I edited several days worth of images into this short video/slideshow. I went from an Aspen photographer to a Texas photographer. It was a great trip and fulfilling personal project. And best of all I know some great people in Dalhart, TX now.
In August Dalhart hosts a pro rodeo and I may go back to get more portraits. I may even expand the project to get rodeo cowboys and regular folks of Dalhart.
As a student of photography I've read the stories of photographers getting a big break to shoot a celebrity or politician but only getting 5 minutes to do the shoot. (Talk about pressure.) These cowboy portraits were just as unnerving. I got a few of them to stop for about one minute! And several of them wouldn't even get in front of the camera at all. I guess if it ain't cow-punching they don't want anything to do with it.
Photographing in Aspen, CO is beautiful and I am very lucky to live and work here. But it's always a great experience to travel. The landscape around Dalhart is completely different and really speaks to me. That landscape is like my photography- it's a subtle beauty.
Knowing most people view my work on a phone or, slightly better, a table, I should post more dramatic shots. I should make images that have a real "WOW" factor. I do have some of those but an artful photograph should have layers and the viewer should discover more and more as they look around the photograph. Phone screens are too small to allow that. Furthermore, a large art print in your home should make you feel good overtime you see it. You should react differently to a real art print as you change as a person. You should have a different experience viewing it after several years because you are a different person- a different viewer. The simple brightly colored "WOW" image won't have that longevity.
Thanks for visiting and remember- if you're looking for an Aspen photographer you're in the right place.