A chat with 28yr old Courtney Robinson from Bush Chooks Photography. Think long days at work, fascinating kelpies and photography.
What are you doing in the sense of work?
My husband and I manage a property called ‘Sendem Downs’, which is a 10,000 acre beef cattle farm, and I’m also looking after my sister and brother in laws 3000 acre farm ‘Marshall Downs’, which is about half an hour from where I live. My main job is the handling and processing of the cattle on both farms. On SD we are currently running about 5000 cattle, and at MD there is only about 500 head at the moment, with another couple hundred due over the next few weeks. I’m also doing the fencing and the waters at MD. Basically all my time is split between SD and MD.
We live near Badgingarra, I come from a pastoral property in the Gascoyne originally. It’s mainly cattle work, we deal with a lot of trade cattle for the live export market, as well as local markets so we have cattle coming and going nearly constantly. The only cropping we do is for the property, so we produce our own hay and pasture paddocks, as well as establishing perennial paddocks.
How can you tell it’s been a hard days work?
Haha, usually the dogs are a good indication, if they are falling asleep on their feet… It’s the sense of satisfaction and achievement after you’ve slogged your guts out all day, I love that feeling, very rewarding.
How did you get into working with dogs?
I grew up with a kelpie as a pet which started my love for the breed, and in 2009 I bought a pup from a breeder in QLD. I had no idea about registered working dogs, or different bloodlines at that point. I simply found a website I liked the look of, got in touch and 6 months later Meg arrived as a 8 wk old pup, from Belrieve Kelpie Stud. I bought her with the intention of her just being a pet, but she quickly showed me that she wanted more than that. My parents had just bought another station which was running sheep and goats, as well as cattle so I started using Meg on the sheep and goats and it was pretty obvious that she was going to be a handy dog. I wanted to do a working dog clinic or something similar with her to help me get her started, and it was when she was about 5 months old that I received an email about a Neil McDonald Advanced Livestock Management and Working Dog School that was going to be held in Geraldton. I convinced my little sister to come with me (she took a blue heeler and we still tease her about it), and since then I haven’t looked back. I’m not only interested in working dogs, but also breeding them. I have my own line of dogs now, Killili Working Kelpies and they form the base of my current dog team. Only two of my dogs are ‘outside’ dogs.
What’s good about using dogs and working them with the cattle?
Everything! Dogs are so much easier to work with than people, haha, not in every case but in general yes!
The more involved I become with working dogs and using them to educate livestock the more I want to know. Its ‘magic’ the effect dogs can have on livestock. You can change the way cattle (any livestock really) think, its awesome.
The benefits of cattle education by dogs?
Endless! Less stress for starters, in people and cattle, and dogs! Less stress in your livestock essentially means more profit. Higher calving percentages, higher weight gains, improved grazing management (stressed cattle will walk the weight off and trample feed, and won’t utilise all that a paddock may have to offer in terms of more undesirable feed available.) I could go on and on about it! Its fascinating stuff.
What breed are they?
All Kelpies.
How many do you have?
7, ranging in age from 4 moths to 5 years.
How many do you use at one time?
It depends on the job, but its not often that one will miss out. My quad is set up so I can carry them all with me, so I can switch and swap around a fair bit if I need to.
Any challenges in living a rural lifestyle?
No, I love it.
Any challenges of being a female involved in a rural lifestyle?
No, its very rewarding working with blokes. My only complaint would be I get stuck with all of the cooking!
When do you take time out to relax?
This might sound weird, but shifting cattle with the dogs is relaxing, I absolutely love it.
What is a basic year for you look like?
Cattle work and fencing!
What type of camera do you use?
I have a Canon 5D Mark iii.
Have you always been interested in photography?
As far as I can remember yes, always interested in taking photos anyway, but its only in the last 18 months that I have become more interested in the technical side of it.
How often do you take it with you?
As often as possible, but I also go through periods where I will leave it behind for a while. I try not to drive people mad with endless dog photos on my Bush Chooks page!
Are you in contact with any of the other rural photographers on social media?
Some yes, I think we all kind of know of each other at least. Miss Grey Photography is a special friend of mine.
Who gave you your first camera/when did you get your first camera?
Oh gosh! I cant remember but it was probably Mum.
What keeps you in a rural community?
I couldn’t imagine being in a city!
Why do you photograph rural life?
Simply because I love it. I feel very fortunate that my passions all tie in together. I love being able to share what I do on FB, its been incredibly inspiring and humbling having a photography page. The interaction with my ‘liker’s’ that I’ve experienced is pretty crazy and something I never expected when it first began.
Check out more photographs at Bush Chooks Photography Facebook page