Photo: George Alfaro
Photographing A Valley in Transition
Photojournalist George Anthony Alfaro shares a few thoughts about the challenges of photographing in California’s vast Central Valley. “One challenge is trying to show a sense of scale, and balancing that with the human moments that unfold on a more intimate level,” he says. Alfaro’s appreciation for the Central Valley traces back to family members who worked as migrant farm workers. In his photo essay, Alfaro, who is just finishing up a Masters degree in journalism at UC Berkeley, captures a variety of landscapes and extremes in the Central Valley during the summer of 2023, ranging from the intensive agriculture of almond orchards to a brief brush fire, oil drilling, and the return of a lost lake.
Extremes-in-3D
A five-part series of stories in which KneeDeep Times explores the science behind climate extremes in California, and how people and places react and adapt.
Supported by the CO2 Foundation and Pulitzer Center.
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Photographing A Valley in Transition
The most challenging part of photographing in the Central Valley is trying to show a sense of scale, and balancing that with the human moments that unfold on a more intimate level. The valley is vast, and it can be difficult to communicate the sense of scale to others who are unfamiliar with the area. It is also easy to get lost in the landscape when you are out in the field.
Another unique challenge is the heat. By 9 a.m., temperatures begin to reach 100°F in the summer, and the heat persists for nearly 12 hours. It can be dangerous if you are unprepared.
My appreciation for the Central Valley goes far back to my family members who worked as migrant farm workers, traversing the border to cultivate the fields. During my early teenage years, I traveled through the valley to compete in sports events. I happened to be reading Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men on one of those trips. Making the connection between my studies and the land around me only reinforced my appreciation for this area of California.
Now returning as an adult to photograph, I am drawn to the tension between land usage, environmental impact and the subsequent decline in the quality of life. There are laws set in place to regulate the industrial and agricultural operations here. But without any meaningful enforcement from regulatory agencies, the Spanish-speaking communities in vulnerable areas bear the brunt of the unchecked extraction.
I am interested in photographing this tension between life and profit, documenting the perseverance of the farmworkers who are pushing back for basic human rights. In a sense, the Central Valley is a microcosm that represents the consequences of climate change as the floods, the return of Tulare Lake and wildfires occur. It is the intersection between health and environment.
In this photo essay, Alfaro, who is just finishing up a Masters degree in journalism at UC Berkeley, captures a variety of landscapes and extremes in the Central Valley during the summer of 2023, ranging from intensive agriculture to a brief brush fire to the return of a lost lake.
EXTREMES-IN-3D
A five-part series of stories in which KneeDeep Times explores the science behind climate extremes in California, and how people and places react and adapt.
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Supported by the CO2 Foundation and Pulitzer Center.
Almonds nearing harvest in Cantua Creek, Fresno County. Photo: George Alfaro
2-A tree shaker grabs the trunk of an almond tree and knocks all the nuts to the ground to begin the harvest. Photo: George Alfaro
A rain of almonds. Photo: George Alfaro
Inside a tractor spraying almonds. Photo: George Alfaro
An agricultural worker climbs out of a tractor. Photo: George Alfaro
A bounty of pluots, a cross between a plum and an apricot, at the fruit stand of Sweet Girl Farms in Reedley. Photo: George Alfaro
Brush fire on July 7, 2023, a particularly hot day, near a Foster Farms chicken facility in Lanare, a rural town in Fresno County. Photo: George Alfaro
First responders examine the fire. Photo: George Alfaro
Fire was once a regular event in the grasslands, brush and woodlands of the Central Valley, clearing deadwood and regenerating soils. Photo: George Alfaro
Few fields could produce crops without irrigation water captured in foothill dams or diverted from rivers and creeks flowing through the Central Valley, as shown in this cotton field in Cantua Creek, Fresno County. Photo: George Alfaro
A Central Valley diversion ditch. Photo: George Alfaro
Liset Garcia, the operator of Sweet Girls Farms near Reedley, tends flowers. Photo: George Alfaro
A road submerged when Tulare Lake flooded for the first time in 40 years after 31 atmospheric rivers wetted the long-dry lakebed in 2023. Photo: George Alfaro
According to locals, the return of Tulare Lake attracted wildlife back to the area, namely birds. Photo: George Alfaro
A farm halts all operations as equipment wades above Tulare Lake’s waterline. Photo: George Alfaro
A boy poses with his toy of the moment, a dead common carp, after he found the fish floating in Tulare Lake. The family stopped their RV by the revived lake to take a cooling swim on a hot summer day. Photo: George Alfaro
EXTREMES-IN-3D
SERIES CREDITS
Managing Editor: Ariel Rubissow Okamoto
Web Story Design: Afsoon Razavi, Vanessa Lee & Tony Hale
Science advisors: Alexander Gershunov, Patrick Barnard, Richelle Tanner
Series supported by the CO2 Foundation.
Early reporting supported by Pulitzer Center, Connected Coastlines.
Top Video: Sacramento Valley birds by Jak Wonderly.
