Old Corrals and Sagebrush

American West Photography - Old Cattle Corrals

Ian Tyson said best with the now famous line “I like old corrals and sagebrush…”

These photographs capture the weathered remnants of old corrals, standing as silent witnesses to the history of cattle ranching in the American West. The worn wood, often splintered and bleached by decades of sun and storms, speaks to the enduring hardships of life on the range. The rugged structures, set against vast, open landscapes, evoke a sense of isolation and resilience. Each post, beam, and wire tells a story of cowboys, cattle, and the unforgiving land they worked. Some corrals are nestled in dusty valleys, surrounded by rolling hills or jagged mountains, while others stand in flat, arid plains where time seems to stand still. In the soft light of dusk or the harsh midday sun, these old corrals serve as a powerful reminder of the frontier era, evoking a time when ranching was the lifeblood of the West, and the spirit of the cowboy was inseparable from the land.

Contact me directly if you’d like a western photography print of these old corrals for your home, office, or commercial space - rob@robhammerphotography.com

Photograph of an old wood corral in front of an iconic Western backdrop at sunset in Utah

Old wood cattle corrals in the American West

Black and white photograph of wood cattle corrals

Old cattle corrals covered in snow

Montana Cattle Ranch

Morning sun shines on the Sierra Nevada mountains and a cattle ranch outside Bridgeport, CA

Photograph of the cattle pens on the C-Punch Ranch near Lovelock, Nevada

Photograph of wood fence posts reflected in water at sunset on the Diamond A Ranch in Arizona

Wood corrals on a cattle ranch in Colorado

Sunset on a cattle ranch in Arizon

Black and white photograph of wood cattle corrals in front of an iconic Western backdrop

Tom Moorhouse

Tom Moorhouse - Cowboy

Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame

Tom Moorhouse is a Texas legend so it’s no wonder that he was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. He’s cowboyed all his left. Never wanted to do anything different. A born cowpuncher. Aside from keeping his own herd of cattle, he also worked for many years at the famed Tongue River Ranch and 6666 Ranch. Tom is a hell of a story teller and might just have the best ears in the business. He was very gracious with his time, showing me around the ranch and the cemetery he built there for his wives. It was interesting to hear a guy like Tom being so candidly emotional when talking about them. I’m real grateful to have met and photographed him. Do yourself a favor and look up some videos of Tom online. He’s got a voice perfect for telling cowboy stories that you could listen to for days.

Click HERE to see more of my cowboy photography. And contact me directly for prints - rob@robhammerphotography.com

Black and white portrait of famous Texas cowboy Tom Moorhouse

Tom Moorhouse - Texas Cowboy

Photograph of Tom Moorhouse at the cemetery on his ranch

Cowpuncher - Tom Moorhouse

Portrait of a Texas cowboy

Portrait of legendary Texas cowboy Tom Moorhouse

Black and white portrait of cowboy Tom Moorhouse on his ranch in Texas

Tom Moorhouse



The Year's Best Photographs

American Photography Competition

The American Photography Competition is one of only a handful of competitions that I believe in out of the countless scams out there promising worldwide “exposure” for photographers. So it’s an honor to say that two of my cowboy photographs have been selected for the AP 40 - Year’s Best Photos! If you’d like to be humbled and inspired then go through the gallery of winning images . So much beautiful work in there.

If you’d like to see more of my authentic cowboy photographs go to this Gallery . And go HERE to purchase photography prints from the cowboy series.

Award winning cowboy photography

Award winning Western Photography

Western Spirit Museum

Photography Exhibition - Basketball

Scottsdale’s Museum of the West

Incredibly thrilled to announce a new exhibition of my American Backcourts series at the Western Spirit Museum in Scottsdale, Arizona. Not only is it a honor for me, but I also see it as a big win for the sport of basketball to be featured this way in a western museum. I love the American West so much and have been working on this basketball photography series all over the country for about 13 years now. So to have the game celebrated in place where most people never associate the two, is quite gratifying! If you’re in the area, please stop by to see the show as well as the other incredible exhibitions they have throughout the museum. I particularly enjoyed seeing William Matthews work in person. I’ve been a fan of his for a while now and have enjoyed seeing his work in books, but nothing compares to seeing it in real life.

