Agriculture and rural affairs

Agricultural Photography

Jess Palmer, student at Royal Agricultural University

Portrait of Jess Palmer, Agriculture student RAU

I had the good fortune of growing up on a dairy farm in Pembrokeshire so love the opportunity to put my wellies on and take pictures down on a farm. I was introduced to farm photography at an early age. As a toddler I appeared in a story about my parent’s farm in the Farmers Guardian. Over the years, I have photographed most aspects of farming life. Below you will see a range of images I have taken on farms and markets across the UK.

Feature on young sheep farming family in Dorset for Farmers Guardian

Going through the shooting brief with my subjects - cow photography

Going through the shooting brief with my clients

Lifestock

Cows make great subjects, they are naturally curious and with little encouragement will come right up to you in a field. While this makes close-up shots easy, you cannot put your camera bag down for long or their curious noses will leave a trail of drool over all of your kit.

Brown Swiss Cattle, Rancourt Farm near Swindon

Brown Swiss Cattle and Friesians , Cancourt Farm near Swindon, for National Milk Records

Free range hens

Ewe and lamb in field for Farmers Guardian

Ewe and lambs – Farmers Guardian

Ewe and lambs for Farmers Guardian

Brown Swiss Cattle, Cancourt Farm near Swindon for National Milk Records

Piglet, Newton Farm for Farmers Guardian

British Blue bull in field for Farmers Guardian

Free range pigs for Farmers Guardian

Turkey for Farmers Guardian

Location portraits

Every visit to a farm requires portrait images of the people behind the enterprise. I always try to provide atmospheric images that give a sense of the day to day working environment though the shot might be taken in the farm kitchen or in the middle of a field.

Portrait of farmer sitting in off road vehicle

Portrait of sheep farmer for Farmers Guardian

Portrait of dairy farmer for Farmers Guardian

Male farmer sitting in field with 3 sheep dogs and sheep in distance behind

Sheep farmer with dogs for Farmers Guardian

Male farmer leaning on Land Rover with red flag of military firing range in background

Portrait of beef farmer on Salisbury Plain army range for Farmers Guardian

Ben Reynaldo and his free range poultry unit for Farmers Guardian

Portrait of tractor driver for Farmers Guardian

Portrait for Farmers Guardian

Portrait of Tim, Kingsclere Estate for Farmers Guardian

Rob Addicott – Manor Farm near Wells for Farmers Guardian

Will and Dawn Hawking, owners of Marshfield Farm Ice Cream

Farm Profiles

Farm profile for Farmers Guardian

If I am asked to photograph a farm profile, I normally try to document every aspect of the farm to provide an in depth record of the business and the people behind it.

Farmer and sheep for Farmers Guardian

Hand shearing for Farmers Guardian

Gwen the farm dog

Market

Market photography is very different to farm photography. The pace is fast and there are normally people and animals everywhere. Moving around the market quickly is difficult so you often need to find a few good spots to work in before the auction starts, and introduce myself to the auctioneers well ahead of the main event.

Frome Lifestock Market – auctioneer for Farmers Guardian

Sheep at the market for Farmers Guardian

Diversification

Quite a few of the farms I have worked at have diversified into other product lines or services from ice cream and cheese to clamping pods. While I am on the farm it is normally quite easy to pull out a set of lights and set up a temporary studio in a barn or farmhouse kitchen to get some product shots or portraits of the staff or owners of the farm.