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2013 Livermore Rodeo

June 18, 2013 by mc

For the third year in a row, I had the pleasure this year of shooting the Livermore Rodeo. It’s great to be able to shoot a big rodeo 45 minutes from home, but I wasn’t planning on the weather. It was in the 90s for slack on Friday, but Saturday was something else. As I left the house on Saturday, my car’s thermometer read 80, but as soon as we went over the hill, the reading went up a few degrees every mile. It was 106 by the time the rodeo started, and the reading on the dirt was reportedly 117. This is hot enough to cut back on the plan and conserve strength, and I still managed to massively dehydrate myself. Awesome.

Anyway, the Under The Brim project is picking up steam:

John Growney at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Eric Layton at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Derrick Finnels at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Forrest Mallory at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Shane Proctor at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Jared Smith at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

I shot a lot of team roping again, taking advantage of the good angles in the arena. On Friday the sprinklers were on, so I was able to lay in the grass and shoot while getting a shower at the same time.

Team roper Kevin Wilkinson of Lincoln, CA competes at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Team roper Justin Davis of Cottonwood, CA competes at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Team roper Blaine Ketscher of Paso Robles, CA competes at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Team roper Tyler Helton of Bakersfield, CA competes at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Team roper Jake Twisselman of Santa Margarita, CA competes at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Team roper Cord Forzano of Kerman, CA competes at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Team roper Spencer Mitchell of Colusa, CA competes at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

I played around with some more low angles and even shot with my portrait lens a bit during barrel racing:

Barrel racer Mary Jo Camera of Turlock, CA competes at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Barrel racer Nicole Riggle of Scottsdale, AZ competes at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Barrel racer Courtney Cline of Arroyo Grande, CA competes at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Billy Bugenig won the steer wrestling and set a new arena record with a 3.1. I had never seen a time that fast before.

Steer wrestler Billy Bugenig of Ferndale, CA competes at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA. Bugenig turned in a 3.1 second time to win the event and set a new arena record.

Steer wrestler Timothy Hayes of Dunnigan, CA has some trouble with his steer at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Steer wrestler Charles Harris of Salinas, CA competes at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

I shot wider than I usually do for the bareback and saddle bronc. Usually I’d shoot at 400 and get the first couple of jumps. Livermore has a narrower arena, so I shot 70-200, skipped the first couple of jumps and got some good stuff at the middle/end of rides:

Bareback rider Cody Kiser of Carson City, NV rides Tattle Tale at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Saddle bronc rider Joaquin Real of Woody, CA rides Crooked Creek at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Bareback rider Bobby Mote of Huckaby, TX rides Jenny’s Red Wine at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Bareback rider Jared Smith of Cross Plains, TX rides Wild & Blue at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Bareback rider Steven Peebles of Redmond, OR rides Beaver Fever at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

I did a section of saddle broncs on Sunday with the fisheye/monopod, and got a couple of winners:

Saddle bronc rider Nick LaDuke of Livermore, CA rides Riddle Me This at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Saddle bronc rider Michael Maher of Warwick, Queensland, Australia rides Juice Queen at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Some crazy bronc buckoffs:

Saddle bronc rider Greg Lewis of Atascadero, CA gets bucked off Flat Head at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Saddle bronc rider Forrest Mallory of King City, CA gets bucked off Huckleberry at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

No one rode a bull on Saturday which left it wide open on Sunday. Cody Campbell had a rematch from Red Bluff with Glory Days, and matched his score of 90 and took the buckle.

