Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Photography by Phifer, James Phifer
160 Plays2 years ago
Join us on this episode as we dive into the thrilling world of rodeo photography with the renowned James Phifer, the owner of Photos by Phifer and Rodeo Bum Photography. As a National Finals Rodeo (NFR) Photographer with a portfolio that includes features in Cowboys & Indians Blogs, Breakaway Roping Journal, Barrel Horse News, Cowgirl Magazine Blogs, and many more, James Phifer shares his incredible journey behind the lens. Discover the artistry and skill required to capture the heart-pounding action of prestigious rodeos like FWSSR, NLBRA Finals, NBHA Youth World, Rodeo Austin, Cinch Timed Events Championships, UPRA Finals, and, of course, the iconic NFR. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from a true rodeo photography legend and hear some captivating stories from the rodeo arena. For a full episode transcript, visit our website at www.justinboots.com/en/kick-your-boots-up.html.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:02
Speaker
You're listening to the Kick Your Boots Up podcast, where we swap stories of the West. Whether you're just waking up or getting in for the day, come on in and kick your boots up.
00:00:12
Speaker
Hi, everybody, and welcome to the Kick Your Boots Out podcast. I'm your host, Hannah McAdams. Thank you all for listening week to week. We're getting some really great feedback. We're having a lot of fun.
Meet James Pfeiffer
00:00:22
Speaker
And I figured since we're having a lot of fun, we've got to bring on another fun guest. This week's guest is a pretty well-known photographer. He's traveled all across the United States and all across the world. The kids love him. The moms love him. Everyone loves him.
Photography Career Highlights
00:00:38
Speaker
He's a rodeo professional from Nacogdoches, Texas.
00:00:41
Speaker
He's had photos featured in cowboys and Indians blogs, cowgirl magazine blogs, Breakaway Roping Journal, Barrel Horse Journal, Barrel Horse News, cowgirl magazines, blogs, all the things. He's gotten to photograph prestigious rodeos such as the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, the National Little Riches Rodeo Finals,
00:01:01
Speaker
MBHA Youth World, Rodeo Austin, since time to win championships. The list goes on and on and on. There's, there's a million different things that we can say. And I think what better way to get the guest introduced and to let him talk about himself, then introduce him and let him explain his story. So ladies and gentlemen, none other than Mr. James Pfeiffer with Pfeiffer Photography, Photos Photography by Pfeiffer, Rodeo Bum Photography. Some of you out there might know him. James, thank you for taking the time to talk with us today and share your story.
00:01:32
Speaker
Yeah. How are you today? Yeah. Doing good. Doing good. Thanks for being here. I know there's a lot, you know, that you have to going on right now in the different rodeos.
Personal Stories and Background
00:01:40
Speaker
Um, but I guess let's just get started. I know that your name is James K. Pfeiffer and inquiring minds out there want to know what does the K stand for in your middle name? It actually stands for Kenneth, which was actually my daddy's first cousin. Uh, his name was Kenneth Pfeiffer and he survived the, the tan death March in World War II.
00:02:02
Speaker
Oh, wow. What an incredible honor and memory for him. That's, that's just awesome. And I've got to ask you, are you originally from Nacogdoches, Texas? No, I'm actually originally from Rusk. My family has been from Rusk, which is Cherokee County. They've been there since 1828. Oh, wow. A long time. Lots of history there. Then I've got to ask you too, what was life like growing up for you?
00:02:24
Speaker
Oh, it was great. We had, we had all kinds of places to go hunt. We fished, we hunted all time. Uh, my daddy was a hunting guide over in rust. He was, he was one of the very first people who ever guide, uh, do hunting guide service in East Texas. So, uh, back in the eighties. Do you still love hunting today then?
00:02:43
Speaker
Oh love it love it we go hunting and fishing all the time so it's like this. That's what we do whenever we're between going to rodeos and stuff like like in a few weeks we're going to go to Georgia one of the girls works for me. They've been wanting to go to Georgia and go bear hunting for several years and we're going to go bear hunting here in a few weeks so
00:02:59
Speaker
Oh well then I can't help but ask what are some bear hunting tips because I've been watching that show on Netflix that's like survival of um you it's you they get left out in the woods and there's bears everywhere and they have these sprays and these noises. What's your plan of attack like what's going on if you actually do get attacked by a bear? Oh I have no idea.
00:03:19
Speaker
We're just going bear hunting. We don't know anything more. Her husband, they go hunting bears all the time over there, and they've been wanting me to go for years, but just scheduling wise, couldn't ever get over there. And then I had two rodeos that went on top.
