In 2005 I had an idea that inspired Dairy Australia to create a series of images that inspired an exhibition called ‘Impressions of Dairy’
It began with my best friend’s daughter Jo taking a series of photos of her children on our farm.
This is Jo’s son Julian, who is now in high school
What this exhibition taught me was the power of a great photographer and I am very lucky to have met many of those in my quest to tell the great stories of Australia agriculture and the farmers that underpin it
It was recently brought home to me just how powerful my idea was when I saw a presentation 8 years later by Australian Dairy Farmer’s CEO Natalie Collard at recent event and my son appeared in her slide presentation with a much younger version of his dog “bear”
As farmers we need to remember marketing gurus on $150K plus salaries aren’t the only people with good ideas
Stand tall, be proud farmers – the best person telling your story is YOU
So true Lyn. So very true indeed..
I just have one concern though.
If I do tell my story and you don’t like it, will you then turn around and write tweets and a blog post telling the whole world how I got it wrong and that maybe there might be some people out there who will be offended?
That’s sort of off-putting. You know?
Is there a farmers media school out there somewhere? One that can make people say the same thing in every message and not, you know, offend others, even if that ‘YOUR STORY’ isn’t a totally happy one, or because, as you alluded to, we haven’t had the training of that media guru who earns $150,000 a year? I’d smile all the time too, if someone paid me that sort of money 🙂
I would rather hear your story any day John, over the manufactured, predictable script of the media guru with an agenda. Your story is unique and only you can tell it, warts and all!
People need to know the reality of farming life. This is not well represented in the frequently negative portrayals by the media. Yes, there will always be difficulties and challenges and these need to be understood, but so too will there be moments of joy and inspiration.
Don’t be silent!
Yes John, I totally agree, plenty of people in ag have sad experiences / stories to tell. And yes, they are authentic. Problem is, they are the only stories we’ve been telling for decades. This isn’t about discounting their stories, but putting some balance in the equation by sharing the good news too.
Sadly my experiences have shown we also have the thousands of silent farmers, too frightened to put their heads above the trenches, because we have forgotten how to celebrate success .
Great feedback in this article on Radio National from Get Back to Me video creater Ashley Walmsley and farmer extraordinaire Georgie Somerset http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bushtelegraph/farmers-frustrations-on-youtube/4899388