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

Cowboy Art

Western Cowboy Photography Prints for Sale

Bring the unique charm of the American West into your home with our collection of authentic limited edition cowboy photography prints. Each image captures the spirit of the frontier, showcasing iconic scenes of cowboys in action—wrangling cattle, riding horses across vast open plains, and building bonds in the branding pen.

These hand signed prints highlight the raw beauty of the Western landscape, from sweeping vistas of golden prairies to dramatic mountain backdrops. With a focus on authenticity, each photograph reflects the grit and grace of cowboy life, celebrating the tradition and heritage of this enduring culture.

Perfect for home décor or as a unique gift for lovers of Western history, our prints come in various sizes and formats, allowing you to find the perfect piece to complement your space. Bring the essence of the Wild West into your home with our stunning cowboy photography—where every print tells a story of adventure, resilience, and the timeless allure of the open range.

Click here to shop cowboy photography prints

Authentic western cowboy photography prints

Black and white framed cowboy photography prints

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

Western Horseman Magazine

Cowboy Photographer

It’s been 3.5+ years since I started photographing working cowboys all across the American West and I remain humbled by every opportunity that’s come along. This is by far my favorite project to date and one that I don’t plan on stopping. So it’s an honor being included in Western Horseman Magazine’s list of best photographers for 2024! If you could please take a minute to vote for me it would be greatly appreciated. You can do so once a day until July 1st at this link:

https://westernhorseman.com/best-of-western-horseman/people/#photographers

Thank you so much!

Eugene, Oregon Photo Gallery

Photography at Oregon

Maude Kerns Art Center

Honored to share that 12 of my black and white cowboy photography prints are part of an invitational group show at the Maude Kerns Art Center with Photography at Oregon. Along with my prints will be others by Barbara Bakalarova, Tracy Barbutes, Sarah Grew, Eric Kunsman, Willie Osterman, Osceola Refetoff, and Nolan Streitberger. If you’re in Eugene, Oregon area please stop in to check out the work from May 10-June 7. They will be having an opening reception on May 10th and an artist talk on June 1st. I’m not able to attend either day, but I still encourage you to check out the show.

Click here to shop my fine art cowboy photography prints

Photography exhibition at Maude Kerns Art Center - Eugene, Oregon

Montana Cowboys

Cowboy Photography - Big Sky Journal - Wall Art

Montana Cowboys Prints

Wyoming and Montana are parts of the world that have become synonymous with cowboys and the American West, and that didn’t happen by accident. I haven’t read any research to back this up, but it’d be a good bet to say there are more cattle in both of those states than there are humans. Which means those cows live in some of the prettiest country on planet earth. It’s been my good fortune to visit a number of historic cattle ranches in both states, and do they ever leave an impression. The OW Ranch in Montana in particular, really left it’s mark. The OW has been around since the late 1800’s. The famous Western photographer L.A. Huffman made a lot of photographs there in his day, one of which was hanging on the wall in the kitchen.

So grateful to be invited to these incredible properties and for the opportunity to document good people while they work. There are some handy cowboys in these photographs that were recently published in The Big Sky Journal (out of Bozeman, Montana). It’s always nice to have work show up in places where you know the viewers will appreciate it.

Click here to see more of my Western Photography

Click here to shop Cowboy Wall Art for your home, office, or commercial space

Magazine article about cowboys

Montana cowboy wall art prints

Big Sky Journal cowboys article

Wyoming cowboy photography prints

Cowboy Culture Photography

American West - Wall Art - Cowboy Culture

What a humbling gift it is being able to spend time on working cattle ranches. This photography series documenting cowboys in the American West has been going on for well over two years now, and I hope it never ends. There is no amount of gratitude I could express to the cowboys and cowgirls for allowing me to be along for the ride. Most of them would never call it work, but still, what they do isn’t just a vital key to supplying the country with beef, it’s an undeniably important piece of American culture. One that most people will never understand because they aren’t able to see it with their own eyes.

This set of images is from the Diamond A Ranch outside of Seligman, Arizona. At 750,000 acres, it’s the largest in the southwest. A piece of property that will make you feel small in a hurry. The images you see here are from my second visit to the ranch, and I’m proud to call a few of the people in them my friends. Stay tuned for more from this shoot. Some of the images should be published in a magazine soon.

Reach out directly if you’d like prints of anything from this cowboy photography series for your home, office, or commercial space.