Bull rider Cody Campbell of Summerville, OR rides Glory Days at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Bull rider Travis Atkinson of Lehi, UT rides Private Party at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Some crazy bull buckoffs:

Bull rider Joseph Chamberlain of Newman, CA gets bucked off Mad Scientist at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Bull rider Christopher Byrd of Compton, CA gets bucked off Inside Out at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Crystal Clear is now the bull I never want to be around. On Saturday he bucked off Ben Miles and then knocked him out with a shot to the back…

Bull rider Ben Miles III of La Grange, CA takes a shot from Crystal Clear at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

…then on Sunday he threw off Carter Downing…

Bull rider Carter Downing of Woodruff, UT gets bucked off Crystal Clear at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

…stomped on him while hitting bullfighter Erick Layton…

Bullfighter Eric Layton of Red Bluff, CA takes a shot from Crystal Clear at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

…then sent Layton for a ride…

Bullfighter Eric Layton of Red Bluff, CA takes a shot from Crystal Clear at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

After Layton hit the ground, Crystal Clear had him lined up again before Tim O’Connor distracted him long enough to save Layton.

Crystal Clear stares down bullfighter Eric Layton of Red Bluff, CA at the Livermore Rodeo in Livermore, CA.

Thanks to Livermore Rodeo Foundation president Kathleen Baker-Minser and Livermore Rodeo photographer Phil Doyle for always taking care of me.

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2013 Rowell Ranch Rodeo

June 6, 2013 by mc

After shooting almost nothing but timed-events in Redding all week, I was eager to get some roughstock pictures at the Rowell Ranch Rodeo. One of the coolest traditions in rodeo is how they bring the flag into the arena. A rider starts at the top of a very steep hill and races down in full view of the fans. I set up at a bend so I could get it straight-on, but before the flag, some bulls and wild horses ran around at the top of the hill.

Bulls and wild horses on a hill above the Rowell Ranch Rodeo

Then came the flag:

Julie Blach of Livermore, CA carries the flag

I did a set of bareback riders with the fisheye/monopod setup, and got one of my best pictures with it on the very first ride when Winn Ratliff and Wrangler bounced around in front of the chute for the first few seconds.

Bareback rider Winn Ratliff of Lake Charles, LA rides Wrangler

Then Damage Control reared up just inches from my lens:

2013 Rowell Ranch Rodeo - Damage Control

Damage Control rears up in the chute

I mixed it up for the bull riding, some from behind the chutes and some from the stands:

Bull rider Allen Helmuth of Ellensburg, WA rides Deerango

Bull rider Will Morris of Reno, NV rides Revenge

Bull rider Cody Campbell of Summerville, OR rides Bring It

Bull rider Scottie Knapp of Albuquerque, NM rides Loco Weed

Bull rider Jed Jones of Garden Valley, ID gets bucked off Bugman

Bull rider Lane Selz of Bakersfield, CA gets bucked off MJ Dos Mass

Bull rider Winn Ratliff of Lake Charles, LA gets bucked off High Noon

Rocky McDonald had to take two re-rides, but won the buckle on his third bull:

2013 Rowell Ranch Rodeo - Rocky McDonald

Bull rider Rocky McDonald of Chihuahua, Mexico rides Wise Guy

Some timed-event action:

2013 Rowell Ranch Rodeo - Taylor Nahrgang

Steer wrestler Taylor Nahrgang of Buckeye, AZ

2013 Rowell Ranch Rodeo - Marguerite Happy

Barrel racer Marguerite Happy of Santa Clarita, CA

Tie-down roper Chad Rava of Paso Robles, CA

I did some panning from right beside the roping chutes, low percentage, but nice results:

Tie-down roper John McGill of Merced, CA

2013 Rowell Ranch Rodeo - Sterling Smith

Tie-down roper Sterling Smith of Stephenville, TX

Tie-down roper Cade Swor of Winnie, TX

With a captive audience, I continued my “Under the Brim” project:

Bareback rider Taylor Price of Huntsville, TX

2013 Rowell Ranch Rodeo - Richie Champion

Bareback rider Richie Champion of The Woodlands, TX

2013 Rowell Ranch Rodeo - Jacobs Crawley

Saddle bronc rider Jacobs Crawley of Stephenville, TX

Saddle bronc rider Ad Bugenig of Ferndale, CA

Bareback rider Ethan McNeill of Erda, UT

Bullfighter Rick Moffatt of Oakdale, CA

Bull rider Rocky McDonald of Chihuahua, Mexico

Bareback rider Heath Ford of Greeley, CO

2013 Rowell Ranch Rodeo - Cesar "Kid" Banuelos

Bareback rider Cesar “Kid” Banuelos of Los Angeles, CA

The picture of Julie Blach ran in the July issue of Spin To Win Rodeo Magazine:

