Upon receiving a coveted Guggenheim Fellowship in 1978,
Sternfeld traded in his 35-mm camera for a large-format 8 x 10 camera, hopped
in his Volkswagen Camper, and set out across the United States to produce the photographs
for American Prospects. Amid the brilliant hues of
Virginia’s fall landscape, Sternfeld encountered a firefighter taking a break
from a training exercise. Still dressed in full gear, the man browses the
display of bright orange pumpkins, which are the same shade as the impressive
flames in the background. This iconic photograph graced the cover of the 1987 and
1994 editions of American Prospects.