Hers not His: Cristy benson

Where and what are you farming? 

I'm an agricultural photographer travelling the country in a Jayco Silverline Outback, towed by a Ford Ranger.  I picked up both the Jayco and the Ford from Auckland over a year ago and have spent the last year winding my way south staying at dairy farms, on sheep and beef stations, horse studs, wineries and market gardens.  I build a library of on-farm imagery that I license through my website to industry bodies, government departments, marae and commercial agricultural companies, for use in marketing campaigns, websites, annual reports and even artwork for corporate spaces.

In the last year, the Ford and I have been to soil festivals in North Canterbury, photographed wild horses in the Kaimanawa Ranges near Waiouru, dined on blue cod in Bluff and sat quietly with deer grazing on the Hauraki Plains in the Waikato.

What year, make, and model is your trusty ute?

2024 white Ford Ranger XLT.

What’s your favourite feature (or quirk) about your ute?

She’s not pristine, and I love that about her. There’s always a dusting of Central Otago caught around her gills and a thick cover of pastry flakes across the upholstery.  She's a travelling memoir of where we've been. Less a vehicle and more an accomplice.  She knows how many sunsets we’ve chased across Canterbury, how many times I’ve pulled over just because the light was doing something holy over beefies grazing by Southland's Waiau River, and how many coffees I've spilled while driving.

What song is always on your playlist when you’re behind the wheel?

It depends on the landscape, but something cinematic and yearning. Think 'Where the Wild Things Are' by Luke Combs or 'Power Over Me' by Dermot Kennedy. Big skies require big soundtracks. 

My anthem right now is 'The View Between Villages' by Noah Kahan. I love the line "...it's just me and the curve of the valley". It's a haunting echo of the rhythm of this unconventional life - that constant balance between the goodbyes I've had to say when leaving remarkable farmers, and the quiet optimism of whatever might reveal itself behind the next farm gate.

What’s your ultimate roadtrip snack when you’re out on the farm or heading to town?

"Who ate all the pies?"  Me. This guy. Cristy. I ate them all. It was me. 

My favs: Harris Farms pies, Tamar Beef pies and Sanga's pies.

What’s always rolling around in the back seat or tray?

My West Highland White Terriers, Mr Cherub and Mr Truffles. Although it's less "rolling around in the back seat" and more regally snoozing in dog beds fit for kings. 

I love looking out at my side mirror and seeing Truffle's head out the window sniffing and taking it all in.  He's 14, blind and deaf, so to see him absorbing the surroundings in his own way - building a mind map of where livestock are grazing, where packs of Huntaways are working, and where the contractors' farm machinery we pass on the road has been busy - feels like a quiet kind of magic.