Local photographer Andrée Thorpe has been photographing life on farms for four years. She goes beyond capturing daily activities to focus on what it really means to have a deep commitment to the land, to the community, and to social good. She has learned that farming is serious hard work and that you cannot be afraid to embrace it.
Andrée has published a beautiful book called Fields of Hope. It is a collection of images that celebrates farmers and their way of life. With it, the goal is to create a sequence of images in unity to praise and honour their craft and to remind the world that what they do is extremely valuable and essential to our basic survival. The featured farms are: Root Radical CSA, Doublejay farms, Ironwood Organics, Lemoine Point, and Secret Fields Lavender.
100% of proceeds will be donated to three food and farm organizations: Loving Spoonful, Red Clover, and Young Agrarians!
Check out the Fields of Hope website to purchase beautiful books, prints, and cards and support Young Agrarians!
Thank you for sharing your passion and proceeds with us Andrée! <3
>> Support Fields of Hope Now <<
ABOUT THE PROJECT
I have been photographing life on farms for four years. My time goes beyond capturing daily activities as I focus on what it really means to have a deep commitment to the land, to the community, and to social good. I have learned that farming is serious hard work and that you cannot be afraid to embrace it.
Breaking into this world was not easy; I felt I was intruding and that for sure I didn’t know anything about the job. Learning and getting down on my knees became essential; getting my hands dirty and drawing inspiration from the work and not from looking through the lens was the only way to go. Breaking away from all creative preconceptions and approaching this project in a different way, in a more emotional and connective way was necessary, hence the need to become part of the community and the solution.
Every day spent on these farms expanded my knowledge and perspective on the role of farmers in our society. It has given me a sense of responsibility for what I took for granted. Modern life can overwhelm our senses; we forget the simple pleasures that come from just being out on the mother earth. I have learned to observe, to notice the small miracles that burst out of the ground, miracles that feed us and keep us alive. And so, I chose to photograph these mundane moments in a different light: I decided to have an affair with farm life and to show my audience a story of hope and these farmers’ commitment to the land.
ABOUT THE FARMERS
The people down the road from you that know how to grow and store food, how to save seeds, how to fix and build their own equipment, how to hustle to get a job done before rain or frost, and who love the work despite unfavourable and unpredictable weather, and despite low financial returns most of the time — those are people you need to get to know. In this project, you will learn about these farms and about the people that work on those farms, in a particular time and place.
Every farm is like that — a certain location; a particular configuration of fields, forest, slopes, water and wet places; a certain combination of people, each with his or her set of skills, personality traits and aptitudes.
always theirs is hope