As many times as I have walked by this building, I never noticed the donkey saying "Howdy Podner."

The Mother Lode Round-Up was one of the first few rodeos to grant me access, so I’m always happy to make the trip to the beautiful Gold Country to shoot their rodeo. This was my third trip to Sonora, CA, and it was a great time yet again.

While Red Bluff does the team bronc riding on the track making it hard to get pictures from anywhere safe, the Mother Lode does it in the arena:

Team bronc riding

Team bronc riding

Team bronc riding

They also have the Calf Scramble where contestants have to tie a ribbon on a calf’s tail. It’s much harder than you’d think. This series shows just how hard:

Calf scramble

Calf scramble

Calf scramble

And of course, mutton bustin’:

Mutton bustin'

Mutton bustin'

To the official part of the rodeo:

Steer wrestler John Clymo of Oakdale, CA

Steer wrestler Gary Kuhn of Hansen, ID

It was good to see my good friend Billy Bugenig take home another buckle & check for steer wrestling:

Steer wrestler Billy Bugenig of Ferndale, CA winning with a 4.9 second run.

I had never seen a left-handed roper before, and it was crazy to see Garrett Roen dismount on the “wrong” side and run under his rope:

Tie-down roper Garrett Roen of Waterford, CA

More conventional roping:

Tie-down roper K.C. Miller of San Luis Obispo, CA

Tie-down roper Dan Williams Jr of Gerber, CA

The Mother Lode Round-Up is also great for shooting barrel racing. The light is perfect, and one of the barrels is just a few yards from the fence:

Barrel racer Christy Loflin of Franktown, CO

The roughstock action was especially rough this year:

Bareback rider Grant Denny of Minden, NV rides Growney Brothers' 813

Bareback rider Cody Higgins of Red Bluff, CA rides Juice Queen

Bareback rider R.C. Landingham of Pendleton, OR rides Detox

Saddle bronc rider Brady Nicholes of Hoytsville, UT rides West Point Girl

Bull rider Johnny Allen of Norwalk, CA rides Growney Brothers' 726

Bull rider Brady Williams of Snelling, CA rides Fine Line

Bull rider Tag Elliott of Thatcher, UT rides Growney Brothers' 827

Bull rider Tag Elliott of Thatcher, UT gets bucked off Growney Brothers' 827

Bull rider A.J. Hamre of Chico, CA rides Locked & Loaded

Bull rider A.J. Hamre of Chico, CA gets bucked off Locked & Loaded

Bull rider Corey Olsen of Benjamin, UT gets bucked off Dutch

Bull rider Wace Holmes of Lehi, UT gets bucked off Growney Brothers' 827

Bryce Brown scored an impressive 84 which held up for third place, but it didn’t prevent him from having to run away very fast from Fine Line:

Bull rider Bryce Brown of Greenview, CA runs away from Fine Line after his 84-point ride.

I recognized two riders from the practice sessions I shot at B-Bar. Tyler Stueve came very close to covering Cowboy Caviar, a bull that has bucked off his share of NFR cowboys:

Bull rider Tyler Stueve of Marysville, CA rides Cowboy Caviar

And 38-year-old Chance Hannum won the whole thing with an awesome 87 on Smoke Signal:

Bull rider Chance Hannum of Lincoln, CA rides Smoke Signal for 87 points and the win.

The bullfighters once again put on a clinic. Eric Layton came out of nowhere to jump in to save Jed Jones, but injured his knee and unfortunately missed the rest of the rodeo:

Bullfighter Eric Layton of Red Bluff, CA jumps between bull rider Jed Jones of Garden Valley, ID and Growney Brothers' 919.