More from the press release:

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., August 22, 2024 –  Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West announced today the opening of the upcoming exhibition Rob Hammer: American Backcourts, which will be on view from August 26, 2024, through April 13, 2025. This exhibition offers a fresh perspective on the New West by showcasing the distinctive relationship between basketball and the Western United States through the lens of acclaimed photographer Rob Hammer.

 

American Backcourts presents a stunning collection of images that capture the essence of basketball in the West—where the sport, though not traditionally associated with the region, embodies the pioneering spirit that defines the American West. Over 13 years and 300,000 miles, Hammer has traversed the Western United States, documenting rustic and makeshift basketball courts that tell the stories of resilience, ingenuity, and the enduring love of the game.

 

Inspired by a photograph of NBA legend Larry Bird’s childhood hoop in French Lick, Indiana, Hammer’s journey reveals how even the simplest setups can nurture greatness. His work showcases the raw beauty of handmade hoops crafted from whatever materials are at hand, placed in environments as diverse as the Western landscape itself—on dirt, grass, clay, and gravel. These images reflect the love of basketball and the resourceful and indomitable spirit that has come to define the West.

Click here to check out limited edition basketball prints from this series

Photography exhibition of Rob Hammer's basketball series at the Western Spirit Museum in Scottsdale, Arizona

Photography exhibition at the Western Spirit Museum in Scottsdale, Arizona

The number one western museum in the USA

Western Photography Gallery

Cowboy Prints - Fine Art

It’s been a fun couple of months back to back exhibiting my fine art photography prints of working cowboys in the American West. Most recently is a show at Phillips Gallery in Salt Lake City, Utah where 12 prints are being shown.

It’s very important to keep photography alive in the printed form, so each exhibition of this project means a hell of a lot. Not only to celebrate the Western culture and the people that dedicate their lives to it, but to remind viewers of the power of a printed photograph. So if you’re in town please stop by to check out the work. Otherwise you can shop the limited edition cowboy prints available on my website HERE

Western cowboy photography prints

Authentic photography prints of American Cowboys

Western Photography Gallery

Cattle Ranching in Carson Valley, Nevada

Carson Valley, Nevada Cowboy Photography

This whole cowboy project “officially” started 3+ years ago through a series of random events that landed me at a bull sale in Gardnerville, Nevada. There I met Spencer Anderson of the Anderson Cattle Co. We wound up chatting, and after explaining to him what I was trying to do, he invited me to his cattle branding that would take place a few months down the road. At the time, I was as green as can be, so the whole thing was an eye opening experience to say the least. A look into the Western world that I’d been searching for. Spencer and his wife Jessica were the first people to let me IN - a debt I can never repay. They are first generation cattle ranchers with leases in Carson Valley, Nevada and Chico, California. I was immediately struck by not only their kindness, but their passion for the business and lifestyle. It was contagious. Over the years we’ve developed a friendship that I’m extremely grateful for, which came full circle when they asked me to produce some work for them, and later trusted me to tell their story in Working Ranch Magazine. They are as real as it gets, being very open about their struggles getting to where they are today - an incredibly refreshing contrast to the bullshit personas the rest of the world portrays on Instagram. Stories like theirs need to be told because it can inspire other people to follow their dreams in the same way.

If you’d like to get some of their beef shipped directly to your home, visit their website 2A Beef

Click here to view more of my cowboy photography

Cattle ranching in Carson Valley, Nevada

Anderson Cattle Co - Carson Valley, Nevada

Ranch direct beef in Carson Valley, Nevada