How we photographed the farmer who provides us with food again after his tractor ran him over

This week’s top photo comes from Assistant Photo Editor Pat Nabong. Follow her on Instagram.

What makes this photo great?

The quietness of this photograph speaks to the labor that is not often seen in food production. It also reflects the work ethic of Henry Brockman, owner of Henry’s Farm, who recovered from being rolled over from toe to head by his tractor in March 2024.

Brockman, a farmer in downstate Congerville, usually starts working at 4 a.m. and ends at 8 p.m. Every Saturday during farmers market season, he makes the three-hour journey from his farm to the Evanston Farmers Market, where he’s been selling for almost 30 years.

While producing food on Henry’s Farm is communal, requiring tasks to be shared among Brockman’s farmhands, sister, mother, wife and daughter, this image illustrates a solitary moment where Brockman is utterly connected with nature and his work, which he approaches in a scientific and sometimes poetic way. The fog, the wide angle and the bent posture all work together to create that atmosphere.

How did you get this photo?

Reporter Stefano Esposito and I drove to Congerville on Thursday afternoon and were up by 3 a.m. the next day to shadow Brockman at the start of his day. After getting lost on the Brockman property, which led us up and down a steep hill and a pitch-black road, we found Brockman sorting vegetables in his shed.

I imagined taking a photo of Brockman working on the field with the golden sun rising behind him, but fog enveloped us throughout the morning. Though it was not what I had planned for, it worked with the mood of Esposito’s reporting, as they talked about the accident as Brockman cut arugula. It felt appropriate to photograph him in relation to nature, which turned into a metaphor for his life in the story, so I photographed him from far away to get a wide photo.

We observed Brockman, his farmhands and his family until about 1 p.m. as they harvested vegetables from one field to another, cut, washed and sorted them in crates. For lunch, his wife, Hiroko, cooked dishes with tomatoes, potatoes, fruits and herbs straight from the farm. It was a full-circle moment and a good reminder that our food comes from the hands of hardworking people.

Technical details:

• Equipment: Sony A7IV
• Focal length: 32mm
• Aperture: f/2.8
• Exposure: 1/80
• ISO: 3200

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