Calf Branding Revisited

About a year ago, my friend, Cherie, and I were invited to photograph a calf branding at a ranch at the end of a country road that pretty much narrowed down to one lane. We weren't certain that we were in the right place, but out in the middle of nowhere is, well, out in the middle of nowhere. The ranch itself was nestled up against the foothills blanketed with young shoots of spring grass (absolutely beautiful). The air was bitter cold, but at the same time sunny with puffy clouds. The foreground of the corral was dotted with pick-up trucks, horse trailers and horses. We could hear the gallop of horse hooves, whistles, moaning calves, cowboy (and cowgirl) hollers and laughter as we climbed out of Cherie's truck. The smell of burning flesh and hair was in the air. Yep, we were in the right place. I'm not a professional photographer, I'm not a fantastic photographer nor am I really a good photographer, but it was an opportunity and experience I will value for a long time. All of the photos following have been converted to look like pencil sketches. To see more cowboy photos log onto http://www.gyokleyphotography.blogspot.com/ and click on "Cowboy Up" on the right of the page under "Gallery". Some of the same photos are posted in color there.