There’s that old saying that an image can tell a thousand words, but there are plenty of books about farming, but a lot of those books hark to the past. A lot of those books are just written in text and we wanted almost a coffee table book but with the stories of the farmers words. With the farmers intertwined. So there’s a very strong narrative that runs through throughout it.” Over the course of a year, Amy conducted frank conversations about the financial challenge of farming in post-Brexit Britain; the tightrope balance of producing quality food in nature-rich landscapes; and the highs and lows of working in an area internationally famed for its beauty.

MISS POTTER is an enchanting love story inspired by the life of Beatrix Potter - the most successful children’s author of all time. Set in London and the Lake District in 1902, the film stars Academy Award winner Renée Zellweger as Beatrix Potter, and charts the... Forty Farms offers a unique insight into the hopes, fears and everyday lives of 40 extraordinary farmers across Cumbria. Derwentwater dawn (Image credit: Amy Bateman - Forty Farms) How did you go from amateur to professional photographer? A polarizer: Kase magnetic filters and polarisers are absolute game changers. They make it so fast to pop them on and take them off. I can't be faffing, screwing things in, putting extension holders and filter holders on my camera. But with Kase magnetic filters and polarisers, you just slap them on – job done. I’m very impressed with these, so they’re definitely in my essential kit.

Over the course of a year, Amy conducted frank conversations about the financial challenge of farming in a fast-changing world; about the tightrope balance of producing quality food for the nation in sensitive heritage landscapes; and about the challenges and opportunities of working in an area that is internationally famed for its beauty. We've got 900 acres – that's a lot of land to be able to capture the landscape, farm life, farm animals, nature and food production. I get to capture the behind the scenes of farm life that people rarely experience. I know our farm inside and out, where to find the March hares when they're boxing, beautiful examples of regeneration in Juniper on our fell and time it just right to capture them in the best light. I think the thing about documentary photography for me is that it's about telling the story. For farm photography in particular, it's different. It's not necessarily a wildlife photograph or a landscape. You're telling a story about what's actually happening in front of you. It's those elements of storytelling; your composition, the light, your leading lines, and the interaction of your subject with its environment. It highlights independence, innovation and resilience in a post-Brexit world of declining farm subsidies, as we seek to focus on producing food closer to home, whilst balancing the drive towards net-zero, and restoring biodiversity. The Forty Farms exhibition will be in the Gallery, Rheged, Penrith LA8 9NB from now until 4 January 2023.

In March 2021, British Life Photographer of the Year, Amy Bateman, embarked on a year-long journey to record the stories of 40 farms across Cumbria. One of the farms she photographed was our farm, Yew Tree Farm, Coniston.In March 2021, British Life Photographer of the Year Amy Bateman embarked on a journey to record the stories of forty farms in Cumbria.

The accompanying conversations with farmers – often frank, sometimes funny, and occasionally painful – reflect the critical issues facing farming today. Over the course of a year, Amy conducted frank conversations about the financial challenges of farming; about the tightrope balance of producing quality food in a nature-rich landscape; and about the highs and lows of working in an area that is known and loved internationally. Fell Foot Farm, Little Langdale, and 'Lakeland Farm Visitor Centre', Ings – Beef, education, hospitality, sheep

I attended evening classes at Kendal Brewery Arts Centre completing the intermediate Digital Photography course and progressed through to the advanced course. I was hooked, read magazines and watched YouTube tutorials to constantly build on the skills I learned and put them into practice. There's always something new to learn in photography, different techniques or skills to hone, and although I've still got a lot to learn, I'm enjoying the process. Having the time and space to be creative is one of the most joyful aspects of photography. Forty Farms is the concept of my publisher and editor, who’s called Dave Felton, and he has a Cumbrian publishing house called Inspired by Lakeland. He approached me in November 2020 and said, ‘I’ve got an idea for a book and you’re my first choice. A photography book on farming’. You get a very well massaged ego when somebody approaches you like that. And so I said, ‘Ohhhh gosh, yes! That sounds good!’