Bull rider Josh Daries put on a vest and filled in ably for Layton, here teaming up with Rick Moffatt to battle Mr Saturday Night…

Bullfighters Josh Daries and Rick Moffatt battle Mr. Saturday Night

…who continued after Moffatt, knocking his shades right off his head:

Bullfighter Rick Moffatt battles Mr. Saturday Night

Bullfighter Rick Moffatt battles Mr. Saturday Night

I don’t generally shoot the specialty acts, but Bert Davis the Coppertown Clown and his Mutley Crew is a pretty special specialty act. Davis takes rescue dogs and trains them to jump through hoops and more. Note to my committee/staff friends: this is a must see and must book act:

Bert Davis the Coppertown Clown

Bert Davis & The Mutley Crew

Bert Davis & The Mutley Crew

Bert Davis & The Mutley Crew

Thanks to the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Posse for another great rodeo, and for letting me do my thing.

An early clip from Sports Illustrated’s Photos of the Day:

2012 Mother Lode Round-Up – Sports Illustrated Photo of the Day

Last year was my first time shooting the Clovis Rodeo, but I had such a great time there and made some of my favorite pictures. Of course I was excited to go again. I arrived a couple of hours before Friday evening’s performance, and hung around the chutes catching up with some friends and making some new ones. The bucking chutes at Clovis have some interesting angles, and I spent a good bit of time trying different things.

Ryan Gray of Cheney, WA and Jason Havens of Prineville, OR prepre to ride.

Saddle bronc rider Brad Rudolf of Winnemucca, NV stretches before his ride.

Bareback riders JR Vezain of Cowley, WY, Caleb Bennett of Morgan, UT, and Josi Young of Kimberly, ID work on their gear.

Bull rider Jimmy Anderson of Denton, TX says a prayer before his ride.

Bull rider Cody Rostockyj of Hillsboro, TX and stock contractor John Growney have a word.

Another cool part of the Clovis Rodeo is the Special Kids Rodeo held just before the last performance on Sunday. Cowboys who are up that day come out to show the kids about roping, bucking and riding. It’s really inspirational, and I love shooting it.

Bobby Mote of Culver, OR at the Special Kids Rodeo.

Special Kids Rodeo

Director Chuck Rigsbee at the Special Kids Rodeo

During the saddle bronc section on Friday night, rodeo clown JJ Harrison came over and took my camera. “It’s OK,” he says. He then holds it up to the crowd and starts taunting the other photographers (who I am not allowed to mention) “My lens is bigger than yours!” This is how I get into trouble without even doing anything.

JJ Harrison

To the action…some great rides:

Saddle bronc rider Ad Bugenig of Ferndale, CA rides Rocket Man.

Bareback rider Caleb Bennett of Morgan, UT rides No Surprise.

Bareback rider Ty Fast Taypotat rides One Night Stand.

Bareback rider Wes Stevenson of Lubbock, TX rides Fringe Benefits.

Saddle bronc rider Alex Wright of Milford, UT rides Sherlock.

Bareback rider Tyler Scales of Severance, CO rides Black Legs.

Bareback rider Jason Havens of Prineville, OR rides Fringe Benefits.

Saddle bronc rider Ty Atchison of Jackson, MO rides Bravada Nights.

Bareback rider Kaycee Feild of Payson, UT rides Short Cut.

A couple of reaction pictures I liked:

Saddle bronc rider Taos Muncy of Corona, NM hits the ground after his ride.

Saddle bronc rider Brady Nicholes of Hoytsville, UT watches the replay of his ride.

On the way to Clovis I was lamenting my bad luck at Red Bluff where all of the buckoffs seemed to go away from me. I guess everything evens out, because I got more than my share this weekend:

Saddle bronc rider Max Filippini of Battle Mountain, NV gets bucked off Big Mama.

Saddle bronc rider Jess Williams of Paso Robles, CA rides Curtain Call.

Saddle bronc rider Ben Londo of Pendleton, OR gets bucked off Road Rage.

Saddle bronc rider Jeff Rianda of Tres Pinos, CA gets bucked off Flying Five's 922.

Saddle bronc rider Darin Redelsperger of Tehachapi, CA gets bucked off Lunatic Fringe.

They moved slack around this year to run Wednesday/Thursday/Friday mornings, and I couldn’t get there in time so I missed out on the nice 7am light this year. I didn’t shoot as much roping/steer wrestling as I would have liked, but I’ll get more as the season progresses.

