In Southern Maryland the season is upon us for county fairs, homecomings and tobacco harvesting. Once the cash crop for the region, tobacco has taken a massive hit with the emphasis on smoking cessation. When I arrived in Southern Maryland three decades ago, field after field was filled with Type 32 plants. The seeds were actually supplied by the Maryland Extension to keep the strain rich as it was one of the preferred tobaccos at auction and considered the most appealing for American blends. As popular as it was, the Type 32 tobacco plant was observed as the king of crops and queen of fairs, with Charles County naming its fair queen in honor of the crop, Queen Nicotina, who was first crowned in 1933.  Tobacco fields today are few and far between. Most growers have sold their rights and when I saw this field on my way to an early morning meeting, with what appeared to be a young Amish boy setting out the sticks in preparation of a day's work, I promised myself to return that road so I could try and capture some images. Sure enough, two hours later on my return, three generations were hard at work harvesting their crop. It's not an easy task, I have been told, and so I was delighted to be able to respect their privacy while capturing the essence of their manual labor.