I wasn’t sure what to think when I took a call from a woman late last summer representing an agency hired by a chain of retail stores saying she wanted to rent my farm for a couple of days for a photo shoot. When I hesitated, saying I didn’t really have my B&B “open” and in good enough condition for a photo shoot, she said, “They told me to beg if need be.” Once she told me a little bit more about the kinds of photos they’d be taking, I jumped at the chance to host them, thinking it would be a playful, fun-filled two days for me, my employees, and my granddaughters. I wasn’t wrong. Why? Manners. Gallant GOOD manners! They worried about their impact on plants and they cleaned. Actually, they left my farm cleaner than they found it. And one week later, one of them wrote to say she’d ended up with one of my hand towels and would drop it in the mail. “I’m so sorry.”
It was pure delight loading people and gear into the back of our farm trucks and/or our little utility “golf cart” vehicle for delivery to a forest and/or field location that one of their many scouts had picked out. Abigail and I prepped our guesthouse for their make-up/hair technicians; and I put the woman in charge in touch with a local restaurant for meal catering. It, of course, made us smile when we heard them talking on their cell phones, saying things like, “The brunette from the UK has arrived at the airport, ETA 30 minutes.”
It was hot. And dry. And in some of the shots, the models were wearing sweaters! Those attending to them rushed forth in between shots with ice packs and cotton towels for dabbing away beads of facial sweat. Did they complain? They did not. Not even once. Did my modelesque granddaughters take in every detail and nuance? They did; some of models were only a few years older.
And then, a few months later. There it was! Pieces of my farm were everywhere on their website. Their scouts really had an eye. In one instance, they chose an old tree stump off to the side of my wood shed, right next to my clothesline. Who knew!? But the photos turned out fabulous. They wore fall clothing so my farm isn’t currently featured on their website, but I did snap a few photos from the two days my farm became famously glam.
Here’s one of my granddaughters afterward utilizing her newfound skills. Right before they left, they pulled my granddaughters aside and let them pick out several outfits.
