Cattle Drive
West Texas, Texas 2024
This photograph smells of West Texas
and that was the intent. I think there
normally needs to be a sense of place
and a mood for the story within a still
to stack up. It’s so dusty in this ranch
just 25 miles from the Mexican border
and the dust adds a character for free,
provided the photographer is prepared
to shoot towards the sun in the last hour
of sunlight.
But there are logistical issues: firstly, the
herd are coming right at my ladder and
secondly, the wind direction needs to be
right. If the wind is moving in roughly the
same direction as the cattle and there
is speed to that wind, then not only am I
not going to get a picture, I would also be
in danger as the cattle would not see me
until it was too late.
So there is some amount of maths
involved and I think that this is as close
as I can responsibly get, even if the
wind is blowing left to right. This is not
something to try without the help of good
horsemen and the cowboys in Texas are
the best equipped in the world to be a
photographer’s accomplice.
It is a special place down here and
we recognise it. I often refer to some
of John Steinbeck’s quotes and I will
unapologetically do so once again, as he
nails it every time:
“For all its enormous range of space,
climate, and physical appearance,
and for all the internal squabbles,
contentions, and strivings, Texas has a
tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than
any other section of America. Rich, poor,
Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas is
the obsession, the proper study, and the
passionate possession of all Texans.”