmers love the earth because they know that this love is returned back always. The only thing that earth needs is care. Farmers can do it from the childhood. This image is very well exposed and the clarity is excellent. I can stand out the label "U.S.NASA" on the man's pair of trousers. Thank you for sharing and have a nice weekend,
Athanasios.

jlbrthnn (38011) 2007-05-29 14:26

Hello Greg,
Your note is very interesting like your photograph. It is a hard work, and your shot shows this. How many humans depend on this small plant. Well realized.
Cordially
Joël

Zelanda (5692) 2007-05-29 18:04

Hola Greg,
Estupenda foto de como este hombre está dedicado a su trabajo de plantación.
Gran POV y excelente color y definición.
Cordialmente
Ros

jackart (5560) 2007-06-01 4:44

Hi Greg!

Very impressive and dramatic shot. Good POV colors and contrast. Very good title and note.

Well done -thanks for sharing

Regards

Jacek

WepWaWet (3955) 2007-06-02 15:10

Hello Greg,
A very nice daily life work. Very beautiful colors and perfect POV.
Regards,
Seref

branley (3681) 2007-06-16 14:10

Hi Greg,

This is a good follow up to the man on the machine, it's great shot with an apt title. Lovely colours and clarity but I wonder if he really did get those trousers from NASA? It's a fine capture wih an informative note Greg, well done.

Regards

Stephen

amaryllis (17521) 2007-07-10 3:51

très belle photo de cet homme dans ce champ qui travaille durement et dans des conditions aussi difficiles
bonne netteté et couleurs et bon cadrage et merci de ta note
juliette

JPlumb (3153) 2007-07-10 22:53

Hi Greg, great shot of this "10% Man". This becomes a very good working portrait for the man in the rice field. You've captured very good detail of the man and his crop and environment. Man that looks like tough slugging.

Thanks, John

Toba_O (123) 2007-07-16 4:19