Buffalo, turkeys, alpacas, oh my! Capturing faces of ‘special livestock’

Freeport-based photographer Catherine Frost is spending the year traveling to various Maine farms looking for and photographing ‘special livestock.’ Think:  alpacas, turkeys and yes, even water buffalo.

Photo courtesy of Catherine Frost

Photo courtesy of Catherine Frost

She’s calling it “The Faces of Farms.”

“I’m looking for special and unique stories, it’s not really focused on the farm per se, I’m more trying to find a unique aspect of the animals or livestock that is being raised,” Frost said.

Inspired by her marketing work with various farms throughout Maine, Frost said she’s always had “a deep passion for both photography and animals.” She is vetting each of the farms making sure they are ethical and only using natural and sustainable farming practices.

As she photographs, samples of her work will be featured on the Maine Farmland Trust website and eventually prints will hang in the Maine Farmland Trust Gallery in Belfast.

Frost hopes her project will show people that animals, whether they are cows, chickens or buffalo, are just an important of a feature of the farm as the land and farmer.

“I wanted to highlight the animals … because they are the third leg of the farm, they are just as important and they need to be highlighted and respected.

Here are a few farms and animals she hopes to visit in the coming months:

Guimond Farms, Fort Kent (red angus cattle)

Pondview Farm, Limington (female farmer raising highland cattle)

Sabbathday Lake, New Gloucester

Mandala Farm, Gouldsboro (Norwegian fjords)

Norumbega Farm, New Gloucester (mulefoot hogs)

The Turkey Farm, New Sharon (turkeys)

Balfour Farm, Pittsfield (dairy/Normande cows)

Check out some of Frost’s already published work on the Maine Farmland Trust website.

Natalie Feulner

About Natalie Feulner

Natalie Feulner is a journalist and “semi-crunchy” cloth diapering momma to a rambunctious toddler named after a county in California. She drinks too much tea and loves to climb rocks but not at the same time.