East Hallside Farm was a deeply personal project for me. It sat behind our house when we moved to the area in 2002. The farm was owned by John Letham — Farmer John — with whom I became very close during the two years we had together before his death. John’s son Robert — Farmer Robert — later took over the farm and became a special part of our godchildren’s lives. I was known as “The Man from Reuters”, as I was rarely without a camera.

These images were made using the wet plate collodion process, often under challenging conditions. Sadly, the farm is now gone and has become a housing estate — progress, as Farmer John would have said.