PhotoBooks Iowa

Michael Harker drove past old barns on gravel roads and blacktop highways for years. He generally dismissed them as obsolete outbuildings until November 1993, when he felt compelled to photograph a windmill in Clutier, Iowa. This single photograph launched him on a seven-and-a-half-year mission to document Iowa's barns and all they represent. The result is Harker's Barns: Visions of an American Icon. Each of the seventy-five black-and-white images featured in Harker's Barns beautifully and heartbreakingly captures the glory and ultimate demise of one of rural America's most enduring icons. From square to round, wood to brick, Dutch to Swedish, occupied or abandoned, the barns documented in this stunning collection are a testament to a passing way of life that was once the lifeblood of Iowa and the Midwest. Complementing Harker's photographs are vignettes by poet and writer Jim Heynen. Both whimsical and endearing, each vignette treats barns as organic and intelligent entities, reflecting the living history that can be found inside each rural structure. Iowa's barns are disappearing and with them a way of life; Harker's Barns brilliantly documents their heritage for future generations. As Jim Heynen says, "A good photograph can maintain an old barn through blizzards and hail storms and tornadoes. It is the best support beam and wood preservative an old barn can have."

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Combining photographs and prose, this book explores the rich diversity of flora, fauna, landscapes and habitats in Iowa. Including personal observations, and interesting facts about the geology and natural history, it presents a multifaceted picture of Iowa as the author has grown to love it.

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For a over 40 years, Joan, Publisher of Penfield Press, has photographed with dedication the people of the Amana Colonies, their homes, events in their lives, and treasures. This collection includes black-and-white photos of the era, plus 12 pages of color showing the beautiful Amana villages and people. This collection and catalogue of photographs will be an exhibition at the Amana Arts Guild, High Amana church building, and the Museum of Amana History.

The photographs in this exhibition are printed on new archival digital fade-proof printing paper, matted and signed. The range of 10,000 tones far exceeds any quality previously available. The enlargements, sizes 8x10 to 20x24, are framed in walnut milled at the Schanz Furniture and Refinishing Shop, South Amana. The exhibition is available for additional shows after the Amana exhibit closes in November 2000.

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Book of Iowa postcards

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