Posted by on Aug 30, 2012 | Comments Off

So far this summer I’ve shot three different harvests so far this year – asparagus, cherries and now pears. I probably average a couple of harvests each year so that means I’ve shot oh, roughly, 86 harvests of fruits and vegetables here in the Yakima Valley. So, it’s a challenge to come up with a photo different than the last photo. I mean, how many different ways can you photograph someone picking apples? Or cutting asparagus?

Today I was able to produce a different photo (or, at least different than any other I remember).

Enrique Delgado picks Bartlett pears at White Orchards in West Valley Aug.; 30, 2012. Delgado, one of the most productive pickers there, fills an average of nine bins each day. A bin contains about 1,050 pounds of pears. (GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic)

I really like Enrique’s body language and position as he goes low to pick pears. That, combined with his expression, shows to me how hard he works. And he does work hard. Enrique is the fastest picker I’ve ever seen for tree fruit. On top of that, he’s a very nice guy. Despite my limited Spanish and his limited English, I’d really like to sit down and have a beer with him some day. I’m sure I could learn a lot from him.

–Gordon King