A Texas Photographer Captures Stunning Portraits of Farm Animals

Award-winning Texas photographer Randal Ford has turned his lens on all manner of animals: pet dogs, chimpanzees, giraffes, and tigers, not to mention the Texas longhorn on G&G’s February/March 2024 cover. His latest book, Farm Life, follows his previous collections, Animal Kingdom and Good Dog, in elevating animal portraiture to a fine art. This time, he’s capturing the beauty, silliness, eccentricities, and elegance of farm animals—and not just any farm animals. Arabian horses, brown goats, rare Polish chickens, pigeons, and even a baby raccoon occupy shining moments on the pages.

As HGTV’s Brian Patrick Flynn writes in the book’s foreword, “creating a narrative with animals who cannot read, write, or even speak…is some next-level storytelling.” But that is exactly what Ford does—by moving animals off the farm and into a studio setting, he lends them an air of nobility and humanity that you might not expect in, say, a squawking chicken. (“Despite their inability to fly, chickens bring an array of feathered whimsy to my portrait work,” Ford writes.)

Ultimately, the book is a love letter to the working animals that bolster the heartlands of the country. “It is my hope that this collection of portraits serves as an everlasting tribute to the animals that have helped shape and sustain humanity,” Ford says in the book’s introduction. “Whether clothes to keep us warm, strength and speed to keep us able, or life-giving food on our tables, farm animals deserve our recognition, respect, and gratitude.”

Below, preview five of his portraits.

“Iridian is a living masterpiece,” writes Ford of this mandarin duck, whom he photographed using a single light source to the right of the camera to spotlight the bird’s majestic shape and coloring. 

Maverick is a Texas longhorn. “Their stunning horns serve as a true work of art and grow ceaselessly throughout their lives, sometimes reaching upward of 10 feet across with magnificent and unique curvatures,” writes Ford, who often photographs the breed of cattle. “Yet beneath the intimidating spread of ivory bone lies a surprising demeanor of gentleness.”

Ford felt pure awe while photographing Lahab Albidayer, a magnificent chestnut Arabian stallion.

“Alpacas and llamas, ambassadors of the Andean highlands, boast a blend of charm and peculiarity,” Ford writes. “Their saucer-like eyes, distinct buck teeth, and dog-like snouts offer a plethora of visual treats, not to mention the endless—and endlessly entertaining—haircut possibilities”—like the mop top Venus, a Huacaya alpaca, sports here. 

Gunner the border collie exemplifies what Ford loves about cattle dogs—their intelligence, intensity, and loyalty, and how the farm turns under their watchful eyes. 

Excerpted from Farm Life: A Collection of Animal Portraits. Photography © 2024 Randal Ford. Reproduced with permission from Rizzoli New York. All rights reserved.

Garden & Gun has an affiliate partnership with bookshop.org and may receive a portion of sales when a reader clicks to buy