Cumbrian Shepherd, 1990 photography All he had to do

All he had to do then was cross his fingers

bare-faced girls with voices loud as crows

documenting the activities of rural communities with the then Countryside Commission

low down but with a wide angle in order to include the stands

an older man walked into the frame

Cumbrian Shepherd, 1990 photography All he had to doGuardian photographer Denis Thorpe was on a whirlwind tour of Cumbria in November 1990, documenting the activities of rural communities with the then Countryside Commission, when he chanced upon a pair of shepherds bringing their sheep down from the hills a ritual known as the gather, says Thorpe. I was lucky to be there at the moment they came through the gate I felt Id captured the animals breath in the cold air. It was a beautiful composition, he