At yet another conference I skipped out on a conference banquet to attend the Snowmass Rodeo one balmy Wednesday evening last month. The ring was setup so that the non-VIP folks (like me) were staring directly into the sun – which made taking decent shots a bit more challenging. I set up on the ring at one of corners, which curved in so that I could stick my head through the fence and stare directly onto the oncoming horses and cows during the lasso events. It was also near the gates for the bucking bronco and bull-riding portions. Win-win.
The broncos were backlit, so I decided to go for a ‘classic’ rodeo shot, with a silhouetted cowboy on his bucking horse. The horses kicked up a tremendous amount of dust, which only made the scene more dramatic. Took some luck to get them in the right spot, but they cooperated for a couple of shots – the one at left is the best. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
The most entertaining portion of the evening was the tiny tot sheep ride. The sheep left the gate perpendicular to my line-of-sight, but one of them came barreling straight towards me, and I was able to capture the look on the child’s face as he was careening on an out-of-control sheep. Fun stuff.
Click for Snowmass Rodeo Gallery
