Time Travel

The photo above was taken at the North American Indian Days or NAID held every year by the Blackfeet tribe at Browning, Montana. There, members of the tribe gather and celebrate their heritage by dancing, singing, displaying their treasured regalia and horses, and their culture in all of its splendor.

Sometime during the celebration they hold a parade and it’s a grand parade. Everyone shows up as the participants walk, ride or are carried in decorated vehicles through the streets of Browning. Many with their own interpretation of how things were before modern civilization entered the picture.

This woman riding her prized horse with its foal walking along side in the parade is an example of how the culture and traditions of the tribe are upheld. As an observer you can choose to view this scene as it actually occurred, where the parade passed in front of a large store with crowds of people standing in front, cars parked along the roadway, the street itself in stark relief with its blacktop reality as an element in the image, a strict documentation of the event as it actually was, or you can choose to see it another way. As an artist first and photographer second and a hopeless romantic thrown in to boot, I chose to see her as a member of the tribe on a journey to the summer camping grounds, where there was plenty of new grass for the horses, the game was plentiful in the mountains, and space in the lush valley to set up their lodges while they lived their lives as they always had in the past.

A generous use of photo editing software allowed me to time travel and remove the modern day distractions, the cars, the buildings, the crowds, hopefully recreating that feeling of a bygone era. Romanticized, of course, but that’s how I see a lot of the world. Whether it actually existed like this doesn’t matter, Art is what you see in your minds eye whether it’s a gritty fact-filled stark reality with all its warts and blemishes, or  an idyllic imagined peaceful scene. There’s no political agenda here, just an attempt to show the beauty and history and yes the nostalgia of an incredible people as it may have been in a long ago time. Time travel and an emotional escape to a place that may never have existed as portrayed but certainly should have.

If you get an opportunity go and see the powwow of the Blackfeet tribe at Browning, Montana. You might just see your own vision, all you have to do is look and imagine.

Cowboy’s Monday Morning – Bull’s Saturday Night

This post has been moved to OpenChutes.com. All future postings of Powwows, Indian Relay Races, Rodeos and Rendezvous will be posted there from now on exclusively. So if you’re looking for new images and posts for all those events attended this year, plus all the old posts posted on BigShotsNow.com check out OpenChutes.com. See you there!

Last year at The Blackfeet’s annual North American Indian Days or NAID we had a chance to observe this interesting phenomenon during their rodeo. It was a short little presentation of how the cowboy’s and the bulls get along. If you had any thoughts that bull riding was like professional wrestling you might think again as both the cowboy and the bull would try and convince you otherwise.

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The title of today’s post is Cowboy’s Monday Morning – Bull’s Saturday night. The cowboy is having a Monday morning due to the fact that for whatever reason he neglected to hold on very tightly to the Bull rope, his lifeline and anchor point to remain seated firmly on the bull’s back, and to maintain the proper posture required to look good to impress any ladies watching. This lack of attention on his part meant he would soon be leaving the safety and comfort of his seat on the bulls back.

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The bull being very, very sensitive to the rider on his back has been waiting impatiently for this slight error to occur. When it does that is the beginning of the Bull’s Saturday night as things begin to become very entertaining for the bull. There will dancing and singing and prancing in the street as the bull capitalizes on the cowboys lack of attention.

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As the bull causes the separation of the cowboy from his back he just glances back slightly to make any corrections in his form and to check that the cowboy will land in the spot where he can bring his hindquarters squarely down on the cowboys chest. This is called “stomping the cowboy silly” in rodeo parlance. The bull enjoys this part very much.

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As the cowboy lands perfectly and shows the proper amount of discomfort the bull raises his hindquarters for a perfect two point landing on the cowboys chest. This is called scoring and usually gets the bull big points. The cowboy not so much. His score is rapidly going down the tubes right now.

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Here we see the bull performing his trademark happy dance, similar to when a football player scores a touchdown. He is very pleased at this point. The cowboy isn’t as thrilled with how things turned out and is actively thinking that the job down at the Post Office doesn’t sound too bad at the moment.

This is just one little story of the constant battle between man and beast and rodeos and photographers and Blackfeet bull riders and rides to the ER and extra hay for the bull and all things rodeo. This time things went in favor of the beast. Next time Man might prevail. It’s up to you to decide who you want to vote for. In this particular battle the odds are slightly in favor of the bull. But every once in a while the cowboy wins. That’s nice too. How’s your Monday morning going. If it is better than the cowboys, well hell, go get yourself another cup of coffee. You deserve it.

Night Comes To The Blackfeet Camp

This post has been moved to OpenChutes.com. All future postings of Powwows, Indian Relay Races, Rodeos and Rendezvous will be posted there from now on exclusively. So if you’re looking for new images and posts for all those events attended this year, plus all the old posts posted on BigShotsNow.com check out OpenChutes.com. See you there!

