Our Q&A with the brilliant Holly Farrier, the London-based, wanderlust-fuelled travelling photographer behind the rather dreamy photograph gracing the cover of our Switzerland magazine.
What do you adore about photography?
Being drawn to something beautiful or captivating about a place, person or dish and then taking the time to carefully compose an image that relays that through a camera is what I love about photography. I also feel so grateful for the experiences and lifestyle that my job as a photographer has brought me, such as travelling to places around the world and working for myself - I always wanted it to happen but never thought it actually would!
Can you remember the first time you picked up a camera?
Not specifically but my Dad studied photography at college so he was always taking photographs when we were younger and showed me his college work book one day. From really young, I was always interested in art and knew I wanted a creative job but somewhere along the line I decided I wanted to be a photographer. I desperately pleaded with my parents for my first camera for Christmas one year, and that was it! From then on, every choice I made in education and jobs was geared towards being a photographer.
How would you describe your style?
I love shooting with a clean and minimal look and have a huge appreciation for simplicity in photography. I tend to focus on quiet moments of beauty, whether that be design, landscapes or natural lifestyle scenes. With travel photography, I always use the natural light and colours of a place to create a genuine portrayal of what that location looks like, using my lens to focus on the areas I am drawn to. I have never seen the point in faking a perfect sunset in the edit, when a cloudy, moody sky can be equally as charming. With food photography, I want the dish to look fresh and appealing, and often use negative space to draw the eye right into the dish. After working with a real variety of clients and genres over the years, my style has evolved a lot. It used to be a very muted colour palette, and slowly I am introducing more life and colour into my work.
You've done quite a lot of food photography - what do you enjoy most about this?
I am obsessed with everything about good food, the ingredients, where it comes from, and therefore shooting it (and getting to eat it afterwards) is always a dream job for me. Working with people who take the time to consider sustainability and source local ingredients in their restaurants or food products is also really rewarding. The clients that I work with are so passionate about their food and what makes it different and I love that I can highlight that for them with photography.
Has there been a particularly memorable shoot over the years?
My most memorable shoot so far would have to be this Switzerland shoot for Lodestars. There is something about those mountains in Mürren which are so awe-inspiring and we were so lucky with the weather while there - it was cold but clear and crisp, allowing for perfect sunny days in the valley. On the one day that it was cloudy, we took the cable car up even further to the Schilthorn Piz Gloria and the mountains stood tall with the clouds beneath them, creating the most memorable scene. I was told before I arrived that I had the opportunity to photograph the via ferrata, a harnessed climbing route where you climb across the edge of the mountain through waterfalls, forests and dangle off of sheer cliff faces. Not being amazing with heights I was hesitant but agreed and it truly was an unforgettable experience. Our guide, Rahel, was lovely and encouraging and it was just the three of us climbing the side of this enormous mountain while paragliders flew down into the valley beneath us. Having to physically push myself outside of my comfort zone while working was something I had never done before, but it was incredible!
Can you tell us a bit about capturing the Switzerland cover image?
The cover image was shot the very first day we arrived in Switzerland. We had taken a multitude of planes, trains and cable cars to get to the tiny mountain village of Mürren and were pretty tired by the time we checked in. We wandered around photographing the village late that afternoon and sat down outside (to the surprise of the staff) in a traditional restaurant for a beer, as we wanted to be as close to those mountains as possible. As the sun went down, this incredibly fiery sunset lit up the mountain and I began to photograph it. It was a great welcome to Mürren!
It was your first time in Switzerland - can you tell us a bit about your first impressions?
I feel very lucky that this was my first time in Switzerland as I got to experience many quintessential Swiss traditions such as fondue, green valleys, chocolate box villages and bell ringing cows. Although I was expecting these things, the reality of the natural wonders of Switzerland definitely surprised me. The sheer size of the mountains and height of the village, when you looked down into the valley below, was better than I could have ever imagined. One surprise was the huge emphasis on adventure sports in the area, as you walk through the village there are people base jumping and paragliding down into the valley all day! Then there is of course the via ferrata and skiing in season too. Everyone who guided us on our trip was also heavily involved in adventure sports and personally inspired us to carry this on when we got home.
What is your dream project/collaboration?
Any time I get to travel to a new destination for my work is a dream project for me. To work with a tourism board or hotel in a country that I have never visited before and see it through the eyes of local experts would be incredible. I also have a real thing for off grid locations and tiny cabins in the middle of nowhere, so going to somewhere far away like ‘Eco Camp’ in Patagonia and shooting for them would be my idea of a dream project.
What's your dream travel destination?
An absolute dream of mine is to free dive and see the humpback whales in Tonga. Although, next year from January I am taking time to do four months of travel to visit places I have been obsessing over for years, including India, the Philippines, Japan, New Zealand and back to my beloved Sri Lanka. I can’t wait!!!
Holly’s work can be seen in our Portugal, Switzerland and (updated) Japan magazines, which you can order by clicking here.
