Al Mabin wants to revolutionise outback storytelling, raise the standards in agriculture globally, and inspire change. Here are some of her favourite images.
Two days in a row I headed out to capture a mob of camp horses being brought in for the day's mustering. In the stillness of the morning I had a drone quietly hovering in the middle of the lagoon downstream of the crossing, I had cameras set up in trees and on the ground at the water’s edge while I hid behind a tree to capture another angle.
Other than the hum of the drone, which after a while became like white noise, the only thing you could hear were the birds chirping at daybreak. Then all of a sudden you could hear thundering hooves as more than 40 horses came galloping towards the crossing. The aliveness and energy that filled me as they hit the water at pace, made it hard not to stop shooting and just take in the moment.
The horses being used for the day's muster were caught in the cattle yard and the rest were sent back out to pasture.
This image is one of the first photos I ever took when I decided to follow my passion of visually showcasing Australian agriculture.
It was taken on the side of the road on the Hay Plains, which also happened to be the first place I came to when I moved to Australia. It was this moment on the side of the road where I learned the value of patience and presence. I was so taken by the cattle standing on the bank that I wanted to capture them looking majestic with an awesome sky behind them.
As I stood around fiddling with the settings in my camera to get a correctly exposed shot, the cows standing on the bank walked towards me to see what I was up to and then the next wave of cows that, unbeknown to me, were drinking on the other side, came up and stood on the bank behind them.
There is some powerful symbolism in sunrise and sunset.
Sunrise symbolises the start of the day and a new beginning, while sunset indicates the completion of a cycle and an end to proceedings. Sunsets are mysterious. There’s a sense of calmness and the calming and warm colours have a sense of mystery about them.
It’s compelling to observe the beauty of a sunset and take in the last breaths of a day, and reflect on our achievements for the day.
In many ways, sunsets and sunrises represent our lives – how they begin with a sunrise, and how they end with a sunset, where the sunrise represents birth and rebirth, while the end of the day represents the end of a journey.
I do my best to stop and appreciate the sunrise and sunset each day as I will never get this day again.
Capturing the passion that people have for livestock and working dogs is always such a pleasure.
The constant reading of the play, balancing the mob, directing the lead, commanding the dogs, it is like art to watch.
When the task of moving a mob to a new paddock is complete, there is a real sense of satisfaction.
It is wonderful to see women working on the land. It takes me back to the days when I was a jillaroo.
I look back on that time and appreciate the skills I learned as it makes for a powerful combination when coupled with photography and videography. You can get to the heart of people and their livelihoods and still look natural.
Back in October, 67,000 sheep were yarded at the Wagga Wagga Livestock Marketing Centre. It is fascinating to see what goes on to make a sale happen.
Trucks come in, unload sheep, agents draft them and put them in their lines and then yard them. This happens all day and right through the night, before the sale.
When I got back there at 5.30am on sale day they were still drafting sheep. The auction starts at 8am sharp and boy does it move fast.
To the untrained ear it’s like being in a foreign country. It just looks like people walking along waving their arms about and touching sheep’s backs all the time.
And before you know it, the pen is sold and they are moving on to the next one. I love watching the agents work the crowd, with their auctioneering skills creating a real buzz of energy and urgency in the air.
These images can be purchased on the AgriShots website or by clicking on the images above.
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