Stockyards City Photos
It’s been around since 1910, during the dawn of Oklahoma’s statehood, exactly 100 years. Every week thousands of cattle are trucked in from far away, sorted and loaded into corrals,…
May 26th, 2010 | Published in Assignment, Photography
It’s been around since 1910, during the dawn of Oklahoma’s statehood, exactly 100 years. Every week thousands of cattle are trucked in from far away, sorted and loaded into corrals, sold in groups to a few dozen men in white cowboy hats in a humid auction room. Then they are loaded up by the buyers and taken to their new homes. It used to be the world’s largest stockyards.
It’s a special place with one foot in the past, one in the present. Businesses that cater to cowboys still hang on in a small section of Oklahoma City known as Stockyards City. Custom hatteries, tack shops, boots and western wear stores, the famous Cattlemen’s Restaurant. The whole place smells of cow pies, leather, diesel fumes, and grilled steaks. It was a project I was excited to work on – my Grandpa was a part-time rancher and so is his son, my uncle Robert. I grew up around the culture, the sights and smells, the kind folks. Cow crap even smells nice to me. This project was a chance to connect with my Grandpa, now long gone, and remember those times, those ways.
It’s premature to show you these photos, as this a book project that is currently in the works. Many of these shots will likely not be used. But I tend to sit on shots far too long… so anyhow, enjoy the preview.
