Oklahoma Cattle Drive 2007
By Cynthia Wolf
13 February 2008
I love horses, cowboys, cowgirls, SW landscapes, most everything western. It's not everyday that a 'cowgirl wanna be' gets a chance to shoot a real life cattle drive. So when I heard about a 'drive' traveling up the Ol' Chisholm Trail in Oklahoma, sections of which are still visiable from the 1860's, I just couldn't resist. The drivers took one month, riding about 15 miles a day.
To be a little ahead of the cows and the drivers I would leave Oklahoma City in the early morning and take a guess as to where they bedded down the night before. Even though their website listed the towns they were driving through, finding the ranch they spent the night on wasn't always easy.
Since I wanted an old timey effect in my photos I had to overcome the obstacles of paved roads and electric lines. My best photos were shot as they traveled further north where the grasslands outnumbered the towns and buildings. Getting there at the crack of dawn afforded me the opportunity to photo the three authentic chuck wagaons that headed out ahead of the herd a few miles.
One very early morning the atmosphere worked for me. The fog was thick , the light was dreamy and the dirt was, well, red dirt (it is, afterall, Oklahoma)! The section line roads were not paved on this stretch of the trail. I would hurry ahead of the herd and wait to get a head-on shot.
As I placed myself on the trail a tad bit off to the side, I became so caught up in the moment that I didn't realize that I was suddenly in the middle of the herd while they were steadily moving forward. It was one of those times in life when I knew I had overlooked some basic safety guidelines about shooting large, moving animals. Since there was no place for me to go I continued to click away.
The mix of fog and the red color of the dirt was a good backdrop for what I wanted. I also discovered that I like the shapes and the way the light touches the backside of horses.
If the oppurtunity comes up again I will sign on for the ride and take photos from the top of my horse!
