On the Road: Tractors, Garages and John Deeres

The road is calling. To be more specific, garages are calling. In less than a week, I'll be packing my gear in the wagon and heading out on a photographic adventure for two upcoming books. For The Art of John Deere (Voyageur Press, April 2011), I'll be photographing some of the rarest John Deere tractors in the world in a custom-built studio near Appleton, Wisconsin. The  tractors are owned by Bruce and Walter Keller. The Keller Collection contains more than 600 perfectly restored or original condition tractors, many of which are the first and last serial number of their model line.

For Ultimate Tractor Garages (Voyageur Press, October 2011), I'll be photographing a large handful of places throughout the Midwest, including Farmall-Land, the incredible collection and museum owned by Jerry Mez. I'll also hit places where farm tractors are treated to life inside the house, a farm built around one of the rarest tractors in existence, and some crusty old shops where old-time mechanics have been wrenching on old iron pretty much since time as we know it began.

I'll post some highlights on this blog. If you are interested in regular updates in real time as all this unfolds, check out my Twitter Feed.

P.S. And for those of you who eat, sleep and breath cars and motorcycles, stay tuned. I can't let the cat out of the bag quite yet, but we have something special cooked up for y'all.