A photographer I met when starting out in this profession told that there are basically two types of photos, “A person and their stuff,” and “Gee, it’s crazy out there.” This is an example of the former. Wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I read the assignment about a guy who builds construction equipment out of wood. Fortunately, there was this big tractor close by to add a bit of color and contrast.

The big and the small of it are evident as Chuck Robertson of Doniphan, who retired from the Nebraska Highway Patrol in 1990, sits with some examples of his woodworking handiwork and a John Deere tractor near his home. The pieces before him are functional scale models of large construction equipment.