Starting With the Dexter Cattle

Woman in red blouse smiling beside a brown calf on green grass farmland.

Some of my favorite farm sessions are the ones where I get to do a little bit of everything.


The portraits that show what an animal looks like. The little details that make them an individual. The wider photographs that give you a sense of where they live. And, probably my favorite part, the moments between the animals and the people who know them best.


My morning with Kelley at Davis Family Farm gave me all of that.


We photographed both her Dexter cattle and Hog Island sheep as part of my work photographing heritage livestock for the CPL project, and there were so many little moments throughout the morning that I loved.

The Animals Deserve Their Own Portraits Too


The Dexters have so much personality up close. Their faces, their expressions, the way they lean into you when they trust you. Those little details are just as important to me as the wide, scene-setting shots.

A young brown Limousin calf standing on green grass near a tree in a sunny pasture.
A young brown Limousin cow with a yellow ear tag stands in a green pasture, looking directly at the camera.

Then Came the Hog Island Sheep


After we finished with the cattle, we walked over to see Kelley's Hog Island sheep, one of the rarest heritage sheep breeds in the country. There is something about photographing a critically endangered breed that makes every session feel a little more important.

A young black lamb with a green ear tag stands alert in a sunlit green meadow.
A curly-horned ram with thick wool coat stands on green grass with lush trees in the background.

Why I Photograph Heritage Livestock

This work ties directly into what I do as a livestock conservationist, where I manage conservation programs for rare breeds like Arapawa goats, Tunis sheep, and Ossabaw hogs. Documenting farms like Kelley's is part of the same mission: helping people see why these animals and their bloodlines are worth protecting.

A Little Color and Black & White


I love mixing in a few black and white edits with the color ones. It strips everything back to just the shape and expression of the animal, and there is something timeless about seeing these breeds rendered that way.

Black and white close-up portrait of a young cow looking directly at the camera in a pastoral setting.
Black and white photo of a bighorn ram with curved horns standing among leafy forest vegetation.

More Than Livestock Portraits


Mornings like this one are really about the relationship between a farmer and her animals. Kelley knows every one of these cattle and sheep by name, by personality, by history. That is what I am always trying to capture, not just what the animals look like, but what it feels like to be there with them.

Woman in red blouse hand-feeding a brown calf in a green pasture on a sunny day.

Have a farm story you want documented?


If you have a farm, a herd, or a flock that means something to you, I would love to help you tell that story. Whether it is heritage livestock, a working farm, or animals you have raised from the start, these are the sessions I love most.

PLAN A FARM SESSION