Photograph print of two cowboys riding their horses along the rim of the Grand Canyon at sunrise in Arizona

Photograph of two cowboys riding horses at sunrise with a beautiful western scene behind them

Photograph of two cowboys roping a wild steer into a trailer on a cattle ranch in Arizona

Black and white photograph of two cowboys roping a wild steer

Authentic photograph of cowboys eating dinner in a bunkhouse on a cattle ranch in the American West

Photograph of cowboys eating dinner in a bunkhouse

Photograph of a cowboy saddling a horse early in the morning when the moon is still up

Photograph of a cowboy saddling his horse early in the morning on an Arizona cattle ranch

Photograph of two cowboys riding horses through steep rocky country  on a cattle ranch in Arizona

Photograph of two cowboy riding their horses through tough terrain in Arizona

Authentic photography print of two cowboys in a bunkhouse

Black and White photograph of two cowboys in a bunkhouse

Photograph of the sign for Rose Well on a gate at the Diamond A Ranch in Seligman, Arizona

Sign for the Rose Well camp on the Diamond A Ranch - Center of the Universe

Arizona Cattle Ranch

K4 Ranch - Prescott, Arizona

Western photography when it comes to cowboys and cattle ranching has been around a long time. You might argue as long as the profession itself, since the legendary L.A. Huffman did it back in the 1800’s. Art collectors like to hang fine art photographs of the action - cattle branding, bucking broncs, stampedes, etc. And all of that is damn sure fun to photograph, but what about the quiet moments? Before and after the action when a cattle ranch is at rest. Those are just as fun to photograph, and important to show as a piece of the story telling puzzle. Last week I was fortunate to visit the historic K4 Ranch outside of Prescott, Arizona. It’s got a rich history in the cattle world as well as for it’s horses with notable bloodlines coming from the famous Driftwood Ike, among many others. Being there for the action is always prefered, but I find myself being very grateful for the off times that make way for images you would never otherwise have time to see or make.

Click here to see more of my photos series on Cowboys in the American West.

Contact me directly for prints of my cowboy photography. All images are available in different sizes for your home, office, or commercial space.

Photograph of a revolver gun in the console of a cowboy's pickup truck

A cowboy’s revolver

Photograph of early morning light on the horse corrals at the K4 Ranch in Arizona

Horse corrals on the K4 Ranch in Prescott Arizona

Photograph of a bucket of horseshoes on a cattle ranch in Arizona

Photograph of used horseshoes sitting in a bucket on a cattle ranch in Arizona

Ropes from King’s Saddlery hang on a cow skull on the K4 Ranch in Prescott, Arizona

Photograph of a cowboys roping dummy

Photograph of a roping dummy on a cattle ranch in the American West

Photograph of a cowboys shoeing station on an Arizona cattle ranch

A cowboy’s shoeing station for his horse on a cattle ranch in Arizona

Boots O'Neal

Boots O’Neal - Cowboy - 6666 Ranch - Texas

Being a photographer has been a great pleasure and an even greater adventure. It’s taken me to some outstanding parts of the earth and allowed me to photograph some of the most famous athletes on it. “Who is your favorite?”, has always been a common question. Until recently, that was an impossible question to answer, now the final is Boots. Boots O’Neal is a 90 year old cowboy on the 6666 Ranch in Texas. A more inspiring human you will not meet. To learn more about him continue reading this piece I wrote that was originally published with Wrangler.

Click here to see more of my cowboy photography

Photograph of legendary Texas cowboy Boots O'Neal on the 6666 Ranch

Boots O’Neal on his horse working cattle in the corrals at the 6666 Ranch

Imagine for a moment, waking up in the hospital with 12 broken ribs, a punctured lung, broken vertebrae, and a bleeding brain. Now imagine that pain at 82 years of age. Cal Ripken Jr. was Major League Baseball's “Ironman”. Earning the nickname after playing 2,632 consecutive games. Put those end to end and you’ve got over 7 years of straight baseball. An astonishing stat and impressive feat only possible for a human made from the toughest stock. No offense to Mr. Ripken, but that doesn’t hold a candle to the Texas legend - Boots O’Neal, who's been horseback for the better part of the last 75 years. Despite the aforementioned injuries, piled on a lifetime of other broken body parts, the now 90 year old cowboy shows no desire whatsoever to retire. You’d think someone that’s lived in such a way would have a face much resembling their saddle that’s endured as many miles. Instead, O’Neal’s is endearing, and fixed with a perpetual smile that causes you to do the same. The kind of guy that inadvertently makes you a better person just by being in his presence. 

