Saddle Bronc Riders

This image has been in my vault for several years. It was made over the July 4th weekend in 1991 in Prescott, Arizona.

I had only been in the state for a year and everything about it was still very new to me (by then I had gotten over the first thing about the wild west that had thrown me briefly -- that was the sign at The Republic advising me to "Please check my handgun with the security desk").

I had heard about this rodeo -- which claims to be the world's oldest rodeo -- and decided to go up to Prescott (about 100 miles from Phoenix and nearly a mile high elevation) to check it out.

It was truly quite visual and I found these saddle bronc riders stretching their saddles in the dirt before they competed.
I was struck by the beauty of the colors of the dirt and their clothes, the texture of the building and the rich blue sky made all the more glorious by shooting Velvia transperency film. The combination of all the elements create an almost painterly feel to the scene even though it was shot in the early afternoon (not typically the best time to shoot).

The image was published in The Arizona Republic, but was also printed by US News & World Report.