Rodeo Houston 2009 - Ferris Wheel 01

As of today's posting it is rodeo season here in Houston - big time. And if you can take the crowds, rodeo time in Houston is a bonanza for photographers, amateurs and professionals alike. I don't like big crowds, but will put up with them to take advantage of those opportunities - from the trail rides on the way into town, to the carnival and food vendors on the way into the facilities, to the livestock and breeders' shows, to the musical performances. Not to mention the rodeo itself, which I guess is what started the whole thing some time back.

In one of the arenas there is a huge section with vendors of all sorts that sell everything from hats to jewelry to leather goods to you-name-it. When we last went in 2009, one of those vendors sold photographs of the Old West, using Nikon equipment. I remember being captivated with the thought of this man's lifestyle...a fellow that could roam the plains, hills and wilderness doing nothing but taking pictures most of the year, then displaying them in a booth and selling prints at a decent price. There were great macro shots, shots of wild stallions and magnificent landscapes, shots of barns and wooden fences and the rustic things that I like. What a romantic existence, I thought.

Then I lingered to observe this fellow, and saw that he didn't really exhibit much joy or even look that happy. He answered my few questions a little brusquely, totally without enthusiasm. I left with the kids (who had grown a little impatient with my interest) having concluded that he must miss being with his family...if he had one. And if not, then lack of a family is pretty much a joyless existence anyway, and I wouldn't trade his life for mine, even with all of the equipment and "freedom" in the world.

The reason we went in 2009 was to expose one of my Chinese in-laws, fresh from Taiwan, to the great culture of our Western Ways. So we left early to beat the city traffic, weaving around the city buildings, parking in a lot that required a good three-city-block walk. Since she was here to learn English better in the first place, I took the time during that walk to teach her proper Rodeo Terminology, like "hoss" and "fixinta", as in "We're fixinta go over there". I am happy to report that by the time we got into the grounds she had it down pretty well, though she didn't find much opportunity to use it.

We did get there early in the day, and as can be seen in today's posting there was still fog on the ground. I went nuts seeing the Ferris wheel loom out from the shroud, with everything in the background still obscured. This and the next five postings will feature this ride, using the foggy background for effect. These are all taken with the Fujifilm 7000.



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Fujifilm Finepix 7000
ISO-160, f/8, 1/680 sec
Photo taken 03/21/09 by Jim Mahood