These action shots convey the unbelievable risk and extreme danger of bull riding. The bull is incredibly powerful, it really is just a massive pack of angry, snorting muscle. Total focus and concentration are required to stay safe. It’s a fine line between victory and serious injury, or, at worst death.
All sports have the pressure of winning and losing. Bull riding has the pressure of living and dying.
These boys are young and surely naive. They all search for the ultimate adrenaline rush and are on a quest to prove their manhood. Both dream of glory - until reality hits.
I’ve always been fascinated by the photographs of Robert Capa. His grainy images of young, innocent men in war zones.The grains on the paper arranged - only just so close enough - to reveal fleeting moments. The images so fragile, so precarious - like the young soldier's lives. As I photographed the rodeo these photographs were in my subconscious.A bright, young, athletic boy rides a bull in search of the ultimate adrenaline rush. A different time or in a different place he may search for this rush and approval on the battlefield.