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The day has been blisteringly hot. Smoke from the western forest fires has been drifting past the camp, sometimes so thick you felt like you were next to the flames. There was some relief from the heat as the sun began its journey past the horizon but not that much. There was no relief from the smoke.

As you looked about the camp the lodges began to fade to black, the lodge poles standing out in stark relief against the sky. But the sky. How beautiful was the sky. If it hadn’t been the result of the massive catastrophe that the smoke represented the resulting colors caused by the sunlight’s passage through it would have been the most beautiful thing you’d ever seen. It was still gorgeous but you knew in the back of your mind this sunset wouldn’t have been this intense if it hadn’t been for the smoke.

However reality is what is happening right now. These events are real. The sun setting, the smoke, the camp, the dancing, everything is real. You might wish the smoke wasn’t there. You might wish the heat was less, but it isn’t and this what you have to accept as an observer and participant in the life that is happening  around you right now. To get the most out of life embrace the time you’re in. Savor every moment because this experience will not come again.

Bull Riding – Not Aways A Love Story

This post has been moved to OpenChutes.com. All future postings of Powwows, Indian Relay Races, Rodeos and Rendezvous will be posted there from now on exclusively. So if you’re looking for new images and posts for all those events attended this year, plus all the old posts posted on BigShotsNow.com check out OpenChutes.com. See you there!

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There’s not a lot of love lost between the cowboys and the bulls at the best of times, but sometimes things are a little more intense than others. As the soon as the chute opened on this ride you knew it wasn’t going to end well.

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The bull had been feeling peckish most of the day and wasn’t in the best of moods to begin with.

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When the cowboy with the unique headgear climbed aboard, well, that was the last straw.

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The bull decided to do his patented shake and bake and then tried to roll out the dough, so to speak. With the cowboy being the dough today. When he turned to look the cowboy in the eye the message was pretty clear, “I’m not done with you yet ,boy.” being understood.

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Fortunately for the cowboy, his angels in baggy pants were there to save his bacon. Distracting the bull from performing its next indignity on the cowboy, the rodeo clowns ran into the fray giving the cowboy a chance to get away with his parts intact if not his dignity.

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The bull remembering his original intention of dismembering the cowboy was somewhat upset that he got away, and looked around closely for someone else to vent on.

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Seeing it was pretty much over the bull let everyone know that things would be different next time. And there would be a next time. As long as there are cowboys and bulls and rodeos, next time is just around the corner.

North American Indian Days 2015

This post has been moved to OpenChutes.com. All future postings of Powwows, Indian Relay Races, Rodeos and Rendezvous will be posted there from now on exclusively. So if you’re looking for new images and posts for all those events attended this year, plus all the old posts posted on BigShotsNow.com check out OpenChutes.com. See you there!

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Last week, July 9th thru the 12th, The Blackfeet tribe put on its 64th annual North American Indian days (or NAID) on its reservation at Browning, Montana. It was 4 solid days of Dancing, singing, fellowship, and socializing amongst one of the largest gathering of Indian tribes in the United States and Canada.

Every event held throughout the celebration began with the Grand Entrance where the color guard, made up of military veterans from the various tribes, brought in the colors. These included our American flag, Canada’s flag, the Blackfeet tribe’s flag, and others to be presented with respect to everyone assembled. Many men and women of the tribes served in the armed forces and this is a very important part of the ceremony. To participate in this honor, with drums sounding out their deep resonance, singers celebrating with their voices, joining the gathering of hundreds of spectators, the sun beating down and the hot wind blowing through the presentation arbor, this is an experience that will remain with you for a very long time.

When you attend this event one of the first things you notice is the riot of color around you. The regalia, the decorations, the site itself is full of every hue of color imaginable, from the earth tones of the arbor and dancing area to the manmade colors of some regalia, and the natural shades of the surrounding area. The natural light of the far northern part of our country has its own unique look and feel also, and being just a little more than 12 miles from the eastern entrance to Glacier National Park adds to the overall effect with mountains in the background and of course amazing sunsets.

The sounds are the next thing you notice as the deep rhythmic notes of the many drums and songs work their way into your senses. Drums and drummers from many places around the country, the singers joining in, the sounds of the calls made by the various participants as they dance around the arbor, are nearly overwhelming. You are immersed in the experience completely. They draw you in and mesmerize you even if you don’t understand the words. It is easy to get lost in the sound and action and swirling colors, but that is part of the experience of being here. And it feels good.

Over the next few days we will be bringing you the sights of this incredible experience, the regalia , the dances, along with the other events such as the rodeos and Indian Relay Races, plus some of the views of the countryside around the events themselves. It was a spectacular experience. If you can, go to the next one, it is worth every second you spend there. The Blackfeet welcome all guests and you’ll never forget the time you spent at The North American Indian Days celebration.