In Nature

Tobacco

There are moments when I am feeling bolder than others, on this particular day, I spotted these men, hard at work, in a tobacco field, and decided to stop and ask them if I might photograph them and their labor – they all kindly said yes.

I am sure they had a moment of wondering why in the world I would want to snap pictures of their harvest; but seemed even more perplexed by my addressing them in Spanish.

I do not know why, but I was a bit surprised by how mechanized their work was, and thus how few men it took to clear the field.

I must say I found this image particularly amusing, which is in no way to suggest that I am an advocate for cigarettes, but one must admit there is a certain something here – right?

We chatted for a bit, and then I went on my way and they went back to work.

I was left thinking about how I do have the tendency to over-romanticize things that I have read about or seen in movies, thus my notion of fields of tobacco lean more toward men on horseback in white linen trousers, with red sashes wrapped around their waist, and straw hats sitting atop their heads, which was not what I encountered. However, I did get to interact a few hard working men, making an honest living; a good stop by any count.

Perhaps your curiosity regarding tobacco is already well satisfied, but in case you were wondering what the plant looked like, before it was ready for harvest, I thought I would share some pictures taken in June.