Me with Brian, our farm’s ram and star of the bar at Field & Main restaurant in Marshall, Virginia…we printed this wall mural at 8x10 feet.
Molly M. Peterson
Welcome! My name is Molly McDonald Peterson and I am a Photographer and a (former) Farmer currently based in Virginia. I have held a camera in my hand since a very young age and my early subjects were often our dogs or horses…. huge thanks to my family who kept buying film and developing prints…the incredible number of boxes in the basement as evidence. However, never once did I ever think “Farmer” would be attached to my name. Over the past decade+ I’ve not only documented and celebrated dozens of small farms through my work, but I’ve also walked that path side-by-side with my husband on our own farm and direct-to-consumer retail operation feeding hundreds in the Mid Atlantic. My photography has won awards, is currently featured in nine books & cookbooks and even graced the stage of Farm Aid from 2016-2021 (dream come true). Most of my photography clients are repeats and that's pretty amazing and humbling.
My work on this planet at this moment in time is to help us - humans - to see. Nature’s got it already and the animals have it already, but we humans - oh, we humans, run around with our busyness, fears and anger…seeking connection, love, belonging and to be seen leaving quite a wake behind us. Nature sees us...it is us that needs Nature. Not one person is immune from eating on this planet and, yet, how many of us have actually grown our own food, put our hands in thriving soil or embraced the hand of the one(s) who planted the seed of life that sustains us? When was the last time your bare feet touched the very soil underneath it?
Photo by Lise Metzger, GroundedWomen.com
That’s where I come in.
I help translate and celebrate the beauty of Life through the camera lens and then into your homes, either through magazine editorials or prints on your walls. I had no idea how aromatically divine an orange can taste plucked fresh from the tree in Southern California until I visited one farm myself - I hope my images give your heart a smile, invite you to close your eyes and imagine...taste...breathe that moment...then to seek out your closest farmer to try for yourself. There is something beautiful and magical about that direct connection.
I’m very okay if seeing images of adorable piglets snuggling make you question your consumption for meat - then I’ve done my work. And I’m not saying that your choice to do so is right or wrong but if by questioning the decision then your mind is engaged, your heart is open and your gratitude for the sacred energetic transfer of life is real and intentional.
The most beautiful thing I’ve seen with my work in agriculture is the immense love these small farms put into their work. They are the ultimate givers and healers: they want to grow/produce/raise food that gives life to their loved ones and neighbors, they want to commune with Mother Earth in a co-creative space for us all to thrive. In this modern day society it isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do but the hope in our hearts is there. I saw a quote once that stuck with me, “each of us has about 40 chances to accomplish our goals in life. I learned this first through agriculture, because all farmers can expect to have about 40 growing seasons, giving them just 40 chances to improve on every harvest.” (Howard Graham Buffett) Phew.
I invite you to take a deep breath and enjoy the images from some of my favorite farms. I encourage you to seek out your local farmers. If you are a farmer and need marketing support OR a big fan of your farmer and want to gift them a photography session, please give me a call and I would want nothing more than to photograph the essence of your heart’s work and help you refine and share your story. I’m immediately available in the Northern Virginia area but arrangements can be made for travel worldwide. By bringing my Farm Life fine art wall prints into your homes I want it to enhance your life - for you to smile with gratitude for the abundant and beautiful life we have all been given on this fairly brief moment in time here on this miraculously spinning blue planet.
Press & Praise as a “Farmher”
“Molly was kind enough to donate this session as a fundraising prize for a local charity, and we were lucky enough to have her come visit our home and our animals. We knew we wanted a candids-session to include our horses, dogs, and cats, but we really had no idea what to expect - whether the animals would cooperate, whether they’d like being photographed, or whether they’d get bored with the whole process. But from the moment she walked onto the property, Molly’s calm, peaceful, delighted-with-the-animals demeanor transformed our sometimes-aloof-or-shy crew into a perfectly cast group of playful, excited, and photogenic subjects. Molly captured the spirit of each of our animal family and quickly became part of our pack - unobtrusively and without our even noticing the transition. Each of our animals sought her out and seemed to want to pose for her, from our normally-impossibly-standoffish Maine coon cat to our almost-blind elder statesman of an Appaloosa - each and every one of our eight-strong animal family showed sides of themselves that normally they only show us, and which we aren’t skilled enough with a camera to capture in anyway close to what Molly reveals in her photographs. The whole experience was wonderful, and the photographs are ones we will treasure forever. If you are considering a session, we can’t recommend Molly highly enough - and we are envious that you live near her and we no longer do. - C. Miller, Rappahannock County, Virginia
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