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A few weeks ago, during a hot spell of summer weather, I received a message I’d been waiting for from Reuben to say they were starting the harvest. I’d spoken with Reuben Matravers for a couple of months after his wife messaged me, having seen my post on social media about wanting people for my Life In A Somerset Landscape project.

Reuben owns R J Matravers Master Thatcher, doing traditional thatching across the South West of England. As well as the thatching, they’ve also been growers and suppliers of combed wheat reed for the last 15 years, using old-fashioned machinery and traditional methods for the harvest and the threshing that follows.

This shoot provided everything on my wish list: traditional machines, beautiful summer evening light, and an amazing Somerset landscape.

The people doing the hard work of harvesting in the heat were very accommodating, and I couldn’t have got the images I wanted without their kind time and help — so thanks to Reuben and Elvis working the tractor and reaper binder, and Phil Chorley and his son Oliver, with their dog Holly, who were collecting the sheaves and standing them into stooks.

Needless to say, I’m looking forward to capturing the next two stages of the story.

Following on from the harvest shoot in July, I returned a few months later to capture Reuben and his team combing the same wheat — a process that removes the seeds, taking it a step closer to being usable for thatching.

The day I visited was a far cry from that hot July evening running around a field with my camera equipment. The weather was chilly, and the heavens decided to open midway through shooting — though on the positive side, I’d landed the drone a few moments prior, so it was the only bit of kit that didn’t get soaked. I plan to finish this series next, capturing Reuben and his team thatching a property.