Food is an integral part our lives. It’s tied to memories, tied to traditions and sometimes tied to emotions. Because food is so essential, it’s crucial to develop a better understanding of where it comes from and who is behind it. During this pandemic it is especially important to support our local food purveyors.
With month three wrapped up and my project complete, I’m excited to share my photographs, what I’ve learned and what’s next. I’ve learned so much about taking an idea and bringing it to life. Aside from taking and editing photos, my favorite experience from this has been meeting and getting to know the people behind Rockhill Cheese and Cache Meadow Creamery.
OM-D E-M1 Mark III | M Zuiko 45mm F1.2 Pro
1/640s | F2.5 | ISO 800
As a photographer, I’ve learned the importance of taking curve balls in stride. You can’t always predict lighting or know what conditions will be when there are several moving parts. Day one in the field, most of the action was happening indoors, which didn’t have the best lighting and I didn’t have the right equipment with me to remedy that. Knowing your camera and being able to pivot is crucial in these moments. At the end of the day, it was a productive shoot and I’m happy with the shots.
OM-D E-M1 Mark III | M. Zuiko 12-40mm F2.8 PRO
31MM | 1/2000s | F3.5 | ISO 200
I also learned so much about creating a relationship with the people and places you photograph. Cache Meadow Creamery was hesitant about having a photographer come to their farm because of the bad light many dairies are painted in. It was important for both them and myself to ask the right questions to ensure we would be a great fit. This family run dairy takes pride in their work and their cows, so it was no hard feat to showcase that.
Ultimately what I hoped to accomplish through this project was shedding some light and connecting people to some of the people behind their food. I hope to continue this project and photograph more local food producers. I have a few farms lined up and I’m excited to bring their stories to life in order to build the connection between food producer and food consumer.
A huge thank you to Olympus for allowing me this platform to tell this story and to their gear for truly letting me break free.
OM-D E-M1 Mark III | M. Zuiko 45mm F1.2 PRO
1/80s | F5.6 | ISO 1600
