{"id":1912,"date":"2019-03-17T12:59:20","date_gmt":"2019-03-17T16:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/?p=1912"},"modified":"2019-03-17T12:59:27","modified_gmt":"2019-03-17T16:59:27","slug":"whats-wrong-with-this-picture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s wrong with this picture?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you ever tried swinging a big scythe like this one? It ain’t easy believe me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I grew up on a small farm that had a barn built by the original landowners from wood that they cut out of the surrounding forests. I’m not sure what year it was built in, but it was already old when I was a kid. Back in the dark dusty granary with hay chaff gently floating in sun beams shining through the gaps in the wall boards there were two of these implements hanging on the wall. We had a tractor and machinery to cut the fields so it always fascinated me that people could use such a crude device to cut down an entire field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was a teenager I decided to get one out, sharpen it up, and give it a try. Hokey Smokes! It was brutal. After about 30 minutes of messing around I put it back on the wall in the barn and never touched it again. I can’t imagine looking out across a field of golden wheat and swinging one of these things all day long. Then getting up and doing it again the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now besides the obvious hard work involved there is something else about this painting that bothers me. Look at the height of the wheat. It’s up to this guy’s eyeballs. The wheat I see in fields along the highway in no where near that tall – maybe 18 inches at best. What gives?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s another painting of some people harvesting with scythes. They had to cut a pathway down the field to be able to walk. Again the plants are way too tall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The HarvestersArtist: Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Netherlandish)Date: 1565Medium: Oil on woodCredit: Rogers Fund, 1919<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Is this an artistic license kind of a thing? Really tall crops look cooler that short stubby ones?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nope. Turns out that many crops, particularly wheat, were in fact much taller years ago than they are today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shorter “dwarf” wheat varieties are a relatively modern invention from the “green revolution<\/a>” of the 1950s and 60s. Scientists wanted to develop grain varieties that had larger heavier heads for greater yields. That required shorter sturdier stalks that wouldn’t fall over from the weight especially in windy conditions. The shorter more uniform stalks also made machine harvesting much more efficient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course with industrialization comes the possibility of losing some of the flavor and nutrition of the original grains. So these days there are farms and mills that specialize in producing so called heirloom grains. Some even go so far as harvesting their grains with hand scythes. Yikes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MDW<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever tried swinging a big scythe like this one? It ain’t easy believe me. I grew up on a small farm that had a barn built by the original landowners from wood that they cut out of the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[63,40],"tags":[225,227,228,226,224,223],"class_list":["post-1912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","category-painting","tag-green-revolution","tag-harvest","tag-heirloom","tag-scythe","tag-wheat","tag-winslow-homer"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat's wrong with this picture? - Mark Whitney Photography and Art<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What's wrong with this picture? - Mark Whitney Photography and Art\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have you ever tried swinging a big scythe like this one? It ain’t easy believe me. I grew up on a small farm that had a barn built by the original landowners from wood that they cut out of the ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mark Whitney Photography and Art\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-17T16:59:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-17T16:59:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DP102298_sized.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1578\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Whitney\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mcgurkonart\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mcgurkonart\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Whitney\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/\",\"name\":\"What's wrong with this picture? - Mark Whitney Photography and Art\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DP102298_sized.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-17T16:59:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-17T16:59:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/#\/schema\/person\/9c53519eb03a96dc35fc0e06fc0a1195\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DP102298_sized.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DP102298_sized.jpg\",\"width\":1578,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"The Veteran in a New Field Artist: Winslow Homer (American) Date: 1865 Medium: Oil on canvas Credit: Bequest of Miss Adelaide Milton de Groot\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What’s wrong with this picture?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/\",\"name\":\"Mark Whitney Photography and Art\",\"description\":\"Thoughts on fine art photography, art, and technology from Mark Whitney aka The Forest Rat\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/#\/schema\/person\/9c53519eb03a96dc35fc0e06fc0a1195\",\"name\":\"Mark Whitney\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8f89277aa8b2ea13639e4444856acdf01eb7bff83569a5aa3054764e5fb4df3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8f89277aa8b2ea13639e4444856acdf01eb7bff83569a5aa3054764e5fb4df3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Whitney\"},\"description\":\"This is a blog about the things I like - fine art photography, art in general, poetry, and technology. Sometimes I'll post as myself and sometimes I'll use one of my alter egos, Rufus McGurk the art guy or Marko-san the haiku poetry guy.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.forestrat.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/author\/mdwhitney\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What's wrong with this picture? - Mark Whitney Photography and Art","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What's wrong with this picture? - Mark Whitney Photography and Art","og_description":"Have you ever tried swinging a big scythe like this one? It ain’t easy believe me. I grew up on a small farm that had a barn built by the original landowners from wood that they cut out of the ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/","og_site_name":"Mark Whitney Photography and Art","article_published_time":"2019-03-17T16:59:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-03-17T16:59:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1578,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DP102298_sized.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mark Whitney","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@mcgurkonart","twitter_site":"@mcgurkonart","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Whitney","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/","url":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/","name":"What's wrong with this picture? - Mark Whitney Photography and Art","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DP102298_sized.jpg","datePublished":"2019-03-17T16:59:20+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-17T16:59:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/#\/schema\/person\/9c53519eb03a96dc35fc0e06fc0a1195"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DP102298_sized.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DP102298_sized.jpg","width":1578,"height":1000,"caption":"The Veteran in a New Field Artist: Winslow Homer (American) Date: 1865 Medium: Oil on canvas Credit: Bequest of Miss Adelaide Milton de Groot"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/2019\/03\/17\/whats-wrong-with-this-picture\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What’s wrong with this picture?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/","name":"Mark Whitney Photography and Art","description":"Thoughts on fine art photography, art, and technology from Mark Whitney aka The Forest Rat","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/#\/schema\/person\/9c53519eb03a96dc35fc0e06fc0a1195","name":"Mark Whitney","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8f89277aa8b2ea13639e4444856acdf01eb7bff83569a5aa3054764e5fb4df3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8f89277aa8b2ea13639e4444856acdf01eb7bff83569a5aa3054764e5fb4df3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark Whitney"},"description":"This is a blog about the things I like - fine art photography, art in general, poetry, and technology. Sometimes I'll post as myself and sometimes I'll use one of my alter egos, Rufus McGurk the art guy or Marko-san the haiku poetry guy.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.forestrat.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/author\/mdwhitney\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DP102298_sized.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8lhwh-uQ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1912"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1927,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1912\/revisions\/1927"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestrat.com\/mwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}