Steer wrestler Taylor Nahrgang of Buckeye, AZ

Some barrel racing:

Barrel racer Kaley Bass of Davenport, FL

Barrel racer Brenda Mays of Terrebonne, OR

Barrel racer Christina Richman of Glendora, CA

I like a lot of things about the Clovis Rodeo, but easily the best thing about it is being able to hang over the edge of the roof and shoot directly down on the bull riding. I’m scared of heights (even the 30 feet from the roof to the dirt) but the pictures make it worthwhile because it’s so rare that I am able shoot anything from directly overhead.

Bull rider Bo Bacigalupi of Oakdale, CA rides Hell Hound.

Bull rider Rankin Lindsey of Hillsboro, NM rides Fine Line

Bull rider Rankin Lindsey of Hillsboro, NM gets bucked off Fine Line.

Bull rider Allen Helmuth of Eugene, OR gets bucked off Pop Tart.

Bull rider Corey Rickard of Nuevo, CA gets bucked off Holy Moccasin.

Bull rider Garrett Vig of Newell, SD gets bucked off Panic Attack.

Bull rider Jake Wade of Alamo, NV gets bucked off Look Out Todd.

One thing you can see very clearly when shooting bull riding from overhead is the incredible work done by the bullfighters aka the cowboy lifesavers. I can’t be sure, but I think these two psychos had a bet going on the craziest save. I’m not sure what else would explain some of their moves this weekend:

Bullfighters Eric Layton and Tim O'Connor relax before work.

Bullfighter Tim O'Connor takes one in the chest from Shady Rodeo Anno.

Bullfighter Eric Layton jumps between Hell Hound and Bo Bacigalupi.

Bullfighter Eric Layton battles Wise One Willie.

Bullfighter Tim O'Connor battles Wise One Willie.

Bullfighter Tim O'Connor battles Wise One Willie.

Bullfighter Tim O'Connor battles Pop Tart.

Bullfighter Eric Layton gets between Paul Coppini and Slingin' Wolf.

Thanks to Alfreda Sebasto and Chuck Riggsbee for the great access.

Red Bluff Round-Up week is something I look forward to all year. Early morning timed-event slack means great light, the Wild Ride makes for pictures unavailable anywhere else, the top cowboys and cowgirls in the world brings demand for the pictures, and a committee/staff who truly understand that better access leads to better pictures and better pictures lead to more coverage and a higher profile for the event. Take notes.

This year, my girlfriend and I arrived on Tuesday for the media lunch at the Growney Brothers ranch and the opening reception of my rodeo photography gallery show at The Big Picture in downtown Red Bluff. We met a lot of great people I had previously known only on Facebook, and caught up with some old friends I only get to see once per year.

Early on Wednesday I got to work shooting timed event slack. The arena and pens at Red Bluff are really big, and allow for a lot of behind the scenes pictures.

Tie-down roper Cody Collins of Galt, CA prepares for his turn.

Tie-down roper Russel Cardoza of Terrebonne, OR prepares for his turn during slack.

And the 8am light is just beautiful:

Tie-down roper Matt Shiozawa of Pocatello, ID competes during slack.

Tie-down roper JoeBob Pirie of Thompsons, TX competes during slack.

Barrel racer Heather Heard of Pacific Grove, CA competes during slack.

Barrel racer Lauren Crivier of Acton, CA competes during slack.

Barrel racer Rylee McKenzie of St. Paul, AB competes during slack.

Barrel racer Kelli Tolbert of Hooper, UT

Friday’s performance starts at 7pm which means that there is very little daylight before the less-than-stellar arena lighting takes over. Some more behind-the-scenes pictures:

Bareback rider Blaine Davies prepares his rigging.

Saddle bronc rider Rusty Allen of Eagle Mountain, UT prepares his saddle.

But just before sunset, I got these pictures of tie-down ropers in action:

Tie-down roper Stran Smith of Childress, TX throws his rope.

Tie-down roper Cameron Elston of Ramona, CA rides out of the box.