While we’re on the stat train, let’s dole out a few more just to drive the point home, what an outlier he truly is. The average retirement age in America is 62. The average age of death is 78. And a cowboy will normally take home about $31,466 a year. At a time in life when most folks are either dead or in a nursing home, Boots wakes up every morning with excitement to saddle a horse and work cattle alongside fellow cowpunchers that could be his grandkids. People just aren’t built like him anymore. Not a partier, but it would be safe to put O’Neal in the Keith Richards class. Immortal freaks, in the most beautiful way possible. 

Portrait of Boots O'Neal - Cowboy on the 6666 Ranch in Texas

Portrait of Boots O’Neal

Cowboys in general are a strand of human unlike the rest of us. Born not made. And from birth, it was obvious O’Neal created a category all his own. Growing up in the 30’s he was one of 8 children living in a home without running water. The bathroom was an outhouse, and the bath, a tub filled with water and placed next to the kitchen oven, door open for heat. After 3 or 4 of the kids took their turn, that water was tossed outside to calm down the dust. He was never much for school. The only thing he excelled at was boxing, but usually just looked forward to running off the bus and into the barn to saddle a horse, only coming in when his mother hung a white sheet on the clothesline - their version of a dinner bell. 9th grade was as far as he cared to go, leaving home in August of 49’ at sixteen to cowboy for the JA ($90/week). That job found him on the wagon, sleeping in only a bedroll 6-7 months at a time. A lifestyle that fit him just fine. 

Before we go any further, it would be appropriate to define what makes a real cowboy. The loud mouth sporting a big black hat getting in drunken bar fights makes for good movies, but that’s about it. According to the man himself, a real cowboy is polite. Smooth. Talks gentlemanly to ladies and is good under fire. Dusty Burson (32) - foreman on the Four Sixes and close friend to Mr. O’Neal said it best - “What’s a cowboy? Well, they’re good people. Honest. They do what they say they’re gonna do. If they tell you they’ll be there to help, they’ll be there, and they’ll stay to the end.” If that statement made its way into Websters, the following words should read “also see Boots O’Neal”. 

Photograph of Boots O'Neal branding calves on the 6666 Ranch in Texas

Boots O’Neal branding calves in the early morning on the 6666 Ranch in Texas

Photograph of a famous Texas cowboy

Boots O’Neal’s custom spurs

After the JA, he continued punching cows in different places including a quarter century stay at the Waggoner Ranch. All the while racking up a collection of buckles and saddles from bronc riding in rodeos all over the country. Word is he’s still pretty sticky. A wife (Nelda) also came into the mix as did a daughter (Laurie). Despite being opposites, Boots and Nelda remained in love for 44 years until her passing. She was a proper lady that enjoyed being in town but fully supported his innate need for open country. As their relationship grew, his career did along with it. The 50’s’ found him in Korea with the Army, where he stared out at vast foreign valleys, daydreaming about them filled with 1000 steer, and wondering why in the world they didn’t have any. After two years he was back on a ranch working hard to become a Peace Office and Brand Inspector at a time when cattle were still shipped by railroad. Along with the coveted title came a doubled salary, new clothes, fancy truck, and expense account. A novelty quickly erased by jealousy every time business on a ranch forced him to watch cowboys ride away on horses while he sat in a truck headed back to the office. “I just wanted to punch cows” he said. So he gave back a job that most in the industry would kill for and reclaimed his true love, working cattle from the back of a horse. 

Love is what it takes because the life of a cowboy asks a lot of a person, physically and emotionally. “ Even when I know tomorrow is gonna be a bad deal, and they’re predicting snow, and the wind coming out of the north blowing, and we’re gonna ride straight into it in the morning, I just look forward to getting out there and freezing my tail off” says O’Neal. How many 90 year olds have you ever heard say something like that? Burson again offers some insight - “he wakes up thinking I’m going to be happy today. He doesn’t let circumstances dictate happiness.” Dusty was the one who found the 82 year old O’Neal alone in a pasture, after the horse wreck that would have ended any mortal man. Even if it didn’t put him in the ground, the pain alone would cause a rational person to take a brush with death as a sign and say, ok, it’s been a good run. Burson visited him in the hospital shortly after and recalled the nurse asking why he kept lifting his left leg up in the air. Obviously, it was to keep the mobility of toeing a stirrup. “That’s how bad he wants to be a cowboy when he grows up” says Burson. 6 weeks later, he was back on that same horse and continues riding him today.  

