SPECIAL PHOTO ESSAY
Herding the Woolies: Sheep Ranching in the Idaho Hill Country
Take a journey around a year in Idaho sheep-ranching with photographer and former herder, Michael Edminster.By Chris Lombardi, 6-13-06
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Sheep ranching, like many traditional agrarian ways, is not a growth industry. Americans are wearing less wool in recent years -- their tastes running to hi-tech synthetics for outdoor winter wear -- and lamb has never been among the more popular meats. Yet sheep ranchers hang on, year by year, hoping for market conditions that will at least allow them to keep their lifestyle -- ancient as Adam and then some -- alive.
This week's featured photographer, Michael Edminster, has had a good bite of the sheep ranching life. He worked for six years in the sheep country of Idaho, beginning as a ranch hand during lambing season, then as a camptender and herder. He has since turned to the building trades -- with a specialty in fashioning custom mosaics for bathrooms, kitchen, and bar tables -- but every other hour of available light will still find him roaming the Idaho hills with camera in tow, usually in a vehicle, but sometimes on horseback, "trailing the woolies."
As you'll see in this collection of images, which takes us on a brief turn through the yearly cycle of sheep ranching, Michael's knowledge of and love for this lifestyle is a powerful presence in his photography. Indeed, it's one of its defining characteristics, and the reason that Michael has become one of the more popular Western photo-sharers on FLICKR.com. His experience with sheep ranching and long relationship with the Idaho countryside allow his images to be romantic (damn near inescapable given the subject and locale) without romanticizing. His images are filled with the warmth and intimacy of a man looking back on wilder days spent roaming the hills, with a poignant hint of mourning over the fading of a lifestyle that he has known and loved. Enjoy the show.
Much more of Mike Edminster's photography can been seen on FLICKR.com, where he goes by the handle "Mountain Mike." For inquiries about prints, or to just say how-do, email Mike at .
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Comments
This is just spectacular. It takes my breath away. What a perfect, exquisite marriage of words and pictures! I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this, and look forward to more. Thank you.