‘Cool’ and Texas don’t usually go together, but if someone was
pressed to think of something cool in Texas, they’d probably think
of Austin and its Austin City Limits Festival, live music, and food
trailers. But in my opinion, the coolest part of Texas actually
extends in a 60-mile radius around Austin; in a part of Texas
known as Hill Country. This is where you’ll find towns such as
Buda, Bastrop, Dripping Springs, Llano, and Marble Falls. It’s also
where you’ll find me most Summer nights photographing a ritual
of-sort; one that is old-fashioned, blue-collar, and exhilarating:
the small-town Texas rodeo. And this is important because the
rodeo is much more than a simple series of cowboy events. These
men and woman don’t pledge a life-long allegiance to a
corporation, they pledge their allegiance to a way of life. That’s a
spirit I tried to capture as it’s incredibly cool.
