Farm Life

"To be interested in food but not in food production is clearly absurd."  I can't possibly begin to talk about farming without a quote from the great Wendell Berry, author, poet, farmer, one of the great thinkers of our time.  So many of us have lost touch with the natural world and most of our kids, and probably many adults, have no idea where our food comes from or how much work goes into producing it.  I feel privileged that I grew up in farm country in southern Illinois.  My family didn't live on a farm, but everyone of my relatives and many friends did, so my childhood revolved heavily around rural life.  Mostly my memories are of freedom, the freedom to roam, to get dirty, to learn the hard way about electric fences, and to just be in nature.  I believe in the small farmers and I can't imagine a world where factory farming is all there is.  Small, local farms bring us the freshest, healthiest food with the smallest impact on the environment. 

The following is a photo essay I did of my Aunt and Uncle's dairy farm back in 2002.  In the time that I had, it was for a school project, I was only able to capture a small part of only one season on the farm.  Why share now?  As much as I love to hate the digital era, and social media, it has made a wonderful platform to get the word out and share work that we feel is important.  So here I am, sharing work that I feel is important, and I would love to do more of these for other small farmers.  These were all shot on TMax 800 film, embrace the grain.  😊

(view as the "web version" it has the best resolution!)

Allie Newborn Session and What I Do

It doesn't happen often, but occasionally I'll get asked what type of photography I do.  Most often when someone hears that I do photography, they assume family photos and weddings.  In today's world of "professional" photography, and I use that term very loosely, there are a wide variety of photographers out there.  So my best response when I get asked about photos is, "what type of photography are you looking for?"  Posed, candid, indoor, styled, documentary, or my favorite response, "just something quick for the Christmas card".  😜  Here is a little bit about what I do and what my photography is about.....

I have dabbled in just about any type of photography that you can think of.  Sports, weddings, studio, film, digital, ophthalmic (medical), landscape, documentary, portraits, etc.  That doesn't mean that I was particularly good at all of those, but at one time or another in the last 20 years, I have tried my hand at it.  In that time however I discovered and have always come back to journalism and documentary photography.  That was my main goal when I studied photography in college and it is still my passion.  When you look at my work, I hope you'll notice more of a candid, laid back approach with an emphasis on being a "fly on the wall".  I try and capture, not only the everyone look at the camera moments, but the little moments that you don't even know I'm recording.  I don't do "mini" sessions because I don't feel that I can put a time limit on getting to know you and your family.  Sometimes it takes 30 min. to an hour for kids to forget that I'm there and show me who they really are.  Clients become like friends, your kids get to know me and know that a photo session isn't boring and cheesy, it's fun and more like a free for all.  They may even start to look forward to the annual photo session because I'm just that cool to hang out with.  (Okay, maybe not, but a girl can hope 😊)  A session may take 40 minutes, or we may spend 2 hours together and wonder where the time went.  Either way, my goal with photography is to make images that you will not only want to put on a Christmas card, but want to flood the walls of your house with.  In a nutshell, I photograph people in the most real way possible.

Here are some images from a newborn session a few weeks back.  Newborns are best photographed in your home where you all are comfortable and adjusting to your new life. 

 

Thanks for looking!
www.blueeyephotographybybridget.com
blueeyephotography@yahoo.com