By Maggie Giles; 2019 First Place Photography Winner, Emerging Photographer Category; Hoard’s Dairyman
“Want to come along while I feed the calves on pasture?” When posed with that question upon our arrival at a Michigan dairy farm early in the morning, we jumped at the chance. My coworkers and I visited this farm as part of a farm visit tour of Michigan intended to bolster our stock photo inventory.
We loaded up in dairyman Tom Cook’s Gator and headed up the hill to the weaned calf pens. Several great opportunities presented themselves as the calves chased us up the hill and Tom reorganized the feeding area. He dragged the feeders onto a new swath of the pasture for the day, and I sat myself at the East end of the bunk and waited with the calves for feed delivery.
I lined up my 50mm lens with the goal of capturing a utility shot that incorporated the farmer, calves and pasture setting. This image with the calves tucking into some grain and Tom pouring the last bit of feed on the far end of the bunk was the resulting shot. I like the symmetry of calves on each side of the bunks and Tom in the center.
A fun fact is that my coworkers and I nearly missed the chance to catch this photogenic farm as we had a late cancellation on our trip. We worked it into our schedule just 16 hours before arriving at the farm. It was a visit well worth the trouble.