I have lived in southern small towns for about 15 years now, and I have to say, it has been largely a good experience. I would take the friendly, simple, often chatty southern people and the delicious but deadly cuisine any day. But I’m not much of a fan of the popular forms of recreation in the South. I’m not a hunter, neither have I ever had much interest in rodeo sports. A few weeks ago, I found out that one of my wife’s colleagues was an organizer of bull riding competitions. Suddenly, I started to have mixed feelings about it. I knew I would never be an avid fan and pay money to go see something like that, but the photographer in me was definitely interested. I knew these events would present some good photo opportunities. I also realized that it wasn’t the bull riding itself that peaked my interest, rather it was the human drama that was likely to be a part of such an event.
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to give it a shot. It was a night event and I didn’t stay very long, since I had a two and a half hour drive back home. But it certainly was interesting. The crowd was as one would expect, and I definitely stuck out like a sore thumb! There was the obligatory clown, who was doing what clowns do, complete with some not-so-subtle ridicules for our current president. I wonder if he poked fun at Bush the same way when he was president (I have my doubts). But the bull riding itself was actually pretty nice. It certainly was not easy to photograph though. The light wasn’t terribly good to begin with, also things unfolded rather quickly and usually didn’t last very long. But here are some of the photos from the evening that I liked.
Cowboys....big and small
A rider mentally prepares himself
Escaping the bull
Sometimes things just don't go as planned....
