Telling small-town stories in a big way

BROOKLYN — For a Brooklyn man, telling the story of farming and food production, showcasing a historical firearms on the auction block or making a how-to videos is all in a day’s work.

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Matthew Peake, a photographer and cinematographer, wrapped up filming last year on the documentary, “Food, Inc. 2: Back for Seconds.”

The film, which was released in theaters April 9 and is now streaming on Apple TV, Amazon Prime and other outlets, is a follow up to the 2008 Oscar-nominated documentary “Food, Inc.”

The sequel revisits the first documentary that Peake says took a look at commercial food production and how our food is made, how it is processed, what it is doing to the earth and how it has changed since our grandparents were children.

“In the well-timed sequel, Food, Inc. 2, comes back for seconds and reveals how corporate consolidation has gone unchecked by our government, leaving us with a highly efficient yet shockingly vulnerable food system dedicated only toward increasing profits,” noted information on the documentary.

Filming of the documentary started in 2020 during COVID, and Peake revisited his boyhood home in Buffalo Center, where he spent 3 1/2 years filming Zach Smith, a fifth generation farmer, for the documentary.

Peake knew Smith from his growing-up days, and that connection helped land him the job.

“He (Smith) is one of the biggest sections in the whole movie,” said Peake. “His story is about how hard it is to run a small family farm in today’s age and how he developed tools and machinery to help farmers be more successful.

“And to top that, how he works with the land and doesn’t hurt the land with a lot of chemicals.”

Peake said he has worked on small documentaries off and on throughout his career, but never something international like the “Food, Inc.” project.

In his day-to-day life, Peake spends his week as marketing director for Rock Island Auctions in Rock Island, Illinois and Bedford, Texas.

“I run social media, public relations, promotions and all the video work and manage a staff of people,” he said. “I spend three days in Rock Island and work from home in Brooklyn the other two days.

“I also travel all across the United States and overseas for the company when called upon.”

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Peake joined RIA in 2022 after a 14-year stint at Brownells in Montezuma.

“Rock Island Auctions is the world’s largest firearm company that has been in business for 30 years,” said Peake.

The company specializes in auctioning antique and fine collector firearms and militaria, hosting more than a dozen gun auctions annually in three different formats (Premier Auctions, Sporting and Collector Auctions and Arms and Accessories Day) while catering to every level of collection expertise.

The business has been featured on the television show American Pickers.

Peake said the best thing about working at RIA is the history. He has witnessed the sale of the Han Solo blaster pistol from the Star Wars movies and President Teddy Roosevelt’s pistols and guns.

“We have auctioned guns of kings and aristocrats from all across the world,” Peake said. “It’s pretty amazing the amount of historical firearms and related artifacts that we handle there.”

Peake became interested in photography while in elementary school after his teacher brought in a fine arts photographer to share with his class.

After high school, Peake attended Waldorf College in Forest City where he earned a bachelor’s degree in communications with emphasis in video.

He completed an internship with Iowa Public Television where he worked on documentaries.

“After I graduated college, I directed the news at KIMT in Mason City,” he said. “I started doing a lot of photography there for fun.

“I left there and moved to Kansas City where I got another degree from the Kansas City Art Institute in photography and interactive media.”

He landed a job at the Kansas City Art Institute teaching photography and also doing freelance video and photography covering the jazz and blues music scene in the KC area.

He’s met and photographed B.B. King and many other international musicians.

“Kansas City has such an active jazz and blues scene, and I got to meet a lot of famous musicians. I photographed for a lot of albums, promotional materials and venues.”

In 2008, he returned to Iowa and went to work for Brownells.

“I helped establish the video and photo studios in the Montezuma location,” he said. “I was not the only one. There was another person who helped me start the video side.”

He also did all the award-winning photography for the Brownell’s catalog and all the recording for the commercials and how-to videos, all from studios in Montezuma or on location.

It was at Brownells where Peake, who was 28 at the time, first shot a gun and went hunting.

“Frank Brownell helped get me interested in hunting,” he said. “I’ve hunted everything from elk to bear using a rifle, pistol or bow.”

Peake said his most impressive hunt was a few years ago when he shot a red stag in Scotland. He shot a big elk in New Mexico and shot an aoudad ram in Texas on a friend’s property with a revolver.

“Last year, I shot a black bear in Canada with my bow,” he said.

When asked what he enjoys the most about his life and work, Peake said the biggest thing is he is always learning something.

“The biggest thing about photography and video is the opportunity to tell people’s stories, and a lot of times they are stories that have never been told,” he said.

When asked what he would tell someone who came to him for advice on a career in photography, videography and communication, he said, “If you love telling stories and love what you do, the long hours and the hard work is absolutely worth it. You will be working long hours. That is the name of the game.”

Peake and his wife, Vanessa, have 6-year-old twin daughters in kindergarten at BGM Elementary. Vanessa works at Grinnell Mutual.

And for the future, Peake said he wants to continue telling people’s stories and living in a small town.

“I love living in Brooklyn and being able to tell people’s stories,” said Peake. “You don’t have to be in New York or California to do that kind of work.”

To see Peake’s work, visit his website at: matthewpeake.com.