Stephan Hederich was born in 1965 in Leverkusen, Germany, and is a graduate of one of the oldest and most renowned German schools of photography — Lette-Verein Berlin.

As a professional freelance photographer, he focus' his eye and lens on industrial, architectural and theatrical themes, as well as on artistic works and photojournalism. Photographs from his journeys to North America and South East Asia were featured in successful shows held in Cologne, Freiburg/ Breisgau and Berlin. At the turn of the Millennium, he put photography temporarily on hold, and moved from Germany to Canada to start an organic farming operation.  But one’s passion for the lens and what it captures never dies and he soon picked up the camera again.

First came photo editorials featuring people in old-fashioned trades like gold leafing, flute building and the only shop worldwide that repairs high quality lighters. That was followed by another trip to South East Asia for GPI Atlantic as an Event Photographer. It was after this, in the winter of 2008 – 2009, that he began his current and on-going project, “The Vanishing Breed.” For this, he drew inspiration from the American photographer Edward “Sheriff” Curtis and his famous project the “The North American Indian”. In this, Curtis portrays American Natives of the West at the turn of the last century. Stephan's project turns the lens on the endangered family-run farm to document the vanishing breed of farmers who still practice this ancient art. The first collection of ten portraits of local farmers was exhibited in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia and earned very favourable reviews.

Today our society is facing the disappearance of what used to be the backbone: the small family farmer. Actually it is still the backbone, but our society seems to ignore that fact quiet successfully. It was time to start documenting what is left of these people and Stephan felt that he was able to capture some interesting images. Each one of the portraits tells a story — a story worth telling.

But this was just the beginning of a much larger series, which will capture images and stories of farmers from all over Nova Scotia. It is important to note that this project is done in the analog format using film — not digital — a technique that itself is on the verge of extinction like the breed of men and women it features. Some of the images from this project may be seen by clicking the menu link to the right, by clicking here, as well as on Stephan's Facebook page.

This page, like Stephan's craft is a work in progress and will be updated as time passes. Please contact him directly to inquire about pricing for all photographs.

Thank you for your interest.