Photographs Exploring Human-Animal Relationships Convey Tenderness

In these photographs, the heavy, overbearing machinery associated with modern life gives way to the simple, but potent, symbiotic relationship between man, creature, and the forces of weather, and allows these individuals a style of work that resembles a form of meditation.

They work in tandem with their environment, reaping benefits, but leaving little mark: beekeepers, wearing no protective clothing; trainers at a wolf sanctuary; catfish “noodlers,” capturing seventy pound fish with their bare hands; and farmers, using traditional practices—which now seem heroic—to run small, sustainable farms. They take huge risks to stay committed to their methods, drawing on human strength of body and mind.—Holly Lynton

Five years ago, photographer Holly Lynton left New York for the farm country of Western Massachusetts, a setting she describes as synergistic not just with her locavore lifestyle—eating locally, sustainably, and organically—but also with her recent explorations in photography. Bare Handed captures the relationship between man and animal and “the delicate balance between dominance and surrender.” Lynton also provides a look at small-scale, sustainable, organic farms and the spiritual creed that results from such a way of life.

Lynton was recently selected as a Syngenta Photography Award finalist, an international competition that aims to stimulate dialogue around key global issues.

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