The Shepherd’s Flock

How it started

On a Monday evening in spring 2026, after work, I went for a walk on the Galgenberg hill in Tübingen. I had meant to turn off before the cemetery and head back down the steps towards the Sudhaus – but at that junction I heard loud bleating. I knew the sheep were often up there, but I had never heard them like that. I walked over and met the shepherd’s mother for the first time, and later Andi, the shepherd himself. The next day I came back, this time with my camera. Since then I have been there on many evenings, whenever the sheep moved to a new pasture, photographing the everyday moments of a life lived with sheep.

The moment you’re with the sheep, you just calm down.

Andi, the shepherd

Chapter 1

On the move with the flock

The pastures Andi leases are scattered all across the town, so the flock is constantly on the move, sometimes covering long distances right through Tübingen. One week they are on the Galgenberg, the next on the Österberg or up by the university hospitals. It shows how much green space is woven through this town – and how close nature and city are to each other here.

The flock on its way to the next pasture, the lambs exploring — On the way to the next lush pasture – the lambs still busy exploring.

The two dogs, Flora and Anka, waiting in an off-road Subaru — The two dogs, Flora and Anka, waiting in the car – an off-road Subaru.

Anka the dog in the tall grass — Anka making her way through the tall grass.

Chapter 2

Lambs and springtime

In spring, new lambs arrive every day. That means a good deal of work, and the flock needs watching even more closely: has another lamb arrived since the last visit? Has the ewe accepted her lamb, or will it need to be bottle-fed? Once the lambs find their feet after a few days, they tear around together and chase through the flock.

Andi carrying a newborn lamb to the car — Andi carrying a lamb to the car.

A lamb beside its mother looking into the camera — This lamb has spotted the camera.

Lambs romping together in the tall grass of the spring pasture — The lambs romping around together.

A lamb feeding from its mother — A lamb having a drink from its mum.

Lambs standing together while the adult sheep graze — While the grown-ups graze, the youngsters are already up to no good.

Lambs running across the pasture — Time for a race.

Chapter 3

The people

Andi has a full-time job and looks after the sheep alongside it – a demanding schedule, because there is barely a quiet season. In spring the lambs arrive, then comes shearing, and in summer the sheep need fresh water every day. The heat of this particular summer, the kind you would rather hide from, means hard work: hauling water, mostly in full sun. None of it would be possible alone. Andi has support from his whole family, who keep sheep themselves, from Inga, who regularly checks on the flock and helps raise the lambs, and from several other helpers – some of them there every morning, before their own working day begins. Just how tight things are financially shows in the shearing alone: having the flock shorn costs more than the wool brings in. Even so, Andi and his family are glad the wool finds a buyer at all, because otherwise they would have to pay to dispose of it.

Portrait of Andi on the pasture — Andi out on the pasture, all smiles despite the heat.

Andi leading his flock to the next pasture under a dramatic sky — Dramatic weather makes for dramatic pictures. Andi leads his flock to the next meadow.

One of the flock’s dogs getting a scratch — The dogs belong here just as much as the sheep, and of course they get their share of cuddles.

Andi at work with the tractor between the barn and the pasture — Moving the water takes serious machinery – Andi swaps the Subaru for the tractor.

Andi securing water tanks for the pasture on the trailer — The water tanks are huge – but in a summer this hot, fresh water has to reach the pasture almost every day.

Andi on the trailer between the water tanks in the evening light — Evening light over the water tanks.

Chapter 4

Pasture and everyday life

A fresh, lush meadow and a fine view every day – the sheep have it pretty good here in Tübingen. Their presence never fails to delight: plenty of people stop to watch the flock, and young families linger longest of all, when their own little ones can’t take their eyes off the little ones in the field. After shearing, incidentally, the sheep sulk for a few days – they look different and they smell different, and the flock has to sort itself out all over again.

The flock on a typical orchard meadow near Tübingen — The flock in spring, on a typical orchard meadow near Tübingen.

Sheep grazing on the pasture in the evening — Evening mood out on the pasture.

A sheep stretching up for fresh leaves on a bush — Given the chance to add a little variety to the menu, the older sheep can get quite inventive.

Sheep and lambs waiting at the fence beside the shepherd’s car — When the shepherd turns up in the evening, the sheep know what’s coming – and start queuing for the best spot at the front. Rather like waiting for the all-inclusive buffet to open.

Epilogue

The story continues

Lambs following the flock along a farm track — Just as the sheep keep moving on, this story keeps going too – and I hope to add many more images and insights to it.

Getting to know Andi and some of the many people who are part of this flock has been, and still is, a fascinating experience. There are far more of them than appear in my photographs, and none of it would work without them all. I now have a much better sense of what makes working with sheep so compelling – and at the same time, of how immense the challenges are. Shepherding matters enormously for our landscape, and yet it keeps getting harder to do it properly.

What struck me most were the people behind it all and their stories – seeing, for instance, how many people Andi ends up talking to as a shepherd. That stands in sharp contrast to the way technology is changing the world. The sociological diagnosis you often hear is that smartphones and social media drive us apart rather than bringing us together. The sheep do the opposite: they bring people closer to one another, and closer to nature too.

What’s next? A calendar featuring the flock is in the works. If it comes together, a share of the proceeds will go straight back to the shepherd’s flock.

My thanks to Andi, Inga and everyone who is part of this flock, for letting me be there and for giving me such a generous look into your world. And above all, thank you for letting me share these photographs. I’m looking forward to many more moments with the flock.

On the move with the flock

Lambs and springtime

The people

Pasture and everyday life

The story continues

These are the kinds of stories I love to tell.