Linda Falkenstein
“Left rear...lower her left rear. Right up and in a little. Let’s...is she a little light in the left rear?”
Photographer Cybil Fisher takes a practiced look at the Brown Swiss standing under the bright lights and gives her crew further instructions. “Left front straighter. Where it’s at.”
A team of five cow wranglers places the cow’s legs in what is, for a Brown Swiss, an attractive and perhaps even demure position. Her front legs don’t block her rear legs, and she seems on the verge of motion — as if she has paused only momentarily on her way to some particularly tasty grass.
Inside a large white tent behind the Dane County Memorial Coliseum during the World Dairy Expo, the cow is posed in front of a painted backdrop of blue sky, wispy clouds and impressionistic fall foliage just starting to turn to muted reds and yellows. The bright lights are diffused by umbrella-style reflectors, creating the illusion of daylight.
“Right rear ahead a half,” Fisher says.
One assistant adjusts the cow’s halter, a process Fisher likens to “a tailor customizing a suit,” while another holds the tail slightly away from the cow’s body. A third applies a few touch-ups of black spray paint to the cow’s hooves.
These people will be cropped or edited out of the final portrait, with the exception of the halter-holder, who by convention remains in the finished photo, says Fisher.
Finally an aide standing in front of the cow attempts to get her attention by making warbly, bird-like sounds and waving evergreen fronds in the air.
“Nose down, nose down,” says Fisher from behind her camera, removed from this tableau by about 30 feet.
The cow is restless and not holding still for her moment in the spotlight. “There’s a fly on her!” Fisher says. “I thought so. Tap her nose.”
The cow settles; the evergreen-waving assistant tries a different diversion — he has at his disposal a stuffed orange monkey on a stick, a stuffed cow and a bucket of feed. A scoop of feed sliding into a plastic pail does the trick. Fisher squeezes off a few shots and says, “Let ’er go.” The cow is led out of the tent, and the next model is ushered in.
Fisher specializes in photographing dairy cattle. She travels a lot, both for fun and for work, and says that when she tells an airplane seatmate that she’s a dairy cattle photographer, the response is invariably “I didn’t even know that was a job.”
It’s definitely a niche business. “Different qualities in the breed can be emphasized in the photo,” says Fisher. “That’s hard to know how to do across multiple species.” These are not sentimental pet shots; they’re advertising, used when selling the animal or for breeding purposes.
Fisher started right out of college, working for Agri-Graphics of New Glarus for six years. “I thought, I’ll do this for a few years until I figure out what I want to do with my life,” says Fisher. But the chance to travel continued to appeal to her. She started her own business, based in Green Bay, in 2002.
Fisher isn’t the only cow photographer at the World Dairy Expo. There’s a second tent and a third business taking outdoor shots with Willow Island as the backdrop.
Fisher prefers the controlled environment of the tent. “These shows go late at night, so this way I can go until 10 o’clock. Or there’s no problem if there’s inclement weather.” Plus, big dairy shows are busy places with a lot of distractions: “Inside the tent, there’s less for her to look at.”
She’s worked with her share of unruly cows. “Not fun,” says Fisher. “Sometimes we’ll bring in another animal for her to be like a buddy. Or rub her neck, or there are certain areas to scratch.”
Her favorite breed to photograph is the Jersey. “I think it’s because their center of gravity is lower, so they’re more comfortable, not as awkward. Also, they’re a naturally curious breed. They love noise, they’re alert.”
The next Brown Swiss is now under the lights. “She has a funny muzzle,” Fisher observes. “She always looks like she’s sneering. Right front wider.”
The shutter fires rapidly.
“Let ’er go."
Cybil Fisher Photography: cybilfisher.com
Number of cows Fisher will photograph during the five days of the World Dairy Expo: 750-800
Turnaround on finished photos: 2½-3 weeks
Hours a day she will spend in post-production after World Dairy Expo: 18
Number of crew assistants she hires for World Dairy Expo: 12-15
Cost of a professional cow photograph: About $150 per animal
