and it takes me 40 minutes to get there, but I had everything ready by 9 (just needed to pop the poppers in the oven when I returned), so I grabbed my camera, and headed out. It's been too long since I was able to spend time behind the lens and I was tickled.
Sometimes I see photos...beautiful photos...of crews branding and cowboys working cattle that I admire. My first thought is always: That's a great shot! My second thought: I would be in so much trouble if I had taken that because from the angle, I would have been in the way. And the first rule of a photographer is Don't Get in the Way.
Or maybe that's just a special rule that applies to me. LOL. Don't spook the cattle...or the horses...or the men. Don't ride in front of the herd. Don't move. Pay attention. So, I have to choose a spot and park it. In this case, it was outside of the corrals, behind a fence, which was a good spot because I tend to get lost behind the camera and not pay attention to what's going on around me and the fence was a trusty barrier and kept me from getting run over:
It's pretty sandy here, thus there's lots of dirt that gets kicked up
But DH likes to work cattle easy and not get them stirred up:
But the sand here is like powder and it's impossible to not kick it up:
The feisty calves churn up clouds of dirt:
And it can make for a cool shot, but the calf's fine.
These animals are our livelihood and we do everything we can to take good care of them.
The crew works quickly and efficiently, but easy:
Usually someone is at the head, one on the tail end, one wields the branding irons, another is assigned to ear mark the calf, one vaccinates, and yet another cuts the bull calves. It all takes less than a minute and the calf is released back into the herd and quickly reunited with it's Mama.
It's hard work, but these boys love what they do:
And they're good at it:
We run a pretty small crew, but try to work two calves at a time in the pen:
That's probably a long enough post for today. Anyone that knows me knows I've got more photos to share, but I'll share more in a day or two. I was only out there for about 45 minutes and ended up with over 500 pictures. It takes a long time to sort through 500 photos and no, I won't make you sit through that many. I'm deleting as fast as I can. 😉
8 comments:
I love your photos Karin! Such wonderful shots. Glad you were able to get out of the kitchen for a bit, and enjoy the show :) Thanks for sharing.
Takes me back to my childhood on a ranch in Oregon...miss those days. Thank you for sharing.
Love, love the photos!
Great post, Karin!! I've missed your cattle works photos!! So real I can smell the branding, hear the calves bawling and taste the dust!! Cowboys, belly up to the table!!! I know they appreciate your cooking and filling meals!!
So many great shots! My Cowboy loves when it's time to work cattle. It's like me getting to go on a quilting retreat!
Nut fries? (yum!)
As I am looking at the chest of that horse I am hoping you were behind a fence!! Shew - it came close!!! AWESOME photos!!
Those are great photos. Your attention when taking photos sounds like my situation. I tend to forget where I am. I giggled as I read your rules.
As for that dust. Your dirt looks a lot like our sugar sand. It's always dusty and sticks to everything and you can easily get boggled down in it.
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