Upper Teesdale hill farm photographed for outdoor exhibition

Life on Herdship was captured by photographer Joanne Coates

An outdoor exhibition revealing the hidden life of hill farming has gone on show in Upper Teesdale.

Photographer Joanne Coates spent a year documenting life on Herdship farm in the North Pennines, capturing tenant farmers Paul and Jen Johnson.

The resulting photographs are being exhibited in the field at the Langdon Beck Hotel until 4 June.

"I hope it shows the hard work that hill farmers are doing to try and farm in a sustainable way," Joanne said.

The exhibition documents the lives of couple Paul and Jen Johnson throughout the year

The photographer, who has worked as a farm labourer and still occasionally milks cows, said it was important to tell stories close to her and to show the challenges of working in agriculture.

"Hill farmers are custodians of the land and put an immense amount of care into what they do," she said.

"It is not only for today that they farm, but for the future. This isn't often understood, and it was a really important element for me, to showcase this story of one who cares for the land."

The images chosen are on display in a field at Langdon Beck Hotel

'It was the way he was looking'

While the collection spans the seasons, one photograph which resonates with the photographer is of Paul in winter, stood on the snow-covered fell tops, looking out over the landscape.

"He is wearing the same jacket he is wearing in autumn, on a sunny day, on a windy day," explained Joanne, who is based in Swaledale, North Yorkshire.

Battling the freezing temperatures during winter, Joanne asked Paul what it would mean if hill farming was not possible

"I asked him what it means to be a tenant farmer and what it would mean if hill farming wasn't possible any more.

"He just looked out over the landscape and it was the way he was looking, it spoke with that emotion and it was a real quiet moment - what would his life look like, what would his community be like, if farming wasn't there any more?"

Just 20 photographs were chosen from a catalogue of 400, showing life, work and the natural year, and have been mounted on posts which will be repurposed for tree guards at the end of the Herdship exhibition.

Award-winning photographer Joanne Coates spent a year at the hill farm

Paul Johnson said looking after nature was "part of our everyday business" and he and his wife took part in the project because they wanted to show the work that goes into a hill farm, and "the nature-friendly way" they farm, working with wildflowers and birds.

The free exhibition is part of the Tees-Swale: naturally connected programme, delivered by the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

A year of life and work at Herdship in Upper Teesdale runs until 4 June

Duncan Peake, chief executive of the Raby Estate, where the farm is located, said: "Upper Teesdale is a special place for people and nature, but this hasn't happened by accident.

"Farmers such as Paul and Jen Johnson have adapted their farming methods to create the right conditions for wildlife to thrive, and this way of farming with nature is at the heart of the Tees-Swale programme."

All images subject to copyright