Specialised photography is best when it is based on specialised knowledge.

By knowing the subject a photographer is able to subtly capture the essence of an item or event in a photo – whether it is a cabbage in still-life or flame weeding organic carrots. Joy and Michael Michaud understand their subject from a scientific and practical viewpoint:

Agriculture: Joy grew up on an organic farm in Dorset, and both Joy and Michael studied agriculture at university. Following that they both obtained PhDs in agronomy (a specialised form of agriculture), though they studied very different crops in very different environments: Joy in Wales and Michael in Texas, USA. Over the years both have worked in agricultural-based jobs, and now have a close affiliation with many farmers.

Horticulture: For nineteen years Joy and Michael have run Sea Spring Farm, a commercial horticultural holding that for the last twelve years has specialised in chillies (www.peppersbypost.biz), and has now started running trials for Really Cool Seeds.  A wide range of other vegetable crops, and some flowers and potted edible plants are also grown and sold locally. In addition, Michael has worked with several organisations, such as the Royal Horticultural Society and Eden Project, regularly gives talks and demonstrations to both local and national groups, and runs courses on growing unusual vegetables. For many years he has worked with other growers from several ethnic backgrounds, experimenting with exotic food crops that will grow in Britain.  

Home gardening: Michael and Joy work closely with local home gardeners and allotment holders, and are frequent speakers at gardening societies. This gives them access to private, small scale vegetable plots for photographing and to the gardener who can give useful information associated with their growing.

Organic systems:  Joy and Michael have both work in various capacities within the organic movement for over seventeen years, and have a considerable network of contacts among organic farmers and growers and organic organisations. Michael was an organic inspector for the Soil Association, the country’s premier organic certification body, and then was on the organisation’s Board of Directors. Joy was the secretary of the British Organic Farmers, she edited Organic Farming, the Soil Association organic producers’ magazine for five years, and the international organic journal, Ecology and Farming. She is now the editor of The Organic Standard. Both Joy and Michael are ‘Expert Assessors’ for UKAS, the government organisation that accredits organic certification bodies in the UK.