Spin to Win Rodeo – July 2013 – Julie Blach – High Call

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2013 Redding Rodeo – Behind the Scenes

June 6, 2013 by mc

My main mission at the Redding Rodeo was to shoot timed event slack for my clients, but since I was there, I decided to shoot the performances as well. But with a twist. The lights at the Redding Rodeo grounds are iffy, and since I have plenty of current bucking pictures, I figured it would be a better use of my time to hang around the bucking chutes and make some behind-the-scenes pictures. Artsy Fartsy, as Ol’ Dale Miller calls them.

I was working on pictures of the pickup mens’ ropes when I saw Redding Rodeo president Bennett Gooch, so I framed him in the ropes:

Committee president Bennett Gooch

Behind the chutes, I worked on pictures of guys getting their gear ready and stretching:

Bareback rider Matt Bright of Azle, TX prepares to ride

Bareback rider Brian Bain of Culver, OR works on his glove

Bareback rider Casey Colletti of Pueblo, CO fastens his spurs

Saddle bronc rider Jesee Kruse of Great Falls, MT stretches out his saddle

2013 Redding Rodeo - J.W. Harris & John Growney

Bull rider J.W. Harris of Mullin, TX talks with stock contractor John Growney

Bareback rider Josi Young of Buhl, ID

Bull rider Nevada Newman of Melstone, MT works on his spurs

Bull rider Travis Atkinson of Lehi, UT applies tape to his riding hand

Bull rider Ardie Maier of Timber Lake, SD looks out over the bull pen

Bareback rider JR Vezain of Cowley, WY

Saddle bronc rider Jacobs Crawley of College Station, TX stretches before his ride

2013 Redding Rodeo - Steve Woolsey & Nevada Newman

Bull rider Steve Woolsey of Payson, UT talks with Nevada Newman of Melstone, MT

2013 Redding Rodeo - Clint Laye & Taylor Price

Bareback rider Clint Laye tapes up with some help from Taylor Price

As the bareback section was about to start I climbed up on the chutes:

Bareback rider Steven Peebles of Redmond, OR prepares to ride

2013 Redding Rodeo - George Gillespie IV

Bareback rider George Gillespie IV of Placerville, CA straps in

Saddle bronc rider Jacobs Crawley of College Station, TX nods his head

Bareback rider Luke Creasy of Brownfield, AB walks back to the chutes after getting dumped in the mud

At Clovis, I was trying to make a picture of Josi Young getting ready when Steven Peebles stuck his head in the frame. I liked how that picture came out, so I decided to make a series of them, starting with Josi:

Bareback rider Josi Young of Buhl, ID

I need to come up with a name for these portraits. So far I have “Under the Brim” and “In your grill”.

Bareback rider Tyler Scales of Severance, CO

Steer wrestler Billy Bugenig of Ferndale, CA

Bareback rider Morgan Heaton of Paradise, UT

Saddle bronc rider Andrew Steiger of New South Wales, Australia

Barrelman Ash “Crash” Cooper

2013 Redding Rodeo – Ash “Crash” Cooper

For more from Redding, check out my Timed Event blog post here.

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2013 Redding Rodeo – Timed Events

June 6, 2013 by mc

My main mission at the 2013 Redding Rodeo was to shoot timed-event pictures for my clients. This started with barrel racing slack on Tuesday night. The lights are Redding are dim and have a distinct yellow cast, so after dark, things get tricky. I used the session to experiment with longer shutter speeds for panning and some in-camera multiple exposure.

