About Us

Thanks for taking a moment to read about my photography experience.

I have been taking photos for over 50 years.  Yes, this makes me an old man!  But it's time for me to live my dream. 

I enjoyed developing and printing my photos in a darkroom, back in the day of 35mm film.  I enjoy Photoshop'ing better; instant gratification.  I could spend hours trying to get the results i wanted in a darkroom.  I can do more with Photoshop in five minutes.  Anyhow, this is to say, I have spent enough time with a camera to figure out which end of the camera to point in the right direction.

I shot my first rodeo while living in Jackson Hole, WY, back in 2010.  At that time I had a digital camera that struggled to capture images in the dim evening arena lighting and I was taking my shots from my purchased seats in the stadium.  I was pleasently surprised to see my photos were pretty good.  They weren’t as sharp as I would like, but I have since purchased some great software that puts some pizazz back into those shots. 

I had an opportunity to learn to use Photoshop and then used it to start creating rodeo artwork. It's exciting to create something, more so than just capturing a photograph of a rodeo event.  I’ve developed styles for enhancing my photos by muting the distractive background, or taking out the background entirely and creating some awesome artwork.  In most rodeo photographs the rider and animal blend into the stadium in the background. Sometimes it is even difficult to distinguish the ride from the stadium.  After creating my first rodeo art I was amazed at how much more exciting the rider and animal appear when separated from the background.  

Ten years later I had some time on my hands and I decided I’d try to sell my rodeo artwork.  I checked with the rodeo to see if I needed permission and was directed to the Pro Rodeo Cowboy Association.  I was told I needed to become a member of the Association.  To start, this required I get two long-time PRCA photographers to give me a letter of recommendation.  They all said I should shoot junior rodeos and earn my spurs before looking to shoot in the big league.  Seemed fair!

I learned there are a lot of rodeo associations around the country and I am lucky to be just thirty miles from the headquarters of the Northwest Pro Rodeo Association, in Molalla, OR.  Their only requirement was to pay an annual membership fee and have some fun.  The thing I like about the NPRA rodeos is  most of their rodeos were within 150 miles from my home.  That’s quite a cost savings from having to stay at hotels around the country.  One PRCA photographer writes she slept in her car to minimize expenses when she started.  

The PRCA pros I had the opportunity to talk to said the secret for getting those great rodeo shots is knowing where the “sweet-spot” will be in each event, and moving to a location inside the arena to be prepared to get these more esthetically exciting shots. When I compare my photos taken from a seat with those of the pros being chased by bulls in the arena, I feel I have done as well and stayed safe. I have also leaned that standing too close to the action, it is more difficult to track the action.  Shooting from a distance requires less camera motion.

I have found, what is more important in capturing that really great shot is having the ability to capture that moment in time when everything clicks in a photo. My camera can shoot ten frames per second.  A timed event that lasts eight seconds, means I will have 80 photos or more from which to find that one great shot. The key is to find that tenth of a second shot that makes you feel something when you look at the photo. 

I am constantly amazed so much can change in such a short period of time. There is that one moment in time where something magical happens and everything is in place and you feel the WOW!  You feel the power of the horse or bull and the rider fighting with all their skill and strength to stay mounted: riding at 30 miles per hour, jumping off and onto a steer and then wrestling it to the ground; the unreal tilt of a horse and rider rounding a barrel; or riding a horse at a full gallop and reaching out to lasso a wily calf.    

My motto is, “A great ride deserves a great photograph.”

This is an example of how I change a photo into a rodeo artwork.  In the original photo in the center, it is difficult to find the rider in the cluttered background.  The rider blends into the arena background and it detracts from the action. With the background softened, you can appreciate the excitement.  Further, when I turn the photo into artwork, you see the raw power of the rider and horse, and the calf racing away; the emotion of that moment in time!