Earlier this year, we spoke to Harry Hall about his penchant for documenting people enjoying some of leisure’s greatest niches. At the time, he was capturing a community of fen skaters in East Anglia, catching them in moments of pause with tender portraits. Continuing on his work rooted in a world of reportage and documentary, Harry has taken his camera to photographing ploughmen and women in competition, making up his new venturesome series, The Sow Must Go On.

With a desire to capture the changing of the seasons, the competition presented the chance for Harry to tell another rural story. “I grew up in Suffolk and now I’m based in London, and maybe [in my personal work] I feel a responsibility to tell stories close to home or in the countryside,” he tells us. After some time traversing The Society of Ploughmans’ website, he became familiar with the competitions for the summer to autumn transition. “From the list I was able to contact some farmers and hosts directly to discuss my plans to create a portrait of a ploughing match,” he adds.

With the nature of close-knit community events, it’s no wonder when members become suspicious of outsiders with cameras, but Harry was adamant on building a rapport on his visit to the East Anglican branch of the Vintage Tractor and Engine Club. “They were really receptive to my interest and I had someone to refer to when I went up to people in the fields and asked to take their picture,” he tells us. “People are quick to see through fake curiosity, genuine interest will always help to build relationships quickly.” Much like his last personal series, The Sow Must Go On isn’t overly busy or trying to depict the technicalities of ploughing. They range from communal to familial with an air of mundanity. In one portrait of two young boys and an older ploughman, you get the feeling of ploughing and competitions as something to be passed down to the younger generations, a choice in documentation that perhaps stems from Harry’s relationship to farming through his grandparents.