Christiana Huish: Month Two

This past month has been all about getting to know my E-M1 Mark III and getting to know some local farmers.

I first connected with my mentor to discuss my project in more detail and get his thoughts on how to approach it. Jay has an extensive background with using photography to tell stories – I couldn't wait to get his insight. We talked about planning the story you want to tell, but not being too tied down to an idea in your head that you might miss out on great shots once you're out in the field.

After our discussion, it was time to reach out to  a few farms and food creators to talk about my project and see if our schedules would align.

While I was working on ironing out details and making the connections I needed to move my project forward, I took time to really test out and get familiar with my E-M1. One great resource is Olympus' Learn Center. They have many articles to help you understand the settings within your camera and have plenty of tips to get you started. Another invaluable resource has been my mentor and other Olympus Pros through their social media (Instagram, YouTube, etc.).

I find that it is so important to figure out your settings and preferences before you go out on a shoot, and then adjust from there once you're in the field.

Eventually, I was able to set a date with a local artisan cheese producer, Rockhill Cheese. We discussed what the production there is like and what type of shots I wanted to get. It's a two hour drive from where I live, and it's best to get there early, so it took some minor prep the day before to pack my camera bag for the early drive.

First day out in the field was spent observing and photographing the process to make cheese, as well as getting to know Sarah, an artisan cheesemaker.

Up until this moment I was unaware of what separated artisan cheese from your general, run-of-the-mill cheese. Sarah explained that artisan in this case, refers to the cheese being made by hand and everything being small production. Now small doesn’t mean 2-3 gallons of milk being produced to cheese but hundreds of gallons - small compared to commercial cheese producers but still quite a a lot of cheese.

From there I was connected with their local dairy provider, Cache Meadow Creamery, as well as a local cafe that uses their cheese.

Cache Meadow Creamery is a small-scale dairy with only 8-10 cows located in beautiful northern Utah, right on the border of Idaho. This family-owned creamery focuses on taking care of their cows and ensuring the best quality dairy.

After spending a few days working to capture images that I hope will resonate with my viewers, I’m left to cull and finalize my images. I look forward to sharing them with the world soon!