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

Tom Moorhouse - Texas Cowboy

Cowpuncher - Tom Moorhouse

Portrait of legendary Texas cowboy Tom Moorhouse

Tom Moorhouse

Llano Estacado Photos

Photographs of the Llano Estacado - Texas

The Llano Estacado is steeped in Texas mythology and comes up frequently in historic books, cattle ranching lore, and country songs. To the uninformed eye it can appear as a boring section of flat land, but “The Staked Plains” are a fascinating region of the United States that encompasses 37,452 square miles of the Texas Panhandle and Eastern New Mexico. It’s one of the largest tablelands on the entire continent of North America and feels impossibly flat. So much so that you’d assume it must be at or below sea level, but it’s lowest point is 3,000 ft in the southeast. From there is goes up at a uniform 10 ft per mile, reaching 5,000ft at it’s most northwest point. I’ve personally never been anywhere else in the world that exudes the same kind of energy as the Llano. To be in it makes you feel incredibly small but also free. There would be very little convincing needed for me to do a long term project focused solely on it. For now though, I’m going to do some research to find a wordsmith that somehow managed to describe such a place.

“It’s a long way, round the Llano Estacado” - Colter Wall

Llano Estacado - Texas 

Black and white photograph of a farm on the Llano Estacado 

Black and white photo of the Llano Estacado 

Photo of. a dust storm on the Llano Estacado in Texas 

Photo of roadside religious crosses on the Llano Estacado in Texas 

Photograph of a long dirt road on the Llano Estacado in Texas

Black and white photograph of a farm in the Texas panhandle 

Photograph of wind turbines on the Llano Estacado 

Blowing Rock, North Carolina Wall Art

Glen Burney Falls Trail

Photography Prints

Glen Burney Falls Trail

Blowing Rock is a special little mountain town in western North Carolina along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Thankfully it doesn’t get the traffic that Boone does because that would take away all of it’s charm. The Glen Burney Falls Trail starts just a few blocks off Main St. so you can get there from anywhere. Normally these easily accessible attractions are forgettable if not a total let down. Not this one. We were blown away. Granted the day we decided to hike, the forest put on special show with a thick layer of fog and mist that provided an eerie but beautiful vibe. Even without that, it’s still a beautiful trail winds gently through the woods providing great views of the waterfalls all along the way. It’s not a particularly hard hike either. In fact, it’s more of an aggressive walk than anything. so if you’re in Blowing Rock, add this short hike to the list. For only an hour or so of you’re time it provides a great mental checkout and check in with nature.

After you’re done, stop in to the Speckled Trout for lunch or dinner. They have great food and cocktails/beer. I really enjoyed the trout, grits, and collard greens. The vibe there is just great and helped along by a staff of waiters and bartenders than genuinely seem to enjoy their jobs.

If you’re visiting for a fly fishing trip, then definitely go to the Speckled Trout’s guide shop, which also has a bar in it!! I’ve been to a hell of a lot of mountain towns and lot of fly shops. Never once seen a fly shop with a bar. What a great little piece of America that you can only hope resists the massive commercialization that will inevitably be forced upon it in the future.

Contact me if you’d like wall art prints of the Glen Burney Falls Trail for your home, office, or commercial space - rob@robhammerphotogaphy.com

Hiking in Blowing Rock, North Carolina

Black and White North Carolina Wall Art

North Carolina Nature Photography

Glen Burney Falls Trail

North Carolina Nature Photography Prints

Best hike in Blowing Rock, North Carolina

Western Artist

Western Charcoal Artist

Was on a big gallery kick last month up in Wyoming, and while driving back home from Jackson Hole, stumbled upon the Western Skies Gallery in Afton. It’s a beautiful space in an unexpected place. Inside I was greeted by Doug Monson, owner of the gallery and artist himself. He specializes in western charcoal drawings, but also displays/sells work by other talented artists in various mediums. We got to chatting for a bit while he showed me his upstairs studio, which is as enviable a place as you’ll ever see. Truly a dream for any artist. Next thing you know, I got the gear out of the truck, and began making photographs of Doug at work. He makes beautiful drawings of wildlife as well as cowboys. Look up the one he did of a Raven. It’s stunning to see in person. Anyway, Monson is really nice guy that I very much enjoyed hanging out with while learning about his journey to where he is today. For years now I’ve got a lot of pleasure out of photographing people that are highly passionate about their work, no matter what kind of work that may be. There’s something very special about seeing someone in their element, working away in a manner only they know how, because you know there isn’t anywhere else they’d rather be.

Click here to see more of my Western photography

Best Distillery in Los Angeles

Dead of Night Distillery

Craft Spirits - Los Angeles

It seems that most people think of gin as that nasty pine needle tasting liquor that your grandfather had at his house. And I used to think the same thing. 6 months ago if you offered me a gin drink, I would have ignorantly turned it down thinking that all gin just tastes like floor cleaner. Dead of Night Distillery has completely changed my mind though. I’ve always been a beer guy, never much for liquor, but tasting this gin and the cocktails made with it, has me singing a different tune. Really great stuff and i’m excited to see where this recently opened distillery goes. If you’re anywhere in the Los Angeles and looking for spirits to make great craft cocktails, look up where to buy Dead of Night’s products. Aside from their vodka, gin, and rum, the head distiller also creates incredible small batch experimental spirits like limoncello, aquavit, and amaro.

Follow them on Instagram @dead_of_night_distilery or go to their WEBSITE.

Distilling craft spirits in Los Angeles, CA

Photograph of a distiller making gin in Los Angeles, CA

The best craft distillery in Los Angeles

Craft spirits made in Southern California

Distilling gin in LA

Photograph of a distiller making craft spirits in Los Angeles, California

Aaron Rokjer - owner and distiller at Dead of Night Distillery in Los Angeles, CA

American Backcourts - Basketball Hoop Photography

The farther I get into this project the more I love it. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I have some things in the works that I’m hoping to share soon.

Click here to see the whole series.