FOR THE LOVE OF THE COUNTRY
Alan Gibson, Exisle Publishing, $59.99
ike his father before him, Alan Gibson was a farm boy before he became a press photographer. So there is a strong sense of connection to country and an innate understanding of the power of story imbued in this anthology of photographs and observations of farming life from one end of New Zealand to the other. Alan's work covers many aspects of farming from sheep and shearing sheds to dairy-, chicken-, deer- and fruit-farming also features a strong sense of family unity and inter-generational custody and, as Alan himself acknowledges, an aspect of the New Zealand character formed in young rural kids, who finish school for the day and head home to help in a workplace that requires a level of maturity way beyond their years.
