I’m no history expert by any means, but I think it’s safe to say that so much of what made our country what it is today was our ability to build, manufacture, invent and develop the ways of doing things much faster and less expensive than anyone else. Well things have changed. Now Made in America means something a little bit different. It doesn’t necessarily mean the fastest or the cheapest anymore, but it still means quality. For us to be able to compete on price with over seas manufacturing at all we have had to turn our attention mostly to developing automation and reducing the number of people putting hands on the products. I’ve shot in lots of factories in this country over the years and seen huge facilities that seem almost ghostly quiet and empty with the quiet hum of efficient motors working away. But there are still a lot of people that are making their livings in factories all over the country today. A lot of hands on metal, a lot of soot covered faces, splinters and blisters. Here are some images from a recent shoot at Buck Stove, a manufacturer of wood stoves and furniture in Spruce Pine, North Carolina.