After nightfall, it’s truly too dark to get quality action pictures, but there’s plenty of light for this one:

Saddle bronc rider Andrew Counts of Stephenville, TX prepares to ride Smokey Day.

With the night perf out of the way, light was abundant on Saturday and Sunday:

Bareback rider Bobby Mote of Culver, OR stretches before his ride.

Bull rider Cody Rostockyj of Hillsboro, TX relaxes before his ride.

For the first time since Salinas last year, I got to break out my fisheye on a pole to get my camera into the arena even as I am not allowed in:

Saddle bronc rider Brady Nicholes of Hoytsville, UT rides Huckleberry.

Saddle bronc rider Ad Bugenig of Ferndale, CA rides Against All Odds.

Saddle bronc rider Rusty Allen of Eagle Mountain, UT rides Cruel Intentions.

Some longer roughstock pictures:

Bareback rider Matthew Smith of Clinton, MS rides Blackhawk Blaze.

Bull rider Wesley Silcox of Santaquin, UT gets bucked off Wildly Legit.

Bareback rider Buck Lunak of Cut Bank, MT rides Wild & Blue.

Saddle bronc rider Taos Muncy of Corona, NM rides Cornerstone Bank.

Bull rider Jacob Tyner of Sacramento, CA rides Night Train.

And then of course, it’s The Wild Ride, the most insane rodeo event anywhere:

Jesse Kruse of Great Falls, MT dressed as Kermit the Frog.

Alex Wright of Milford, UT dressed as a hilbilly bride.

JC DeSaveur or Roberts, MT dressed as Where's Waldo

Merritt Smith of Gilette, WY dressed as Marilyn Monroe

Mert Bradshaw of Eagle Point, OR dressed as Toddlers & Tiaras

Thanks to everyone who made Jacq and I feel so welcome in Red Bluff. Special thanks to Round-Up committee president Dave Ramelli, Mike Dudley, and Tonya Redamonti, and Kris & Tim Lamkin for making sure I was in a position to get the pictures. I’m already counting down to 2013.

Some early clips in the form of an unprecedented run of four Sports Illustrated Photos of the Day in a row:

Tie-down roper JoeBob Pirie of Thompsons, TX on Sports Illustrated's Photos of the Day for April 19, 2012

Barrel racer Rylee McKenzie of St. Paul, AB on Sports Illustrated's Photos of the Day for April 20, 2012

Saddle bronc rider Ad Bugenig of Ferndale, CA on Against All Odds on Sports Illustrated's Photos of the Day for April 21, 2012

Jesse Kruse of Great Falls, MT dressed as Kermit the Frog in the Wild Ride on Sports Illustrated's Photos of the Day for April 22, 2012

For reasons still unclear to me, I wasn’t allowed to shoot the 2009-2011 versions of the Oakdale Rodeo. So for the first time since 2008, I made the short drive over to the Oakdale Saddle Club to get some pictures for the Flying U Rodeo Co. and Zuma Press. Lots of rain in the prior few days left the arena under over a foot of mud, a non-trivial amount of which left attached to my gear, jeans, and boots. But mud makes for great pictures, and Oakdale has a unique shooting position that looks directly across the chutes which makes getting caked in dirt worth it.

At their rodeos, Flying U raises a flag-bearing mounted horseman/woman out of a giant boot during the national anthem. I wanted to get a picture of the inside of he boot, and I got there just as Cindy Rosser was loading her horse:

Cindy Rosser loads her horse into the Flying U Rodeo Co. boot prior to the national anthem.

I very rarely shoot from the conventional positions, especially at rodeos, but the main position at Oakdale is right beside the bucking chutes, angled to look across all of the chutes. If you do it right, the pictures from here look like you’re actually in the arena:

Bull rider Ty Hamaker of Centenial, WY rides Silver Legacy.

Bull rider Garrett Vig of Newell, SD loses his helmet as he gets bucked off Party Crasher.

Bull rider Jacob Marshall of Huntington, UT rides Rawhide.

Bull rider Casey Butters of Wallsburg, UT gets bucked off White Wolf.

Bull rider Nate Perry of Elk City, OK gets driven into the mud by Black Sabbath.

