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Friday Night Bandera Rodeo

M38A1

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Nov 28, 2006
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Location
North of Weird
First Name
Scott
A spur of the moment (ha - pun) opportunity came up allowing me full arena access to shoot the Friday Night Bandera Rodeo series, so I jumped on it. Having never shot a rodeo before, I leaned heavily on the photographer who shoots this event week to week. He was a great guy and willing to 'teach' me about shooting this type of event.

I figured it would be much like shooting my other sports & action events, but boy was I wrong. For those, I have great light and this? Well - not so great light, lots of dust and animals/people that don't follow the same line of movement every time. And that doesn't even address being on the arena floor with the bulls and the only way out is up a fence with my gear. Or the arena lighting that cycles 60hz so you have pink to green dirt. :giveup:

Here's a little story of my night shooting rodeo. The full gallery can be seen HERE

These little guys were pretty sedate before they cinched them and stuck a person on top
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This is Len. He's the Rodeo promoter/owner/director
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The 'kids' bulls were on tap and this is where I decided I really didn't like being "IN" the arena with them. You really don't have a clue which way the bull is going to go with or without their passenger
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This gives you an idea of what I'm talking about....
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Getting that 'perfect' shot is also difficult as you are at the mercy of the bull, the rider and your position in the arena and it all has to happen at the same time. And that's not a little bull either in the grand scheme.
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The little "mutton busters" were a hoot to watch. Most took a tumble pretty quickly like this one
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...yet others had a rigging and rode the heck out of that little mutton
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Then there was the team roping. This was pretty interesting to watch and the only event I wasn't allowed on the floor for safety reasons
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Then we were back to mutton busting and this little guy rode across the entire ring. This shot was my runner-up for PicADay.
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...but you have to get off at some point
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Next up was some women's barrels. This was fun to watch and shoot once I got the hang of it
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Then it was back to bulls. These guys don't mess around. Prepping for a ride with a bull in the chute
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...almost that "perfect" shot where the stars aligned
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...but not for this rider
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They're not called "rodeo clowns" anymore. They are "bull fighters" and the guy on the right is one of the guys who distracts the bull when the rider goes down
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All sorts of riding style were observed.
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The moment the riders leg was broken. Yeah, this is serious stuff.
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The bull fighter in a bit of a pickle
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This guy rode the full eight seconds. And then some..... He's from Mexico
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This bull was like a pogo-stick. Out of the chute and all he did was bounce up and down like his legs were on springs
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....well right up until he changes his mind
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I didn't get his name, but this is a pro-rider doing his thing
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After the bulls, it was more team roping and barrels for the rest of the participants "after" the show was over. The promoter schedules a two hour show from 8 to 10pm, but there's a significant number of entrants for each event that can't be accommodated in that timeframe. So the show has a set schedule which is adhered to, and after the end, the competition still continues. So it's possible to ride in your event "in" the show only to find out you didn't win.

As the show was wrapping up, this guys horse reminded me of a dog following his owner. The guy took off walking and his horse just followed....
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Overall it was a really fun event. I'm pretty sure I have an open invite to shoot it anytime I want for the next five weeks, then this little 'series' is over.

Comments/observations always appreciated. :sun:


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