Still a tourist in my own backyard…it’s The Big Merino in Goulburn!!
A couple of hours drive from Canberra is a farm called Hopeful
and on that farm they have 15,000 olive trees producing award winning, high quality organic table olives and olive oil under the brand Alto. Robert Armstrong, the proprietor, has been passionately working this farm for about a decade now, and the first harvest was in 2003. He was busy pruning the day I arrived, while a storm was brewing in the distance. I admired his capacity and determination to keep going, even when the hail came! Talk about passion for your product. Some years ago Robert travelled straight to the source: he went to Europe and visited farms there. He talked first hand with olive growers about the age old techniques of planting, cultivating, pruning, harvesting and processing olives.
Quality, organic olive oil is expensive here in Australia and yet is readily available and affordable back in Spain, Italy and Greece. Quality olive oil is seen as expensive and we settle for lower grade oils here for the sake of price. Robert’s vision is to see this high quality product stocked on supermarket shelves at competitive prices. For now, it’s the preferred olive oil of choice by many of Sydney’s top chefs. He’s not just simply growing olives and bottling it for fun. He’s passionate about the product and wants to make a valuable contribution to the industry in this country. In the ACT you can pick up a bottle at The Essential Ingredient on Jardine Street in Kingston.
As the profile of Alto grows, so does the need for quality images for promotional use in the media, on websites and in publications. Last year I came and documented the harvest, this year we were planning to make some mug shots of Robert. Of course, me being me, I was interested in trying for more than that. I loved talking with Robert while he pruned, and through that conversation I could tease out the intangible elements that communicate the heart and soul of his business. I thought it was great that it rained, after years of drought, how brilliant to capture it as it was happening. I like also the before and after images, some with Robert busy toiling and then others later all scrubbed up and showing me the manufacturing shed.
From Robert
Hello Beth
A heartfelt note of thanks to you for the photos – I do love the work you have done – especially the pruning shoot where you have captured so much mood and feeling.
Warmly,
Robert
Cost cutting
is common place and understandable in business. And yet, photographs speak volumes and communicate concepts instantly. Do you need images that capture the spirit of your business, that say something about you and tell your customers what makes your business different? I’d love to help you create high quality and unique images that communicate the passion and tell the story of your business. At the very least, we can update your mug shot.
The process is three-fold:
- in-camera decisions regarding lighting, timing and composition
- post production editing and technique to bring them to life
- the creative and human element that brings it all together, me!
The aim with BJP is to produce images that will stand up and speak strongly about your business for years to come. Whip out your point-and-shoot and yes, they’re free images, but do they really stand up and are you proud to show them?
Please be in touch for more info and we can chat about how we can bring your business to life in photographs on 0450 692 599 or beth@bethjennings.com.au.
B
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Beth
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