Black and white photograph Boots O'Neal and Charlie Ferguson talking in the chuck wagon tent on the 6666 Ranch in Texas

Boots O’Neal talks with chuck wagon cook Charlie Ferguson on the 6666 Ranch in Texas

Seems like it came naturally for Boots, but don’t get it twisted, any good cowboy is a student of the trade. Always figuring out a way to get it done better without asking for recognition. All of the best cowboys Boots ever knew and patterned himself after, accomplished unthinkable feats even Taylor Shariden couldn’t script, in the middle of nowhere with only a few people to witness. Another friend and Texas icon Tom Moorehouse (72) is quick to point out “I’ve known Boots almost all my life, and anything I’ve got to say about him is good”. From the outside you might think that cowboying is a physical game. Only for the young. Not so. Sure, you need the gumption to handle extreme physical abuse and relentless weather that doesn’t end after an eight hour shift. But Moorehouse says the thing that separates Boots from the rest is that he’s a “keen observer”. He continues “my dad used to say a real cowboy is somebody that pays attention. Now that doesn’t sound like a good story, but that’s the truth.” There is so much that can go wrong when you’re working with 2,000+lb animals and navigating remote unforgiving terrain. One mistake could mean the end. 

We’ve already established that Boots is an enigma, but for arguments sake, let’s say he got lucky? Somehow the body that’s been broken more times than anyone can count, managed to miss the big one. Even with luck, longevity like his doesn’t just happen. And living on a wagon, eating ranch food, wouldn’t make any blueprint for “healthy living”. Cowboys require hearty meals to get them through their overly demanding lives. So It should be no surprise that beef has made its way to Boots’ plate just about every day for the past 90 years. Along with the beef came biscuits, gravy, and potatoes. Breakfast was peanut butter and syrup sandwiches. All of which goes against everything you’ll read from the so-called nutrition experts. Although pinto beans, prunes, and raisins are foods he now tries to consume regularly along with said beef. The fresh fruit and vegetables he also concentrates on just wasn’t a thing back then.”It wasn’t until I got up in years that I ever worried about putting something bad in my body.”  A chuckle was the only answer given when asked about exercise, but “I’ve never been short on sleep” says O’Neal. Which he believes has been the holy grail to his success. For as long as he can remember, even as a young buck, he’d turn in early, ensuring 8-9 hours of shuteye every night. These days he says “it takes me longer to rest than it does to get tired”, but it becomes obvious shortly after meeting him, that modesty is one of his many virtues. He’ll try and claim that he can’t do this, that, or the other. Then he slips into the saddle and the truth is revealed. “It takes a whole crew to keep me going”, he says. Again, modesty perfected. Perhaps his days aren’t spent aboard wild broncs, but he always gets the job done with grace, and his expertise couldn’t be matched anywhere in the world. Ironic for a guy who’s never considered himself very smart. What Boots has can’t be taught. He’s got a PHD in punching cows. Anybody will tell you he’s on the Mount Rushmore of the cowboy universe, but who the hell else could be up there with him? Is there another human that’s punched cows for almost 8 decades?  “It’s amazing what all he’s got stored up inside him that someone oughta have recorded” Dusty says. A lot of people with such knowledge and history can become high and mighty. Not Boots. He’ll let you mess up, then suggest, in a non degrading way, how to do it better. He knows we’re all in this thing together.

Photograph of a famous Texas cowboy

Boots O’Neal offloading his horse from a trailer on the 6666 Ranch in Texas

Photograph of Boots O'Neal dragging a calf to the fire for branding on the 6666 Ranch in Texas

Boots O’Neal roping calves on the 6666 Ranch in Texas

If you think about the human condition and what we’re all after, one of the key ingredients is professional happiness. Everyone wants to spend their waking hours doing something they love. Why is that goal so elusive, so rare? A million dollar question. Even harder than finding that happiness, is keeping it. Somehow Boots O’Neal has managed to do it at one of the most physically demanding jobs on the planet and continues today at a very high level. Maybe the how doesn’t really matter. Maybe we should just use Boots as inspiration to be better humans. The iconic Four Sixes has been his home for the past 26 years. Panhandle, Texas is the closest town to their northern division where we met. The town sign fittingly reads “People of Pride and Purpose”. Just like the dictionary, there might as well be a picture of Boots next to that slogan. He figured IT out and still can’t get enough. He doesn’t need to work in a monetary sense. He wants to work, although it’d be a stretch to hear him use a four letter word like that. Even on a rare day off, he doesn’t look forward to a hobby or a vacation. Instead he’ll watch a rodeo on television or sit in a chair outside his bunkhouse apartment to watch the remuda come in. A sight he says, of 50 horses all running together, is one that most people will never get to see. Bob Dylan wrote a song on this very topic using only 17 words:  

“All the tired horses in the sun…..”

