Rodeo

Unlike many of my photographer friends, colleagues and acquaintances, I am not in Beijing.

I've had a few people ask or comment about some rodeo photos I've been shooting for the paper lately, so I thought I would offer some insight into what I do to get those shots. I have to say that this may not be how every other rodeo shooter does it, but these are the techniques that work for me in the arenas I shoot at.

I have been shooting the rodeos in Grand County off and on over the past 18 years, but in the last five or six years I have shot most of the rodeos in Granby and Fraser each summer. The Granby rodeo series runs from Memorial Day weekend through the Fourth of July. Granby's Flying Heels Arena is big--so big that I shoot most events from inside the arena. Over the years I have had a few close calls with the livestock, but, knock on wood, nothing worse than having to scramble over the fence.

In July the rodeo action in Grand County moves from Granby to Fraser. The rodeo arena in Fraser isn't as big as the one in Granby, so I don't have to be inside the arena (except for mutton busting), which makes it easier not having to think about the traffic in the arena and avoiding getting run over by horses or bulls, so I can focus on shooting.



What the Fraser arena has in common with Granby is that both have terrible lighting. Of course the bull riding happens at the end of the rodeo, so in order to get usable shots I put up several small strobe units to supplement, or more accurately, take control of the lighting. It helps, but it's not perfect, because of the limited options I have for placement of the strobes as shown below:



For comparison, here is what the action looks like without any additional lighting. Keep in mind I did a fair amount of work on the image in Photoshop to get it look like this:



The best action tends to be right in front of the chutes, so that is where I have them aimed. Here are a couple examples of the results of shooting with the strobes:





(Please note: I've been trying to finish this post for a couple of weeks now, but for some reason I was having a terrible time getting the photos added to the post.)

How I spent two hot days in Denver...

I spent the last two days in Denver shooting a benefit golf tournament for the National Sports Center for the Disabled. I have shot this event every year for the past 15 years or so--the last eight years the tournament has been held at The Sanctuary, an incredible private golf course south of Denver. They only host a handful of tournaments each year, so it's quite a privilege to get to see this amazing golf course.




PGA Tour player Jonathan Kaye was on hand the second day to schmooze with the players and did a clinic with some disabled children.



The event raised more than $500,000 for the NSCD.