Barrel racer Syd Wheeler of Porterville, CA

Barrel racer Sarah Kieckhefer of Prescott, AZ

Barrel racer Benette Little of Ardmore, OK

Barrel racer Kelli Tolbert of Hooper, UT

Barrel racer Brenda Mays of Terrebonne, OR

Barrel racer Angie Hardin of Cottonwood, CA

Barrel racer Carlee Pierce of Stephenville, TX

Barrel racer Marguerite Happy of Santa Clarita, CA

Barrel racer Sabrina Ketcham of Yeso, NM

Barrel racer Christina Richman of Glendora, CA

Barrel racer Sabrina Ketcham of Yeso, NM

The rest of the week I used to get clean pictures of timed-event cowboys for use in a variety of places.

Tie-down roper Trevor Brazile of Decatur, TX

Tie-down roper Andy Steffen of Salem, OR

Tie-down roper Chad Finley of Mount Vernon, OR

Tie-down roper Cody Collins of Galt, CA

Steer wrestler Ryle Smith of Oakdale, CA

Steer wrestler Cody Cabral of Hilo, HI

Steer wrestler Ethen Thouvenell of Whittman, AZ

Steer wrestler Billy Bugenig of Ferndale, CA

Steer wrestler Trevor Knowles of Mount Vernon, OR

Steer wrestler Jake Howell of Monroe, OR

Steer wrestler Baylor Roche of Tremonton, UT

Steer wrestler Buster Barton of Walla Walla, WA

Steer wrestler B.J. Taruscio of Walla Walla, WA

Team roper Derrick Begay of Seba Dalkai, AZ

Tie-down roper Jack Vanderlans of Temecula, CA

Team roper Mike Beers of Post, OR

Team roper Blaine Linaweaver of Irvine, CA

Team roper Chase Tryan of Helena, MT

Team roper Patrick Smith of Lipan, TX

Team roper Chad Williams of Stephenville, TX

Team roper Caleb Twisselman of Santa Margarita, CA

2013 Redding Rodeo - Clay O'Brien Cooper

Team roper Clay O’Brien Cooper of Gardnerville, NV

Team roper Jade Corkill of Fallon, NV

Team roper Ryan Motes of Weatherford, TX

Team roper Cesar de la Cruz of Tucson, AZ

Team roper Buddy Hawkins II of Columbus, KS

Pictures of Derrick Begay & Cesar de la Cruz in the July issue of Spin to Win Rodeo Magazine:

Spin to Win Rodeo – July 2013 – Derrick Begay and Cesar de la Cruz spread

For more from Redding, check out my behind-the-scenes blog post here.

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2013 Clovis Rodeo – Roughstock

May 10, 2013 by mc

The performance side of the 2013 Clovis Rodeo started out with a PBR Touring Pro event on Thursday night. I haven’t shot PBR events in quite some time because of a rights-grab waiver they used to make photographers sign. They don’t seem to be doing that anymore, so I got my first chance to shoot guys like Valdiron and Ben Jones who also ride in the PBR Built Ford Tough series that runs on TV.

2013 Clovis Rodeo - Valdiron de Oliveira

Bull rider Valdiron de Oliveira of Goias, Brazil works on his rope at the PBR Touring Pro event in Clovis, CA.

Bull rider Ben Jones rolls up his sleeves before his ride at the PBR Touring Pro event in Clovis, CA.

I shot the first section of bulls from across the arena, trying to take advantage of the late evening sun:

Bull rider Tim Myers of Brentwood, CA gets bucked off Full Tilt at the PBR Touring Pro event in Clovis, CA.

Bullfighter Mitch Coleman steps in to protect Scottie Knapp from High Time at the PBR Touring Pro event in Clovis, CA.

