West Australian Casey Jacobs has been passionate about capturing landscapes from around the Great Southern region ever since he picked up his mother’s camera when he was just 14 years old. 

Now, the 18-year-old from Narrogin, some 190 kilometres south-east of Perth, is on a mission to teach the wider community about the beauty of rural WA.

A smiling young man holds a camera with a telescopic lens as he sits on the back of a ute on a country property.

Casey Jacobs is looking to the future after staging his first exhibition. (ABC Great Southern: Kate Forrester)

His debut exhibition, which concluded earlier this year, featured 37 photos from his hometown as well as nearby Williams, Wickepin, Brookton and further west to coastal Dunsborough.

“I started taking everything from photos of flowers, the dog — whatever I wanted to, really, in the beginning,” Jacobs said. 

“Now I’ve changed to take photos of more agricultural landscapes. I like to capture everything from farmers to tractors.”

Jacobs received a local arts grant, which allowed him to take on a one-year mentorship with renowned landscape photographer Christian Fletcher and led to his debut showing at Arts Narrogin.

A middle-aged, silver-haired man and a young man with golden-brown hair standing near photographs hanging in a gallery.

Casey Jacobs refined his skills alongside Christian Fletcher over 12 months. (Supplied: Melissa Crow)

“Casey has a commitment beyond his years,” Fletcher said.

“His work from compelling composition to thoughtful storytelling shows life on the land in rural Western Australia.”

Jacobs discovered his passion for farming while attending Narrogin Agricultural College and working on local properties.

“I’ve worked as a chaser bin driver for a couple of harvests and during that I took photos on the drone,” he said.

A young man takes a photo on a rural property.

Casey Jacobs was mentored by renowned South West photographer Christian Fletcher. (ABC Great Southern: Kate Forrester)

Telling stories through the lens

In addition to showcasing the beauty of rural landscapes, Jacobs wants his photographs to document agriculture for people who do not know where their food comes from.

“I want people to have more of a connection, just to get a bit of an insight into how farms operate for people in the city,” he said.

“I don’t think [people] quite understand when they go to Coles or Woolworths, where food is coming from, so this is a way of me getting a message out there.”

Many farmers now want Jacobs to take photos of their work and properties.

He said he was keen to take on more of this commissioned work to further his mission to educate people about life on the land.

“They want me to capture them spraying, seeding, harvest — all such important times of the year for them,” Jacobs said.

A young man speaks to a woman at an art gallery as two older men listen.

Although he didn’t grow up on a farm, Casey Jacobs hopes his photographs inspire people to learn more about agriculture. (Supplied: Melissa Crow)

Watching the seasons change

In addition to farming, Jacobs’s photographs document the changing seasons across the Great Southern and the Wheatbelt regions.

He said he particularly liked seeing the contrast in the salt lakes.

Photographs on a wall in a gallery.

Casey Jacobs searched satellite images online to choose where he wanted to shoot. (Supplied: Melissa Crow)

“One moment they’re bare and dry, and then the next year they are full of water and their colours have changed drastically,” Jacobs said. 

He said he wanted to take photographs featuring a variety of landscapes across WA.

“I’d love to take photos of the Boranup Forest, and maybe even head up to Karijini National Park,” Jacobs said.