Stites Photography: April 2008

Went down to Cleburne with my buddy Dave and his truck load of kids + friends and wife. I show up and parked my Honda...Think about that for a second...a Japanese car in the middle of a cowboy town! The sneers were plenty coming from the overly jacked up Dodges/Fords/Chevy trucks with the Yosemite Sam mudflaps and gunracks. I parked my car at the rodeo and waited for Dave to show up. Of course as I was waiting, every horse in the county(and it's associated rider) had to stroll by and poop near by. If you've never seen a horses bowel movements before, let me tell you, it's bucket loads!

Dave et al shows up and we tried our best to mosie/strut our way in. Trying to blend in while not wearing cowboy hats, stirrups, and boots is quite the task. Here I am wrapped in the latest in Nikon technology with a backpack full of Pocket Wizards and lenses!

We get inside and quickly rush to the back where all the behind the scene action is. There we are, right next to Bulls, with names such as: "Wants to Kill and Gore my Rider", "Death to Those Who Get Near Me" and my favorite "Tinkerbell the Mutilator." Well, ok not quite accurate, but thats certainly not far from the truth. These beasts were massive, made of solid muscle and ready to explode. The whole time I was hoping the fence didn't give way and the bull decided to play kick the cameraman!

Here's some of the shots of the night.