The guy has done it all, taken the beatings, and asked for more. He’s been inducted into every Hall of Fame a cowpuncher could possibly be associated with. Somehow that doesn’t seem enough of an honor though. Boots should be everyone's hero. He’s a national treasure and outstanding human being.  We should all strive to accomplish in our own lives what he has in his. Burson says “Yeah, he’s a cowboy, but he wants to be one tomorrow too”. If more people had that attitude, the world would be a better place. 

We were just about done talking when Boots’ story paused abruptly . A mischievous smile came to his face and the words stopped flowing. His attention fixed on one of the guys in a nearby corral working a young horse that was fixing to blow up. The grin stayed as he reminisced “I rode a lot of bucking horses in years past. I could get on a horse like that, just gather that thing up, and he’d be 3 feet in the air when I got that right stirrup”. Boots is a Christian. If he weren’t, and followed a religion believing in reincarnation, he says that’s what he’d want to come back as, a bucking horse. At 90 years young he knows precisely how good his life has been and isn’t scared of the inevitable. In a very matter of fact way he spoke about his funeral, being buried in the cemetery on the Four Sixes, and the speech by his friend Joe Leathers. When asked what he hopes Joe will say, Boots paused then replied humbly with a far off stare ”He was an honorable man. Done what he said he would. And didn’t mistreat his horses” 

Portrait of Boots O'Neal the famous Texas cowboy

Portrait of Boots O’Neal

Silhouette of a cowboy on his horse at sunrise on a cattle ranch in Texas

Boots O’Neal on his horse at sunrise on the 6666 Ranch in Texas

Contact me directly if you’d like a print of Boots O’Neal - rob@robhammerphotography.com

Montana Road Trip

Talking highly about Montana is better left to the most lyrical of wordsmiths because I certainly can’t do that place any justice. Maybe that should be a personal goal? I’m fresh off the road after spending over a week in that glorious state and can’t wait to go back. This trip was particularly visual due to to the heavy winter snowfall that made everything greener than green. I’ve never been to Ireland, but the particular hue off grass felt more like something you could only see there. Check back soon to see images from the two cattle ranches I photographed, but don’t expect any images of trout. Those are only in my head.

American West Photography

Cowboy Photography - Prints

It’s always great to get press on your work, especially when it’s a big outlet like the Daily Mail. If you want to go on “followers’, they come in at 22+million on Facebook, whatever that means. Either way, I’m honored to have them do a feature on my cowboy photography - a project I love. It’s also quite young compared to some of the others like Barbershops of America or American Backcourts, which have both been going on now for ten years!

Click here to see more of my cowboy photography. Or contact me directly if you’re looking Western prints / wall art for your home, office, or commercial space.

Cowboy Photography - Buckaroos

The Great Basin Buckaroo

Cowboy Photography - American West - Prints

What a blast this project has been over the past year and a half. Maybe more? Would have to go back and check to see when it really began. In December I visited the C-Punch Ranch in Lovelock, Nevada and the Winecup Gamble Ranch in Montello, Nevada. Both ranches were jaw dropping beautiful and incomprehensibly large. The C-Punch, the biggest I’ve been to so far, is 1.8 million acres. Yeah. Try wrapping your head around that. Seeing all these properties in different parts of the country has been amazing. Each region has its own beauty. Nobody ever said to pick a favorite, but there’s something about the land in northern Nevada that really does it for me. Still working on putting that into words, but it’s special, to say the least. Forgive me for not sharing too many images here, but I’ve got to hold back so there is plenty of fresh content for the book.

Click here to see more of my cowboy photography or contact me directly if you’d like to purchase prints for your home, office, and commercial space. My western wall art is available in multiple sizes.

