My passion for the wilderness,
horses and “the way of the cowboy” go
back to my earliest memories of our small ranch in
Oklahoma. My Dad and Granddad instilled in me a reverence
for hard work, the land and the wildlife that sprawled
out as far as I could see. I’ll never forget
how proud I was when Granddad bought us April, a one-eyed
cutting horse we worked cattle with. She was the embodiment
of everything mythical and magical about a horse.
So between the ranch and a steady diet of the Lone
Ranger, the Rifleman and Bonanza I was destined to
pursue the romance of the West.
My photographic career began in 1978 after I graduated
from the University of Oklahoma. I moved to Dallas
to begin my photographic career and to pursue my high
school sweetheart, Kim, who was already residing in
Texas. We were married in 1981 and decided to move
to Milan, Italy to further our careers. At this time
I worked as a freelance photojournalist for the Washington
Post, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Times Herald and Ft.
Worth Star Telegram, and several European and American
magazines. I worked on assignments for these newspapers
in Central America, South America, Europe, Asia and
the Middle East. In 1983 Kim and I moved back to Dallas
to continue our careers and start a family. Our two
incredible sons are 18 and 16 now and demonstrate
every day that they are wild at heart.
In the 1990’s, I reconnected with these longings
when I had the opportunity to photograph Tom Moorhouse
on his ranch in West Texas. Tom doesn’t mind
having his picture taken as long as you are willing
to throw in with the other day workers and make a
hand. It was a humbling revelation. I thought I knew
something about riding and working cattle until I
met Tom and his crew. Since, I have had the opportunity
to work along side and to photograph many great cowboys
in Texas, New Mexico and Wyoming. Without exception,
every man I’ve ridden with is someone I would
trust my life with.