Trevor Kastner somehow had a nice ride and got off on his feet, skipping most of the dirt that tagged even the most successful riders..

Bull rider Trevor Kastner of Ardmore, OK rides Checkmate.

Bull rider Trevor Kastner of Ardmore, OK rides Checkmate.

…until his friend Seth Glause ran out and tackled him into the mud:

Bull rider Seth Glause tackles Trevor Kastner after Kastner's ride.

Dustin Smith won the bull riding, but got thrown and landed on his head. I guess the winner’s check soothes all:

Bull rider Dustin Smith of St. Paul, OR gets bucked off Patriot after scoring 84 points and the win.

Saddle bronc rider Wes Burns of Clayton, NM gets bucked off Shadow Dancer.

Bull rider Jordan Lewis of Santaquin, UT gets shoved in the mud by Vortex.

Bull rider Cody Robinson of American Fork, UT gets knocked around by Red Dog.

Bull rider Kyle Joslin of Caldwell, ID gets bucked off Loco Weed.

Bareback rider Eric Mader of Keuterville, ID rides Flying Blue.

Bareback rider Cody DeMers of Kimberly, ID rides Lone Ranger.

Bareback rider Cody DeMers of Kimberly, ID

Bareback rider Luke Creasy of Brownfield, AB rides Peppy Bound.

Saddle Bronc rider Elliot French of Tres Pinos, CA gets bucked off Flood Stage.

Saddle bronc rider Cade Taylor of Burley, ID gets bucked off Gold Dollar.

Saddle bronc rider Rusty Allen of Eagle Mountain, UT rides Deception.

Saddle bronc rider Chase Bennett of Santaquin, UT gets bucked off Cruel Intentions.

The steer wrestlers always have it worst when it comes to a muddy arena, because they simply can’t do their job without getting coated:

Steer wrestler Jim Banister of Cottonwood, CA surfaces from the mud.

Steer wrestler Orry Lemmons of Castro Valley, CA.

Steer wrestler John Clymo of Oakdale, CA

Lots of barrel racers turned out (didn’t show up) because their horses are more vulnerable in the slop, but the ones who did made the most of it:

Barrel racer Brenda Mays of Terrebonne, OR

Barrel racer Aimee Kay of Bluff Dale, TX

Some early clips:

Dustin Smith & Patriot on Sports Illustrated's Photos of the Day April 15, 2012

Jim Banister on NBC Sports Pictures of the Week

The second rodeo I ever shot, and the first outdoor, was the 2008 Oakdale Rodeo. I don’t remember now how I got in to shoot it, all I know is that I couldn’t get back into Oakdale in 2009, 2010, and 2011. They ignored me again this year (they probably get too much publicity as it is) but thanks to my association with their stock contractor, the world-famous Flying U Rodeo Co., I am getting in through the back door in 2012. Since it’s been four years, I went back to my archive to see what worked (roughstock) and what didn’t (everything else).

Ordinarily I don’t like being restricted to one shooting position, but back in 2008, I didn’t have a 400, so shooting from beside the chutes with light coming in behind me was fine with me. I didn’t have anything long enough to really shoot the timed events, so I cycled through my other lenses as I shot the roughstock events. It’s not often that you get to shoot rodeo action with a 24-70mm lens, but that’s exactly what I did for the bucking chutes at the near end.

Ben Londo

Ben Londo

Cory McFadden

Casey Baize

Cody Allen Schroeder

Logan Allen

Richard Oros

Richard Oros

Anthony Scarafiotti

Ricky Aguiar

Landon Whaley

As the bull riding was winding down, Thor Smith from Arizona rodeo Mr. Attitude to the space directly in front of the photo area. The resulting wreck is still one of the scariest I have ever seen, with Smith landing on his neck so hard that his face smashed into his chest. Smith was taken out of the hushed arena on a backboard and taken to the hospital, but was luckily not seriously injured.

Thor Smith

Thor Smith

Thor Smith

Thor Smith

Thor Smith

Thor Smith

Thor Smith

Thor Smith