ARPS Panel - Valerie Mather ARPS

"The images in my panel have been selected from an ongoing, long-term project, photographing pastoral farmers in and around Yorkshire, but mainly close to where I live. I was initially inspired by the James Ravilious book, The Recent Past, in which he photographed rural life around his home in North Devon during the 1970s. Then in 2019 upon reading in Country Life that only 3% of British farmers are under 35 years old and the average age of a British farmer is 59 I had the idea to focus on pastoral farmers in my area. For this ARPS panel I have chosen images from that project which were taken on farms and at livestock auctions and agricultural shows in Yorkshire. The images selected for this panel include photographs of first, second, third and fourth generation farmers."

Valerie Mather ARPS

Valerie Mather ARPS

Valerie Mather ARPS

Valerie Mather ARPS

Valerie Mather ARPS

Valerie Mather ARPS

Valerie Mather ARPS

Valerie Mather ARPS

Valerie Mather ARPS

Valerie Mather ARPS

Valerie Mather ARPS

Valerie Mather ARPS

Valerie Mather ARPS

Valerie Mather ARPS

Valerie Mather ARPS

Valerie Mather ARPS - interviewed by Gerry Phillipson LRPS

When did you first discover an interest in pastoral farmers in Yorkshire?

I was initially inspired by the James Ravilious book, The Recent Past, in which he photographed rural life around his home in North Devon during the 1970s. It made me consider doing a local project, rather than travelling abroad to take images.

Then, in 2019, I read an article in Country Life magazine about the succession crisis in British farming. I was shocked to learn that only 3% of our farmers are under 35 years-old and that the average age of a farmer is 59. Curious, I began to attend livestock auctions and agricultural shows in my area. I don’t have any farming connections myself and during these visits I discovered a close-knit community that I wanted to understand. The project began from there.

Can you tell us something about how you developed a relationship with the farmers, and farming families, you photographed across the four generations that you mention in your Statement of Intent?

Some farmers I met at public events and photographed only once. Gradually, however, I came across farmers who invited me onto their farms and allowed me the privilege of shadowing them and asking endless questions. They, in turn, introduced me to neighbouring farms. Spending long days on these farms, I met their children (and even the grandparents, when they were babysitting), as well as their friends - farmers rely on friends and neighbours to help.

It is a strange relationship being a photographer-I feel it is important not to interact too much with one’s subjects, to remain impartial, and so as not to change natural behaviours. However, there is down time when we all relax with a mug of tea and laugh about the events of the day. Just yesterday, I was the subject of much ribbing. Photographing pig weaning, I was red faced and sweating, running and sliding through deep mud, to get ahead of the farmers as they herded the sows in from the fields. The faster I ran, the faster the sows ran ahead of me. I have been asked back as I was the most successful herder of the day!

With camera in hand, were there times when you were regarded with suspicion? Did you ever ask for permission to take a shot or explain why you were photographing the scene?

Farmers have, in my view, had a hard time in the media of late, and many feel they have been misrepresented. As such, they are understandably cautious and sometimes defensive. If I wish to shoot on private land, then clearly, I need permission in advance. I have found that, by asking in person, and showing genuine enthusiasm for my subject, people are quick to agree. After that I tend to capture a moment as I see it and chat to and gain approval from the individual after. This keeps the images candid. Obviously, there are rules where children are involved, but again, I have been fortunate that I have been given opportunities to photograph children within the farming community. It has been one of the joys of this project.

You chose to present a panel in black and white. Why? Many of the scenes you’ve included would have looked good in colour.

I made the decision to photograph the entire project in black and white before I found the project! I had done two short colour series-in Cuba in 2017 on a photography holiday with Creative Escapes where we had to set ourselves assignments during the trip, and in 2018 in London at an anti-Trump demonstration. Both essays used colour significantly and I wanted to try my hand at ‘seeing’ in monochrome, (although I shoot raw in colour and convert in Lightroom later). Happily, when I found the project, black and white made sense to me, as in part, I wanted to show the traditions that continue in this industry, as well as the innovations. Also, two photographers I am inspired by and drawn to - James Ravilious (mentioned above) and David Hurn’s work are entirely black and white.

Which photograph from your ARPS panel gives you most satisfaction?

That’s a hard question to answer! The correct answer, I think, is none because in putting together a panel you are using 15 images to tell 15 stories. No single story should be ‘better’ than another. They are equally important. It is different if you are preparing a book, or even a photo essay, but not for an RPS Distinction.

If I must single one out, strangely for me as I love photographing people, it would be the ‘still life’ shot (ARPS 13). It is something quite ordinary, that I feel on closer inspection tells a story of a community. For me, the shot is about small-scale family businesses, honesty in a community, and children learning to take on responsibility.

Which photograph in the panel did you find the most difficult to achieve?

The image in the milking parlour (ARPS 10). It took almost a year before I gained access to a dairy parlour. Once there, I was surprised by how industrial, noisy, and computerised (and yet still dependent on key human interaction) and fast-paced the process of milking is now. Working with livestock is dangerous and safety has been an important consideration throughout the project -both mine and the farmers I am observing. Seeing the milking process close up and finding a way to translate that into a single image, without getting in the way, or getting myself or my camera injured was difficult.

The one that got away: An example of a photo that didn’t make it into the panel. Please explain the shot and why you didn’t select it.

The book cover didn’t make it into the panel on the advice of my 1:1 assessor who suggested that ‘the viewer cannot read into an image what is not visible’. For me, that image of three elderly farmers, still working in their 70s, looking down on empty sheep pens suggested the succession crisis that had initially sparked the project. It is important to remember, however, that different platforms have different approaches and different images will be successful in different places.

Valerie Mather ARPS

If you could now rework the panel what changes would you make?

I spent many hours agonising over my ARPS panel and, even though the project continues, I wouldn’t change a thing. Once it was done, I felt I had told my 15 stories and I was honoured to achieve such a prestigious award from the Royal Photographic Society.

Can you say a little about your book?

The farming community is facing the biggest changes since tractors replaced horses, including how they farm in the light of environmental initiatives. Their success or failure will impact us all, as farmers are the custodians of our land, and their actions affect the countryside we enjoy, and the quality of the food we eat.

I want people to think about our farming industry when they shop and support them where they can. My hope is that the book will help in some small way to achieve this.

Clearly this is an on-going project. How might you develop it further?

The project feels far from done to me. My work was first featured in Country Life, then The Yorkshire Post, and recently Yorkshire Life magazine. The National Trust saw my work, and subsequently bought a copy of my book. They have offered to curate my first exhibition at their gallery at Nunnington Hall (9 September 2023-31 December 2023). I am talking with the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs and the NFU about educational opportunities for schools to accompany the exhibition. The NT are facilitating access to their tenant farmers to assist me in expanding the scope of the project. It’s very exciting to be working on this with other like-minded people.

www.valeriematherphotography.co.uk

www.valeriematherphotography.co.uk/index.php/books-by-professional-photographer-valerie-mather-in-yorkshire