Alan Gibson was raised on a remote hill country farm. Ever since he first picked up a camera as a child, he has wanted to record the people he grew up around and the world they inhabit. Alan knew the subject of this book intimately; he just had to find the right people to tell the New Zealand farming story.

For more than 25 years Alan Gibson has drawn on his passion for storytelling, working as a photojournalist both in NZ and the UK. Alan spent most of that time employed by The New Zealand Herald covering the central North Island, which he always regarded as a ‘dream job’ as it allowed him to record life in the landscapes and communities he loved. Alan has been awarded the NZ Press Photographer of the Year title six times (Junior & Senior) in the annual media awards. No one has matched that feat.

Kiwi Gardener
“Stunning images, accompanied by insightful interviews, capture the experience of life on the land.”

Waikanae Watch
“A nice balance of the visual and the written .The book largely features the many excellent photographs Alan captured but there’s “fat captions” to photos and interviews that give a judicious balance of the visual and written.  Alan Gibson has been awarded “NZ Press Photographer of the Year title — junior and senior, six times..”

Council of Outdoor Recreation Associations of New Zealand
“An impressive book.” Click here to read

Outback Magazine

“Whether it’s a low-angled beam that kisses a horse’s nose, a silhouette of a dairy farmer at dawn or a wine-maker almost in darkness sampling a vintage, the images in [Alan Gibson’s] latest hardback book are beautiful works on their own, and as a collective, they provide us with a wonderful view over the farm fence of our nation’s closest neighbour.”

Newsroom
“A book about farming has to be as big as the sky to do the subject justice, and For the Love of the Country (160 pages , 254 x 254mm) totally does it justice. Tauranga photographer Gibson travels far and wide, on land and in water (mussel farming!), to bring us classic images of people who labour long and hard in the great big outdoors. Awesome book.” Click here to view

Canvas – The New Zealand Herald
“In a new book, former Herald staff photographer, Alan Gibson, has captured the essence of rural life in New Zealand ” Click here and here to view.

The Senior
“From beef cattle to bees, dairying and deer to mussels and oysters, kiwi fruit to chickens, Chinese growers to cropping, horses to lambing, farm dogs to farm characters every page reveals a new insight.”

NZ Today First Light – On The Land with Rachel Smiley
“What a book. There is some beautiful imagery. There is farm dogs, cropping, kiwi fruit, lambing, sales yards. It remarkable. Glen Lyon Station in Canterbury, some of the most beautiful images. Anyone would love it. It’s a beautiful coffee table book” Click here to listen

Today FM REX Rural Focus
“Celebrates farming in New Zealand and those who dedicate their lives to feeding the nation. Helps to bridge that gap in understanding between the urban population and those who produce their food” Click here to view

The Good Weekend
“Gibson, who grew up on a cattle and sheep station in Waikato, hopes that images like this from his new book, For the Love of the Country, will help city dwellers better understand farming life: “We want to bridge that urban-rural disconnect.”

Newcastle Herald
“A SPECTACULAR new photo book featuring images by award-winning photojournalist Alan Gibson captures the stories of New Zealand’s farming community. Through Gibson’s lens we enter the world of dairy farmers, sheep farmers, deer farmers, horticulturists, aqua culturists, beekeepers and viticulturists, among other”