McFarland Productions, Marketing the Western Way of Life
- December 6, 2019
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- Tiffany Schwenke
Posted in: Featured, Photography, Ranch Life, Rodeo, Video
Natalie McFarland has taken marketing and supporting of our western way of life and presented it in beautiful ways time and time again. I never tire of watch videos and marketing portfolios that Natalie has created.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I’d say Natalie’s videos are worth more than a million words. Here is a little video she created about McFarland Productions.
I recently asked Natalie McFarland to tell us a little bit about herself and journey this far.
CS: Please tell us about your background.
NM: I grew up on a small ranch in Oregon. I rodeoed and showed horses in multiple disciplines and grew up very active in 4-H. I have always been deeply enamored by the ranching and cowboy lifestyle, both the pretty parts and the not so fun days of fixing broken down fence in a muddy mess.
Not only did 4-H teach me a lot on the livestock side, it also sparked my interest in photography. I had always loved taking photos, but this was really my first learning opportunity about the field. Of course, my images were mostly of my horses and working dogs and cattle.
When I graduated high school, I purchased my first professional grade camera with my graduation money and began taking photos professionally helping to pay my way through college where I earned a bachelor’s degree in Pre-Veterinary Medicine. Through college I also worked in veterinary clinics and determined that while I loved the field, it wasn’t where I wanted to be long term and decided not to continue my DVM degree. While working for a company called Romtec Utilities as a Project Manager (a job I really loved), I began McFarland Productions. For several years I balanced working a full time job and building a business. After lots of long days and several years, McFarland Productions required my undivided attention and I left my position at Romtec Utilities.
McFarland Productions grew over its beginnings to include photography, videography, graphic design, social media management, and website design, serving businesses, organizations, and individuals in the western lifestyle. We love working with like minded people who also have a passion for the industry, preserving its traditions, and growing the success of businesses and people within the lifestyle.
The McFarland Productions team has since grown. We are so fortunate to have a team of people who are all from the western lifestyle who are experts in their field, helping to serve clients of all types from ranches, to brands, to organizations, to events, and more in all of the services McFarland Productions has to offer. The team behind McFarland Productions is one of the reasons I come to work everyday. It is my great pleasure to work with such a wonderful group of people.
My hope for McFarland Productions is that we can make a difference in our client’s success and in the success of the western and agriculture industries as a whole. We have a passion for the western lifestyle; serving individuals and companies by promoting the heritage and tradition using powerful imagery, online digital marketing and social media services.
CS: What inspired you to become an equine/western life photographer/videographer?
NM: I think every little girl at some point in their lives wants a pony. For me, it was way more than that. The western lifestyle runs through my veins. Even the hard, ugly parts of ranching are beautiful to me; right down to the thistles. I wanted to tell those stories authentically; in the way it really is for real people in the lifestyle. Tell them the way they are where our clients are.
PC: Nicole Poyo
CS: What are your favorite images/places to capture?
NM: I am not sure I have a favorite. I love the variety; from the one man shop makers like Raymond Silver Company to the larger makers like Montana Silversmiths, to the registered angus ranches like Wilks Ranch and Rollin Rock Angus to the commercial operations or corriente operations like the 6 Ranch, to brands like Kimes, to rodeos and events like Las Vegas Days Rodeo and Art of the Cowgirl and Rodeo Fashion Western Arts, to boutiques like Triangle T Boutiques and The Marble Gypsy, to doing short films for networks like Wrangler Network and many, many more. I think it takes telling the story from all angles to really portray of the western way of life. It’s all connected.
CS: Future plans?
NM: The future is a funny thing, we have lots of plans and goals for growth, for improving skills, to projects and more, but the beautiful thing is that we don’t know our own futures. Every year something exciting comes through our doors and we look forward to all the things we are planning for and all the things we don’t even know about yet. The McFarland Productions team meets annually all together for a whole day to just talk about goals, ways to improve and what we hope our 1 year, 5 year and 30 year individual lives and company life looks like. We sit and celebrate our accomplishments over the previous year. We take time to dream and celebrate the team as a whole and each person individually. This year the team decided that we would use #biggertablemoresnacks as a way to celebrate the year’s wins at McFarland Productions. My plan is to continue to make McFarland Productions better and do better for our clients and the industry as a whole.
If you have a Western lifestyle inspired business you should consider contacting McFarland Productions to highlight your story!
A post on McFarland Productions Facebook page – We are headed for VEGAS! We have so much planned for this NFR and we cannot wait! We are calling Plaza Hotel & Casino and the Rodeo Fashion & Western Arts show our home base while in Vegas! The Plaza hooked us up with a sweet spot to work from while we are there. Just look for this awesome wall wrap! That is where we will be!
We have a few openings available for shoots during the NFR. Contact us for more info.
To learn more, see more of McFarland Productions work, and follow their journey please check out these links to pages and website, mcfarlandproductions.com.
IG/FB: @mcfarlandproductions / @weddings.mcfarlandproductions
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/mcfarlandproductions
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Posted in: Featured, Photography, Ranch Life, Rodeo, Video
About Tiffany Schwenke
My family has been ranching and raising horses for over 100 years. We raise, train, and market AQHA horses at North Four Mile Creek Horse Ranch. We produce the annual event WYO WILD RIDE RANCH RODEO. I am a wife and a mother to 3 amazing...