Cheesemaker Turning Gruyere Wheel in Monsoon Valley

Wet limestone surfaces glisten under the flat, diffused glare of noon following a monsoon downpour across a wide valley floor in Maharashtra. One figure stands beside a massive wheel of Gruyere cheese, hands gripping the rind to rotate it on a wooden turntable. Dark, heavy clouds stack in layers across the horizon, pressing low against the distant ridges. Raindrops rest on the rough, pale rind of the cheese and the dark wood of the turntable. The valley stretches outward in broad, terraced bands of green and grey earth. Soft light reflects off the wet stone floor, highlighting the texture of the cheese and the damp soil. at the edge is one drop of water sliding down the curved edge of the cheese wheel.