Photograph of a cowboy riding his horse through a huge pasture on the C-Punch Ranch - Lovelock, Nevada

C-Punch Ranch - Lovelock, Nevada

Winecup Gamble Ranch - Montello, Nevada

Winecup Gamble Ranch - Montello, Nevada

Cowboys working on the Winecup Gamble Ranch in Montello, Nevada

Winecup Gamble Ranch

A cowboy working on the C-Punch Ranch in Lovelock, Nevada

C-Punch Ranch

Cowboys roping cattle on the C-Punch Ranch in Lovelock, Nevada

C-Punch Ranch

Cowboys working colts in a round pen on the C-Punch Ranch in Lovelock, Nevada

C-Punch Ranch

A cowboy on the C-Punch Ranch in Lovelock, Nevada

C-Punch Ranch

Trapper Rogers - Winecup Gamble Ranch - Montello, Nevada

Portrait of Trapper Rodgers

A cowboy lets his horse drink water after branding on the C-Punch Ranch in Lovelock, Nevada

C-Punch Ranch

A cowboy pets his cattle dog after a day of work on the C-Punch Ranch in Lovelock, Nevada

C-Punch Ranch

Wyoming Cattle Ranch

Wyoming Cowboy Photography

American West

A cowboy gathering cattle on a ranch outside Laramie, Wyoming. Cowboy Photographer Rob Hammer.

Wyoming cattle drive

Wyoming is a land rich in rugged beauty, where open plains meet towering mountain ranges, and the cowboy way of life still thrives. One of the most iconic images that evokes the spirit of the American West is that of a working cowboy on a Wyoming cattle ranch. These photos not only showcase the breathtaking landscapes but also the hard work, dedication, and heritage that define ranch life.

A cattle drive on a large ranch in Wyoming by cowboy photographer Rob Hammer.

Cowboys moving cattle on a ranch in Wyoming

A cowboy lets his horse drink from a pond during a long cattle drive on a ranch in Wyoming by cowboy photographer Rob Hammer.

Black and white cowboy photography print

Cowboys herd cattle on a rugged section of open ranch in Wyoming by cowboy photographer Rob Hammer

Wyoming cowboys

ROAD TRIP

THE BAD:This past week was the first time in a while since I’ve been on this particular route through Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The findings were not good economically. It was hard to see so many familiar small town restaurants and hotels closed, boarded up, or in the process of being demolished. Maybe the timing was a coincidence, but you have to wonder if it was all the result of COVID? Either way it’s a shame.

THE GOOD: Road trips are always so much fun, educational, and therapeutic. This one had me shooting on a cattle ranch (The Four Sixes) in the Texas panhandle where I met some great people and had a hell of a lot of fun shooting with them. Will be a while until I can post those images. So for now you can click HERE to see more of my Cowboy photography.

Cowboy Photographs

Cowboy Photography - Prints - American West Wall Art

Western Photos - Cowboy Culture

Had a conversation with a buddy the other day about hunting/fishing which came after a very unproductive outing that certainly wasn’t from a lack of effort. When you put time into either of those sports it can be frustrating to get skunked. Frustrating isn’t a strong enough word actually. My most recent trip was a few weeks ago on the lower Owens River outside of Bishop, CA. Felt like I was doing everything right but results said the opposite. The fish were rising and eating bugs off the top. Every bug that is, besides mine. Kept changing flies, moving locations, water depth, yada yada yada. Not so much as a nibble. Later in the day I ran across a lady about 75 years old who had just pulled in a nice brown trout and quickly mentioned that it was her first time ever fly fishing. Ok, I thought, this place is going to be a Hand Out. Hour and a half later, not a damn thing. So I sat on the tailgate drinking a beer at sunset staring at the pastel sky saying out loud “I fuckin hate fly fishing” to absolutely no one. Which obviously isn’t true, but my ego was damaged and I was tired. And when you’ve been fishing for any amount of time, you realize that’s just how it goes sometimes. Back to that conversation. We talked about how boring it would be if you went out every day and netted 20 monster trout. Or were guaranteed to hit your limit of ducks, deer, elk, whatever it is you’re after. No, that would suck. That is not a sport. Where is the fun in that? There is none.

It’s probably a stretch to make a comparison, but that’s the way I feel about morning light. Later afternoon light for that matter too. It’s so good that you want to hit the pause button on the sun to make it stay in that position, barely peaking over the horizon. Crisp. Golden. Tasty. Then you realize a lot of the appeal is due to it’s fleeting nature. Morning/evening shots wouldn’t be as desirable if you could make them all day. It’s fun to dream though. Out on a ranch, mornings are special. Really special. You’re lucky to get a couple good frames in before that light is gone. And that is one of the many factors that what will keep me going back again and again and again.

Click here to see more Western Photographs