Cowboy Photographs

Cowboy Photography - Prints - American West Wall Art

Western Photos - Cowboy Culture

Had a conversation with a buddy the other day about hunting/fishing which came after a very unproductive outing that certainly wasn’t from a lack of effort. When you put time into either of those sports it can be frustrating to get skunked. Frustrating isn’t a strong enough word actually. My most recent trip was a few weeks ago on the lower Owens River outside of Bishop, CA. Felt like I was doing everything right but results said the opposite. The fish were rising and eating bugs off the top. Every bug that is, besides mine. Kept changing flies, moving locations, water depth, yada yada yada. Not so much as a nibble. Later in the day I ran across a lady about 75 years old who had just pulled in a nice brown trout and quickly mentioned that it was her first time ever fly fishing. Ok, I thought, this place is going to be a Hand Out. Hour and a half later, not a damn thing. So I sat on the tailgate drinking a beer at sunset staring at the pastel sky saying out loud “I fuckin hate fly fishing” to absolutely no one. Which obviously isn’t true, but my ego was damaged and I was tired. And when you’ve been fishing for any amount of time, you realize that’s just how it goes sometimes. Back to that conversation. We talked about how boring it would be if you went out every day and netted 20 monster trout. Or were guaranteed to hit your limit of ducks, deer, elk, whatever it is you’re after. No, that would suck. That is not a sport. Where is the fun in that? There is none.

It’s probably a stretch to make a comparison, but that’s the way I feel about morning light. Later afternoon light for that matter too. It’s so good that you want to hit the pause button on the sun to make it stay in that position, barely peaking over the horizon. Crisp. Golden. Tasty. Then you realize a lot of the appeal is due to it’s fleeting nature. Morning/evening shots wouldn’t be as desirable if you could make them all day. It’s fun to dream though. Out on a ranch, mornings are special. Really special. You’re lucky to get a couple good frames in before that light is gone. And that is one of the many factors that what will keep me going back again and again and again.

Click here to see more Western Photographs

FINE ART HORSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Starting new projects is so exciting. It’s also one of my downfalls. I don’t like being behind a computer, always preferring to be out in the field creating images. Which means that I don’t do enough marketing, emailing, social media, cleaning my disaster of an office, etc. I can’t help making images though. It’s addicting. After publishing America Backcourts I had no intention of stopping that series, but also wanted to wanted to start something else. The problem that I’ve learned over the years though is you can’t force a series. It has to find you or it has to come naturally. That’s the only way it sticks. You can’t shoot something because it will get likes or because you think it will do well commercially. You have to love it. As it stands now, Horses appear to be my next thing. Maybe not just horses, but the lifestyle and culture that surround them as well. I grew up in New York close to Saratoga Race Track. “The August Place To Be” as they say. Love the track. Still do and am fortunate enough to now live near Del Mar Race Track. The atmosphere around tracks is great, but the horses are the thing that tie it all together for me. That’s where my affection for horses started, but now I like the “working” aspect of horses even more. The way they are used on ranches and for transportation is especially interesting. As much as love the action though, there is something really special about the still shots. The quiet moments, like this one. If you can’t feel more relaxed by looking at an image like this, then there’s something wrong with you.

Stay tuned for more horses……

Click here to purchase a fine art print of this image

FINE ART HORSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Was up in the Lake Tahoe area a few weeks ago for a commercial shoot and happened on some incredible weather going over the pass into Nevada on the way to our location. No matter where I go for a client, setting aside time to shoot for myself is always very important. On this particular day there were just a few spare minutes before we started filming, but I made the most of it. This scene was actually adjacent to the set. Not sure when it happened, but I’ve got a thing for horses, and have started turning my camera toward them more and more. Got quite lucky with the birds flying overhead but love the way this frame turned out. If it weren’t for them this frame would be lacking.

Poway Rodeo

Rodeo Photography - Poway, California

Getting outside your comfort zone is a beneficial thing in all aspects of life. Without it growth is not possible. The rodeo in Poway was last week, and I thought it would be a fun thing to shoot. Certainly something I've never done, but was very drawn to. So I reached out and found someone who needed some coverage. Like most things I shoot, my focus was not so much on the action, but behind the scenes. The little things that add to the culture but aren't really noticed or seen by most people. I loved everything about shooting this event. Being back where the riders were was awesome. Such a foreign culture that I've never experienced. And all the auxiliary stuff was great too. I got there really early and just wondered around the grounds, where I ran into a lot of characters. Everything I shot was natural light, and after the sun went down it was cool to see how much the color temperature of the "house" lights changed so quickly as they fell off. Learned a lot, most of which is that I'd shoot something like this again in a second. The grittiness of it is right up my alley. And everything felt so authentic. These aren't showy athletes on multi million dollar contracts. They are cowboys being cowboys.