Seeking to transcend the traditional role of the photographer, Reynolds emphasizes the shared responsibility between artist and subject. This mutual process is vividly demonstrated in Hands, a photographic series created in the valleys of California’s Central Coast. For this project, Reynolds photographed organic farm owners actively engaged in a hidden community of growers and eaters—individuals deeply connected to their land, local pride, and customer relationships.

Reynolds employed a traditional 4x5 large-format camera for this series, a deliberate choice that further deepened the intimacy between photographer and subject. The slow, deliberate process of setting up each shot and making an exposure required extended periods of collaboration, conversation, and patience, fostering a heightened awareness and mutual trust during each session. The length of time needed to compose, focus, and expose each image allowed both artist and subject to invest in the act of image-making as a shared, thoughtful experience rather than a fleeting transaction.

Focusing on a new generation of farmers, Reynolds portrays young individuals who are redefining what it means to be an organic farmer today. Hands seeks to bridge rural agricultural communities with broader audiences who may have lost touch with the historic roots of the soil that sustains them. Rejecting conventional portraits of smiling farmers and idyllic harvests, the work instead captures the passionate, weathered hands—those that forge direct, meaningful connections to the land.

Through this series, Reynolds redefines agricultural portraiture and reinforces the power of collaboration and slowness, inviting viewers to reconnect with both the human and environmental foundations of food production.