A FARMER wrestles a sheep while the rest of the flock look on unperturbed.

In the background the gentle sloping grasslands of the Downs are disturbed by a stiff breeze from the coast.

This idyllic snapshot of everyday life of someone who works in the South Downs is just one of a handful appearing in a photographic exhibition which opens today.

Faces of the South Downs, which is at Foredown Tower in Portslade, features 15 images out of more than 50 taken by Anne Purkiss.

The German-born photographer decided to chronicle the lives of those who work in the national park after she became fascinated with the South Downs while on a commission to take environmental portraits of the area.

It is not just Anne who loves the South Downs with the national park coming top of our Joy of Sussex competition earlier this year.

You voted the South Downs the winner beating seagulls and murmurations into second and third respectively.

She has had works featured in publications such as Nature magazine and The New York Times and has spent more than a decade trekking across the hills to find those with a story to tell through images.

She predominantly shoots the scenes in black and white, which she feels adds another dimension of beauty and drama to the image.

As well as this image of Exceat farmer Zoe Stanistreet taken in 2007, Ms Purkiss met painters, carpenters, bonfire society members and many more along her journey to learn what it is really like for someone who who earns a living in the national park.

The 56-year-old, who travels from Richmond to take her pictures in the Sussex countryside, said: "The connection between people and land was the starting point for this photographic project.

"I wanted to show people in the context of their surroundings and create a record of people and their environment in a time of change.

"The relationship a tourist or rambler has with the South Downs - who might admire the view and the scenery - is very different from someone who lives here day in and day out. They will notice changes in landscape and weather and it could affect them."

Faces of the South Downs opens today at the Foredown Tower, Foredown Road, Portslade, until March 31.

The centre is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 3pm as well as Saturday February 27 and March 26.

Learn more about the lives of the people on the South Downs in an Argus feature by clicking here