Lugging a camera and dressed in rain gear, Shawn Linehan clambered off a boat and onto the slippery rock base of a raging waterfall near Oregon City, where the Willamette River crashes toward the valley floor.

Her assignment was to photograph tribal members as they leaned into the cascading waters to grab lampreys, also known as eels, a traditional Native American harvest.

“They are reaching into the water catching lamprey. I am on the falls with them,” Linehan said. “I am trying to stay on and get a good shot, which is difficult.”

They dived into the falls, and Linehan held onto the rocks with one hand and shot photos with the other.

“I did not fall in, the camera was fine and I got some good photos,” she said afterward.

Photographers who specialize in shooting natural resources and agriculture occasionally find themselves on the edge of safety as they maneuver to get that perfect shot.

Sometimes, they get too close to the edge.

Atop a southwest Idaho dam to shoot video of water going over the spillway, Brad Elsberg suddenly remembered the barrier he was leaning over was only waist-high. One false move could have been his last.

“I was so excited about what I was doing, I snapped back and thought, ‘I should be a little more careful here,’” he said.

A celebration

For the most part, farm photography is less an act of derring-do and more one of capturing unique images of farmers and ranchers. It is a visual celebration of agriculture.

“I am there absorbing and documenting,” said La Conner, Washington-based farm photographer Craig J. Barber, a former carpenter who served two tours in Vietnam with the U.S. Marine Corps.

“Agriculture is changing and evolving at a pretty steady, rapid pace, and I hope my work will be a good documentation of that — what agriculture looked like in 2024,” he said.

Barber recently has focused on small operations, particularly the people and their animals.

“I’m really interested in the farmer and the work that goes into producing food,” Barber said. “And now I am interested in focusing on the animals and also the care of them, the husbandry of them.”

A photographer for nearly 50 years, the upstate New York native is inspired by “a lot of painters rather than other photographers,” he said.

Barber likes close-in work.

“I’m right there, pretty much shoulder-to-shoulder with the worker, sheep or horse,” he said. “I am at their eye level. I want people to feel like they are present with me.”

Learning about farms

Linehan, born and raised in North Carolina, taught art for a few years before going back to school to study photography.

She pursued photography full-time starting in 2008.

“I wanted to be a commercial photographer, but I wanted clients I loved,” Linehan said.

Farming drew her interest based in part on her explorations of Oregon. She started shooting assignments for magazines.

“I was meeting people. I kept going to things farm-related, and I was learning,” Linehan said.

“I could go to farms and be outside,” she said. “What they are doing is important, and I felt like a lot of people were not paying attention to farmers.”

“They are doing their real jobs. I am showing up and photographing what’s there in front of me,” Linehan said.

Her clients range from produce distributors, grocery chains and food product manufacturers to universities, agencies and nonprofits. On video shoots, her husband, Ken Beck, records the sound.

Photo business develops

Elsberg was working at a college 22 years ago, when he picked up a couple of video assignments from southwest Idaho agriculture organizations. A dozen years later, he and his wife, Alyce, pursued the business full-time.

Some of their work has emphasized branding, such as for a wine subregion or a farm that offers tours. They have showcased ag industries and participants as well as general topics ranging from noxious weeds to canal safety.

“A lot of it has been from agri-tourism and from the other side of ag: the urbanization,” Brad Elsberg said.

About 70% of the work involves video, much of which is short form to suit online platforms, he said. Alyce usually does the interviewing.

“I always look for minutia,” Brad said. “What is it about these people that intrigues me the most that is something most people would miss?”

‘I like telling stories’

Boise-based photographer, videographer and food writer Guy Hand has clients ranging from agriculture organizations and agencies to farm and restaurant owners.

When he started concentrating on video in 2011, he loved it because of his experience with still photography and hosting a radio show.

A huge investment in time, learning and equipment came as no surprise to Hand, given his earlier experience in New York City and Los Angeles with big consumer brands and on-location shoots.

“I found early on in photography that you have to commit, fully,” he said. “When I travel, I have eight to 12 cases with me.”

“I like telling stories,” Hand said. And agriculture is “generally under-reported,” with few ag-focused outlets.

Drones catch on

“Video became much more important in my portfolio of work about 10 years ago, and I have made a bunch of investments in drones,” he said. This includes cameras that shoot still and video images.

OSU’s Davis said drones “add so much to a video — for example, to get those big, sweeping landscape views.”

Jacob Christensen and Brian Morgan work for the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation as staff videographers. They also shoot still photos.

“If I put out a job for a videographer, I can get 50-60 resumes,” said Joel Benson, vice president of information.

Some hires have an agriculture background, while others “know what it’s like to start from ground zero and what language not to use in communicating with the general public,” he said. “I need someone to tell agriculture’s story in small bits.”

Christensen grew up on a farm. Morgan, who did not, is a former high school teacher.

Connecting with farmers

Jacob Christensen’s ag background helps him connect with farmers, and “when they are talking about what they are passionate about, I know exactly what they are talking about,” he said.

He said Morgan brings a “cool perspective,” including “what the typical person would not know about agriculture.” Morgan personifies “what a fresh pair of eyes would see in our content.”

“We’re trying to educate the public about some very important topics,” Morgan said. “I try to come into each project with an artistic mindset” and “create a piece of art that elicits emotion.”

Fellow former teacher Linehan gets it.

“Customers want authentic photos of real farmers,” she said.