James Brosher Photography

Portfolio website for James Brosher, a Bloomington, Indiana based editorial and wedding photographer specializing in action, documentary, and portrait images.

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Cheyenne Frontier Days: rodeo, dancing and a parade

Saturday was one of those crazy days where I was so busy I forgot to eat. It started at 9:00 a.m. with the Cheyenne Frontier Days parade and ended around 8:30 p.m. after I covered the CFD Indian Village dancers. In between these two events, I shot 4,193 frames at the opening day of the rodeo. My boss was down in a photo pit in the middle of the arena, which freed me up to shoot from a high angle in the balcony. I had never shot bull riding before, but now I think it might be my new favorite sport visually. Saw several guys get flung off the bulls and I managed to capture several instances of this.

Spud Jones from Tohatchi, N.M. takes a tumble after staying on a bull for 1.8 seconds during Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo action on Saturday, July 23, 2011, at Frontier Park.
Spud Jones from Tohatchi, N.M. takes a tumble after staying on a bull for 1.8 seconds during Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo action on Saturday, July 23, 2011, at Frontier Park.
Toni Valdez performs a traditional women's jingle dance during Cheyenne Frontier Days on Saturday, July 23, 2011, in the Indian Village at Frontier Park.
Toni Valdez performs a traditional women's jingle dance during Cheyenne Frontier Days on Saturday, July 23, 2011, in the Indian Village at Frontier Park.
A woman waves to the crowd amongst American flags atop an American Legion float during the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo on Satruday, July 23, 2011, in downtown Cheyenne.
A woman waves to the crowd amongst American flags atop an American Legion float during the Cheyenne Frontier Days parade on Saturday, July 23, 2011, in downtown Cheyenne.

Cheyenne Frontier Days: the fort and the chute

My two assignments today were to cover steer roping at Frontier Park and the opening day of Fort D.A. Russell Days at F.E. Warren Air Force Base. It was only two assignments, but it spanned most of the day from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. I shot a lot of general rodeo action at steer roping then headed back behind the chutes to hunt for features. Originally, I was looking for a wide shot of the horses leaving the chute, but I ended up shooting a feature of some kids playing around behind the chute (second photo). I spent the rest of the day out at the base shooting the Fort D.A. Russell Days event. It was tough because it was the opening day so there weren’t many people – and by people I mean spectators – there. I stuck around for a while until some people started filtering in after noon. I caught a British soldier re-enactor getting a face full of musket smoke. Score.

David Morgan from Arvada, Colo., fires an American-revolution era Brown Bess musket during a demonstration for visitors during the first day of Fort D.A. Russell Days on Friday, July 22, 2011, at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne.
David Morgan from Arvada, Colo., fires an American-revolution era Brown Bess musket during a demonstration for visitors during the first day of Fort D.A. Russell Days on Friday, July 22, 2011, at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne.
Emily Underwood, 17, bottom pesters Tao Allen, 9, left, Tug Allen, 11, and Marcus Cole, 8, as they offer her their hats behind chute 9 during Cheyenne Frontier Days steer roping on Friday, July 22, 2011, at Frontier Park.
Emily Underwood, 17, bottom pesters Tao Allen, 9, left, Tug Allen, 11, and Marcus Cole, 8, as they offer her their hats behind chute 9 during Cheyenne Frontier Days steer roping on Friday, July 22, 2011, at Frontier Park.

Cheyenne Frontier Days tie down roping

Today I spent all of the morning shooting tie-down roping out at Cheyenne Frontier Days. Going to modify the plan I put forth yesterday by posting two photos instead of just one. Here are two of my favorite frames out of the 3381 frames I shot today.

Joseph Parsons from Marana, Ariz. yanks a calf onto its back as he prepares to tie up its legs during the first go of slack tie-down roping on Wednesday, July 20, 2011, at Frontier Park.
Joseph Parsons from Marana, Ariz. yanks a calf onto its back as he prepares to tie up its legs during the first go of slack tie-down roping on Wednesday, July 20, 2011, at Frontier Park.
Jack Osborn, left, 10, and Brayden Wiesen, 11, take a break towards the end of the day inside of a chute during the first go of slack tie-down roping on Wednesday, July 20, 2011, at Frontier Park. Several youngsters including the two funneled cattle into chute 9 from 8 a.m. to about noon for slack tie-down roping.
Jack Osborn, left, 10, and Brayden Wiesen, 11, take a break towards the end of the day inside of a chute during the first go of slack tie-down roping on Wednesday, July 20, 2011, at Frontier Park. Several youngsters including the two funneled cattle into chute 9 from 8 a.m. to about noon for slack tie-down roping.

Cheyenne Frontier Days barrel racing

Although Cheyenne Frontier Days doesn’t officially start until Friday, I shot my first rodeo event today. It was the “first go-round” for the women’s barrel racing. I photographed it with my boss Mike, who was stationed down on the ground level. This allowed me to roam a bit in the stands and look for an angle that gave me a clean look at the action with a clean background. The light was pretty harsh most of the day, but it diffused out with some cloud cover later after noon. This was my favorite frame. Given that the craziness will soon ensue, I’m planning on just posting a single image for every day I work from now until the end of CFD. I’ll be posting daily edits on our company blog, ShutterSpeed, and I will do a “best of” post at the end of the rodeo. Yippie ki-yay.

Sarah Kieckhefer from Prescott, Ariz. rounds the third barrel on her horse during the first go of barrel racing on Tuesday, July 19, 2011, at Frontier Park. Kieckhefer finished the run with a time of 18.71 seconds.
Sarah Kieckhefer from Prescott, Ariz. rounds the third barrel on her horse during the first go of barrel racing on Tuesday, July 19, 2011, at Frontier Park. Kieckhefer finished the run with a time of 18.71 seconds.