There was some comic relief:

2013 Clovis Rodeo - John Growney & Simao da Silva

One of the Brazilians, Simao da Silva, wanted to know about the bull he drew, 700 SFB of Kish’s. Someone told him to ask John Growney. Simao speaks ZERO English. He asks John, and John launched into a story that Simao understood absolutely none of. I reminded John that he needed to show him what the bull did, and John (talking slower and much louder) kept saying “HE’S A LITTLE FLAT BUCKER.” Surprisingly this didn’t work at all, and one of the other Brazilians had to come over and translate. As Simao was walking away, John said “Don’t worry, I’ll learn your language.” Who wants to teach John Growney Portuguese?

By the time Simao rode SFB, I had climbed up to the roof of the announcer’s stand:

Bull rider Simao da Silva of Coacatuba, Brazil rides SFB at the PBR Touring Pro event in Clovis, CA.

Bull rider Chase Outlaw of Hamburg, AR rides Timber Wolf for the win at the PBR Touring Pro event in Clovis, CA.

It was good to be able to shoot a PBR event after several years, but the combination of the lack of variety (just bull riding) and my lack of familiarity with most of the riders, made me thankful when the actual rodeo started.

The behind-the-chutes area at Clovis is great for pictures. Here’s Steven Peebles invading my space while I was trying to make a picture of someone else. This one was way better than what I was trying to do:

Bareback rider Steven Peebles of Redmond, OR prepares to ride at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

In this picture I managed to make Jared Smith look tall via a very low angle:

Bareback rider Jared Smith of Cross Plains, TX prepares to ride at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

2011 PRCA bull riding champion Shane Proctor does in fact put his boots on one at a time:

Bull rider Shane Proctor of Grand Coulee, WA prepares to ride at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

Saddle bronc rider Sam Spreadborough of Snyder, TX tapes up before his ride at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

Trey Benton III flew in from another rodeo and didn’t have enough time to dry his gear. Luckily there was a giant cooling fan behind the chutes and Trey took advantage:

Bull rider Trey Benton III of Rock Island, TX uses a fan to dry off his gear at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

It was 90+ (degrees, not points) for most of the week, and riders took to the shade as much as possible:

Bull rider Keith Roquemore of Cottonwood, CA tries to stay cool at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

I shot the roughstock action from all over the place, the corners, the stands, announcer’s box roof and more:

Bareback rider Micky Downare of Hartsel, CO rides Blue’s Man at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

Cody Wright won the saddle bronc riding on Friendly Fire, a horse no stranger to winning at Clovis. Cody passed $2 million in career earnings with this ride, making it the second time in 2 seasons I’ve seen a rider do that after Bobby Mote did it in Red Bluff in 2011.

Saddle bronc rider Cody Wright of Milford, UT rides Friendly Fire for the win at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

Saddle bronc rider Sterling Crawley of Stephenville, TX rides Lunatic Fringe at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

Bareback rider Bobby Mote of Culver, OR rides Raggidy Ann at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

Saddle bronc rider Ty Atchison of Jackson, MO rides Frontier at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

Bareback rider Josi Young of Buhl, ID takes a re-ride at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

I shot a section of saddle broncs from behind the cute, and came away with a couple of pictures:

Saddle bronc rider Jacob Huserik of Hemet, CA prepares to ride at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

Flankman Chad Burch takes a smoke break at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

I shot the bull riding all three days from the announcer’s box roof:

Bull rider Tyler Smith of Fruita, CO rides Yes Man at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

Bullfighter Eric Layton gets thrown by Simple Man while protecting bull rider Chris Roundy at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

Hometown boy Kaycee Rose won the bull riding:

Bull rider Kaycee Rose of Clovis, CA rides Wildly Legit at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

It’s always good to see my man JJ Harrison clowning around:

Barrelman JJ Harrison of Walla Walla, WA performs at the Clovis Rodeo in Clovis, CA.

**For more from the 2013 Clovis Rodeo, check out my timed-event post.**

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2013 Livermore Rodeo

2013 Rowell Ranch Rodeo

2013 Redding Rodeo – Behind the Scenes

2013 Redding Rodeo – Timed Events

2013 Clovis Rodeo – Roughstock

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