Longhorn Cattle Drive

2022

Longhorn Cattle are driven through downtown Amarillo before the start of the annual Coors Cowboy Club Ranch Rodeo. It is a sight to behold. They don’t put up barricades or close off streets or intersections for this parade. Just a group of motorcycle law enforcement officers leading the way with lights flashing. They are followed by a chuckwagon pulled by a couple of gorgeous mules, the lead riders, the longhorn herd and those fortunate enough to ride drag behind the behemoths of bovine beauty.

I enjoy this parade and taking pictures, but it is difficult to get what I have pictured in my mind’s eye sometimes. I had a couple of goals for this parade. I wanted some reflection pictures in the mirrored walls of the Amarillo National Bank building, a decent shot of the old brindle steer with one broken horn and try to just get lots of traveling longhorn legs.

Polk Street is every photographer’s favorite to capture pictures, lots of old restored buildings, neat old signs, it just has an old-timey feel to it. A section of it has lights strung across it from one side of the street to the other. It is very pretty when lit up at night.

Always have a plan before you go shoot! I had 3 locations I wanted to take pictures at as the cattle wandered through downtown. Polk Street, passing by the Amarillo National Bank, and the Amarillo Globe News Center. None of them are close together. Not all these pictures turned out as hoped, I was hustling to get from one point to another to capture these shots along the route. Downtown Amarillo is not large, one would think you could travel quickly from one spot to another, but the steers travelled faster. I had to take pictures at one location, then hurry to the next, set up and shoot again, and so on.

Reflection of the cattle drive in the Amarillo National Bank windows.

I will try again next year. I will use a faster shutter speed next time, some of the legs of the animals are blurry in some of the photos, I want to pick a few different locations and think of few different angles to try and shoot. Here are my favorites from this year’s cattle drive.

The Keeper of The Plains

2022

This sculpture stands at the fork of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers in my hometown of Wichita, KS. It was constructed by Kiowa-Comanche artist Blackbear Bosin and was erected in 1974. It is 13.4 meters high and constructed of Cor-Ten steel. It was removed at one point several years ago and the park area in which it stands was greatly improved. There is a bridge from either side of the river, better lighting and landscaping was added, as well as a ceremonial ring of fire which is lit at night. I just missed getting the fire by a couple hours, I managed to show up during the time change and it was cold, so I opted not to stick around and wait for the fire lighting. I will go back another day for those.

Surrounding the base of the statue are several displays which describe the local tribes that used to inhabit the area. There are hidden speakers which play soothing Native American flute music. Visiting this location, I always feel at peace. It is serene. It is ethereal. It is beautiful.

The bridges across the river to visit the park and look up from the base of the statue were fun to grab snaps of “bits and pieces” photography. Bits and Pieces is taking pictures of part of something, not the whole.

There is beauty in the details.

Geese along the dam, tucked up for the night.

These rivers that flow through Wichita, flow through me. My grandmother lived in a house that backed up to the river when I was little. We fished, paddled a canoe, and my brother pushed me in once and I cut my foot between my toes on something sharp in its muddy bottom. I would ride my horse to the river and swim him through the deep parts and we would ride splashing through the water where it was shallow. My high school sat near the edge of it. My first house as an adult was 2 blocks from its banks. I took my boys bike riding on the path that followed its edge. The Keeper and the river are sentimental.

While in town I visited another old friend from my childhood. Wichita is home to a lot of art. There are several life-sized statues around town made of chrome auto bumpers by artist John Kearney. This one is my favorite. It sits outside what used to be the 1st National Bank (I think?) but is now called the Ruffin Building. As a child, when we went downtown and visited this building, I always wanted to pet the horse. He’s a trusty steed and sadly his age is starting to show in his rust eaten chrome.

I went back to visit the Keeper of the Plains the following morning as he greeted the sunrise. I hope you enjoy these pictures of a couple of my favorite things. Below is the gallery of all the pictures taken that evening and the following day. Enjoy!

Dramatic Skies

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When you are feeling down, just look up! We have been drought stricken for what seems like forever. I know many of us have finally received that little bit of moisture we were desperately hoping for. I for one was ecstatic about the beautiful cloud formations in the sky! I’m not a storm chaser, but I love me some poofy clouds.

Sunset reflecting on the cloud formation.

Light, shadows, sunset. All these played a part in what drew me to stop and take these pictures on my drive that day. I don’t know if it is the Kansas girl in me, all my years growing up and being lulled to sleep by thunderstorms shaking the house (I really miss those.), or just a deep appreciation for what God has created and all the beauty that surrounds us if we just stop and look.

When you do stop to take those pictures, be sure to turn around and look behind you too. I almost missed the sun behind these clouds and the rays of sunlight pouring through the holes, the glitter of the gravel in the asphalt, green ditches. It was a beautiful moment.

Sunlight through rain. There is smoke from a grass fire caused by lightning in the lower left side of the photo.

I have lots of pictures of the sky, forever the optimist, I am always looking up. I am including my favorites from two separate occasions in the slideshow today. I don’t think 7 different posts about the sky will do, so I will try and limit myself to a couple times a year. Here’s to HOPE and a positive outlook!

HERE WE GO, INTO THE WILD BLUE YONDER…

2022

*Crop Duster over Pratt County, Kansas.*

This was a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon and I just finished up at one location and had time to kill before my next stop when this bright yellow and blue plane dive bombing the green wheat fields caught my eye

I pulled off the highway onto a dirt, county road and got my camera out of its bag, the Air Force song started playing in the back of my mind. I admire planes and pilots, but I am not a fan of flying.

*End of the field. This photo is the closest one to what I was trying to get.*

I followed this subject as he went from one field to the next for a while. I’m sure the pilot was wondering what the crazy person on the ground with the camera was doing stalking him. I had a picture in my head, and I was trying to capture it. I tried a few different photography techniques while playing around, but sadly when I got home, they were all just short of what I was looking for. Overall, the quality of these photos was lacking in my eyes (we are our own worst critic, I know!). I do have a few favorites though.

The sun was playing peekaboo with the clouds, and I was constantly adjusting the settings on my camera to account for the changes in lighting. I have got better at doing that on the fly, but then I always forget to check the light meter between shots, and some are darker than others…and… well, you end up with a lot of useless shots.

My friend, who lives in the area says she can find out if and where they are spraying the next time I am in town. I might take her up on that offer. I still want that picture I was trying to get. Enjoy the slideshow!