Agriculturist Story

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Steven Chapman

Anecdotal lead idea: As dusk approaches and the water remains still in the tank, he swoops down to get a refreshing sip of water. As the sun begins to set, he flies away to catch bugs and dragonflies. Once his appetite is satisfied, the bass bird returns to the brim of the water to get another drink of water. Besides the sound of the crickets and the brush being blown by the wind, you hear the sound of a camera shutter as a one-of-a-kind moment is captured.

Picture of bird on water from Steven

In 1994, he started farming on his own.

Picture of tractor in barn

"My career in farming has always taken the front seat."

Picture of Steven holding cotton seed

Picture of camera on tractor

"So I really got into farming, and while the stress level got real high, I wasn't really looking for it, but I needed to find something. And after my dad died, there was a year of stress, even higher stress there as getting charged free. And I think having that hobby and that passion. Just I don't want to sound corny, but I think it basically saved my life because the amount of stress I was under."

Besides his two passions of farming and photography, he loves to use those opportunities to pray.

Steven grew up in Lorenzo, Texas.

He did a lot of photography in high school. His dad got him a camera for Christmas.

He took the camera with him to Washington D.C. for Presidential Classroom for Young Americans. He also shot for the yearbook and football team.

He broke his arm and couldn't play sports, so he took up photography.

His dad passed away in 2009 and left enough money to buy a new camera. Steven thought this would be a great way to honor his father.

Never took a class in photography, he is self-taught.

He always knew he wanted to be a red raider.

While in college, he started with the hotel business.

He moved to Louisville, KY, for two years for work.

Picture of double T in barn

Steven attended Texas Tech University and graduated with a mechanized agriculture degree with an emphasis in ag economics in 1985.

Picture of Tech hat in cotton

His step-daughter, Heather, and his son-in-law, John, work for him on the farm.

Heather and John have 3 children, 2 girls and a boy.

Feedback from the Lorenzo Gin Manager, Bill Schills

Picture of gin

Photography turned from a hobby to a passion.

Enjoys shooting wildlife the most.

Is drawn to wildlife because he has been around it his entire life. He likes to capture the uniqueness of every situation when encountering different wildlife

It allows him to give something new and different to people.

Include wildlife picture from Steven

"The rewards seem higher when you spend more time trying to get those shots."

Picture of Steven with his camera face-on in front of the tractor

Started shooting with Tech sports in 2015.

Feedback from Jarrett Johnson, co-worker with Tech sports

Picture of dog pile on the pitching mound for baseball from Steven

2018 Tech vs. Florida game in Dallas-Keenan Evans had an incredible game.

2015 Tech vs. TCU game-Got caught up and missed the shot right in front of him. 2018 Tech vs. Florida game in Dallas-Keenan Evans had an incredible game.

From Farm to Foto - Visions of a West Texas Farmer

Another goal is to just keep doing it. He wants to take photos for a long time and continue to grow his skills and photography knowledge.

He wants to display the positive aspects of agriculture and reflect positive practices the industry uses.

"Part of my thinking on the Facebook side was over the last 10 years we've heard about how bad GMO crops are and the negative side of that issue.We hear every day about the negatives of agriculture that it's not family farms anymore. But it is, it is out here. I'm out here trying to take care of the land the best I can. I'm trying to do the best things for the land because if I'm not doing the best for the land, I'm not going to make any money because it's not going to produce."

His goal is to get where he can make some money off it and obtain some commercial jobs.

City Bank bought 7 of his black and white pictures featuring Caprock Canyon

His wife, Melinda, started Facebook page and he did not expect to gain a following.

Include growth of followers from the start of the page until now as well as his reach on other platforms like Twitter.