Phil is a successful businessman who's connection to the West runs back to his childhood working on a number of ranches. He has a deep appreciation for cowboy culture and continues to ride his horses at any chance given. While he is not a professional cowboy, I found it interesting how he felt the preservation of that culture was profoundly important. A common thread from those of Phil's generation.

Large Format Ultrachrome, Ilford Pearl 

After photographing Brad outside we loaded up the gear onto the 4-wheeler, navigated through the rough terrain and cattle to the mobile home where lunch was waiting for us. Brad is a quiet, humble man who has been in "The Hills" his entire life. So much so that the shape of his legs has been altered from being in the saddle since he was a child. He had remarkable stories of lonely journies into the back woods and the magnificent beauty he alone witnessed. As I snapped this image, we were chatting about what he thought about the future held for cowboy culture.

Large Format Ultrachrome, Ilford Pearl

It took some convincing to have Dale allow me to photograph him  as he couldn't understand why anyone would want to "take a picture of a mug like this". Eventually he agreed and posed. Like many of the cowboys in this series, Dale has more free time and isolation than "City Folk" and fills it with his artistic endeavours. He cuts tin into precise shapes and paints them with extraordinary precision. The end result are flowers that look so realistic that one must touch them to understand they are made of metal.

Large Formal Ultrachrome, Ilford Pearl