Why Photography

Why youth sports

I have been making pictures since around 2009, and I was in Law Enforcement from 1995, retiring in 2022. One of the events I love to photograph is the Wilsall, Montana Rodeo. Probably the most scenic rodeo I have been too. The rodeo grounds have the majestic Crazy mountains as their backdrop. Needless to say it is hard to take a bad picture in Wilsall. There is usually a group of us that meet at the rodeo every year. I am the only photographer in the group. I’m usually asked what I do with my pictures, do I make money from them and why do I take them? I’ve never had a really good answer other than I just like taking pictures. I have tried a lot of different techniques at the rodeo whether it is shooting with a slow shutter speed, camera movement, or stopping the action I shoot the whole rodeo and have years of images sitting on my hard drives. I’ve even emailed some of the cowboys a copy of their photos. I usually get a “thanks” or “that’s great” response but I don’t think cowboys really care about getting pictures of themselves. I have recently started taking a lot of pictures of youth sports. It started back in Montana with the rodeo and some friends daughters playing volleyball. Since we have moved to Colorado I find myself looking for sporting events to photograph. I realize I’m to old to become a professional sports photographer but yet still like making pictures at sporting events. But why? It has to be more than just pushing a little button on the back of a black box. Early on in my picture making adventure I even shot a couple of weddings. That was back when my wife wanted to buy and run a wedding venue. My wife would always say then you could shoot something fun and filled with love and happiness compared to what you see all day at work.

I guess now would be a good time to briefly explain my 28 year law enforcement career. I started out like everyone else in patrol responding to the regular calls, IE burglaries, domestic disturbances, and suicides etc.. Then I moved on to the drug task force where I would make controlled purchases of illegal drugs and deal with the unsavory people of our community. After a short time in the task force it was back to patrol and even a stint as a supervisor in a small town in Montana. I eventually landed at the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office in Bozeman, Montana where I spent most of my career. While working for the Sheriff’s Office I worked Patrol, Detectives (Specializing in crimes against people), Deputy Coroner, and support services where we would transport mentally ill, and inmates throughout the state and country.

As usual I think my wife was onto something. For the last 28 years I have been dealing with the poor decisions people make in life and listening to some horrible stories. As a detective I have listened to countless women, girls, and children tell me about the horrible things that have happened to them sometimes from the people we are supposed to trust the most. I have also listened to mothers grieving from losing their children to violent circumstances, to telling sons and daughters that their mother or father wont make it home due to a traffic accident that ended their life. I’ve also had countless conversations with inmates telling me about the first time they did drugs was with a mother or father or the first time they killed someone or how they had to escape a cult. Not to mention talking with someone who is having psychotic break.

It may not be weddings but I think my wife is right. With sports photography the worst decision I get to document is someone riding a little high on bull, or a base runner unwisely thinking he/she can out run the catcher as they try to steal second. Even better I get to document the winning saddle bronc ride or the winning volleyball spike. Taking it a step further I love documenting lives before they get complicated. I love having the ability to memorialize something positive in a young person’s life for a parent or friend to cherish before those instances where poor decisions people make have life altering effects.