Richard Angus Ranch Shoot – Farm and Ranch Living Magazine
I’ve been keeping a secret! Back in march of this year I was approached by Farm and Ranch Living Magazine to photograph the Hartfeld family on the Richard Angus Ranch here in North Dakota. I’m finally able to share the photos with you all now that it’s been published!
Family Ranch
It was a pleasure meeting the Hartfeld family and their lifestyle in general was amazing to observe. It’s definitely a team effort, and they function like a well-oiled machine. They are somehow able to balance school, after school jobs, an 8 member family, church, and the full time job of keeping a ranch running. I tagged along to shadow them on a typical day in the life of tending to 1,800 head of cattle. It was impressive to say the least!
Ranch Lifestyle Session
Jacob & Miriah relocated from Oregon to the heart of the badlands to the Richard Angus Ranch. They’ve led a bit of a nomad lifestyle and have acquired years of ranching experience as a result. As you can see from the photos, it’s no easy feat! The family (including their 6 kids) does chores before school, followed by homework, supper, and then it’s time for bed. It was so cool to see how all of the kids work together and seem happy to contribute!
The weather was milder than can typically be expected for March in North Dakota, but it made for a great shoot! Blue skies stretched for miles and it’s a view unlike any other. This was a slightly different approach than my usual family shoots, but it was so much fun to shadow them for the day as they went about their chores and seeing their unique lifestyle at work. They made sure to make time for fun in the midst of all the tasks at hand, and I loved getting shots of the kids playing together. Even the littlest Hartfeld pitched in to help!
It was such a great change of pace to hang out on the ranch with the Hartfelds! The land they tend is beautiful and I saw it all from snowball fights to feeding chickens, tending cattle to and a family who loves as hard as they work. Miriah, the family matriarch, actually blogs as well. You can read more about their life and the happenings on the ranch on her website, A Rancher’s Gal.
