Custom Cowboy Boot Photographs
Legendary Western Craftsmanship
ML Leddy’s has been making custom cowboy boots in Texas since 1922, and you can feel every bit of that history when you step into their workshop in San Angelo. The storefront is polished and proud—rows of exquisite boots, saddles, and a name that’s been part of Western tradition for over a century. But it’s what’s happening in the back that really caught my attention.
That’s where I spent the day, photographing the boot makers. No models, no staging, just real craftsmen doing the work like it’s been done for generations. Some of these guys have been with Leddy’s for decades. They know the smell of each kind of leather, the sound of a good stitch, the weight of the right tool. Nothing leaves that shop without passing through their hands.
The space itself isn’t glamorous. Harsh light, scuffed floors, machines that look older than most of us. But that’s the point. This isn’t about trends, it’s about tradition. Watching them work, you realize these boots aren’t just footwear. They’re a continuation of something bigger. A legacy. A relationship between maker and wearer that starts long before the first fitting and lasts well beyond the last step.
Photographing in that room felt less like documenting a product and more like honoring a process. This is cowboy culture too, not just on the back of a horse, but in the quiet focus of someone building something with care, precision, and pride. Something that each loyal customer will wear with pride for the rest of their lives.
Go HERE to see more of my Western Photography And contact me directly if you’d like a photography print of ML Leddy’s - rob@robhammerphotography.com
Custom sign at ML Leddy’s in San Angelo, TX.
Wood boot lasts fill the shelves at ML Leddy’s
Alligator leather cowboy boots
Making custom cowboy boots in Texas
Handmade cowboy boots
Stitching cowboy boots by hand
Measuring a boot last for handmade cowboy boots in Texas
Wood nails attach a boot sole at ML Leddy’s in San Angelo, TX
Handmade cowboy boots in Texas
Custom boot lasts
Old cowboy boot parts
Custom cowboy boots from ML Leddy in San Angelo, TX