00:03:35
Speaker
top on that or one of them moved it and everything. So all of a sudden we had an open date and it was like, well, we're going to go then. Oh my gosh. I am so excited to follow that. You'll have to post it on your social media and update there because hopefully you'll go to hunt and not be hunted. Right. Because that sounds like something would happen.
00:03:55
Speaker
Oh my gosh, I know. And that's what I love about your social media is like in between the rodeos whenever, even when you're at rodeos in between the perfs, you will see, be seen going fishing and all that stuff. So I love that you get to kind of take a little bit of a break too and go bear hunting. Check that off your list. I hope you are super successful there.
Journey into Photography
00:04:15
Speaker
Um, but kind of moving on a little bit to the photography aspect. Um, did you ever think about being a photographer when you were younger? Did you always want to be a photographer?
00:04:24
Speaker
Uh, I didn't really think about it as a living, but I've been shooting photos since I was in fifth grade. And then, uh, uh, and then I kind of, when I was in high school, started doing it for 11, shooting some portraits or whatever, but never really thought about that. But then whenever I started shooting rodeos, then that's whenever it was like, this is going to be it here. Cause I mean,
00:04:42
Speaker
it was like okay now I know what I'm gonna do I mean literally from the very first very very very first uh time I ever shot a rodeo I was like because I've been gonna gonna gonna bring my camera out there was there's a little buck out at uh close to the house and I was gonna go out there and shoot it but then but whenever I very first did it it was like no idea no no no no doubt so it's like this is what I'm gonna do the rest of my life so and then I was actually in high school whenever I did that so
00:05:12
Speaker
And there's so much there too, because you said fifth grade. What were you taking pictures of in fifth grade? Did it start as a school assignment? No, just we were, we went on a vacation to Colorado and that was when I took my very first photo and I was like, Ooh, I liked it. And then I was in like 4-H and FFA and stuff like that there. So, um, so that's, that's kind of what got me started was in like 4-H going, you know, entering contests and.
00:05:34
Speaker
county fair or whatever. So that there's kind of kind of got it started in the photography part of it. And then I was also always around rodeo all my life. Like my brother, my brother, he's like nine years older than me and he rode bareback horses. So and then my cousin on their side, on their daddy's side of the family, like pretty much everybody rodeos on that side of the family. So I was always around rodeo and I've been shooting photos since I was in fifth grade. So it just eventually came together.
00:06:03
Speaker
Wow. And that's incredible. There's a lot there. And before we dig too much deeper into it, I'm genuinely curious.
Challenges in Rodeo Photography
00:06:09
Speaker
What was it like then? Because there's, there's rodeo photography and there's photography and it's two different ball games. What was it like for you to finally master the action? Those, those really good action shots that are really challenging.
00:06:22
Speaker
Oh, and this was in the film days. And it was like, there was no like looking in the back of your camera. You had to do it and you didn't find out for several days to what you even got. And that first deal was in the daylight. It was a very rare thing to have daylight. But then I had to start trying to figure out how to do the ones at night. And it was like, that took a while and then get the right equipment that could light it up. And I mean, it took a little while.
00:06:46
Speaker
It was difficult, you know, and then in the film days, I mean, it's like every single time you push the button, it costs you money. I mean, like if you, like, let's say somebody top knotted a calf, it was like, and you accidentally took a picture, you just went, oh God, it's like, that just cost me money because it cost you the film, it cost you to process it, it cost you to print the photo or print your proof sheets. I mean, it was like, oh, so you make dang sure you never wasted a single, single shot, so.
00:07:16
Speaker
Oh wow yeah that's something I didn't even think about too and even you mentioned back in the film days when there were film cameras you know that they actually used um because now people you know photographers will do that for fun and different looks but it's not as quick as today either because I feel like to get those action shots nowadays you can just click click click or click one time and it just takes a bunch of shutter shutter speed takes a bunch of photos
00:07:36
Speaker
What was it like then? Cause you almost had to have the patience to like wait and track the bull just to make sure it's, um, back end was kicked up just right. Or when you're tracking a calf, same thing. How, what was it like just waiting patiently to get the perfect moment? Well, you still have to do that nowadays. Cause it, cause like in Texas pretty much, or pretty much probably.
00:07:56
Speaker
Out of the say 185 per year I do a year. Nearly every single one of them, maybe five per year or in the daylight nearly every single things at nighttime so i'm using strobes so still.
00:08:12
Speaker
it doesn't matter what it is i have to be patient and shoot it because you have to wait for your flashes to go off because you can't just sit there and just push it down and let do it you have to wait for it so so it's still that way today if you're shooting with strokes so but but back then though
00:08:30
Speaker
you couldn't even like just waste anything. You couldn't sit there and go like now, like say a typical kaffir open photo, I get the traditional coming off and then, you know, flanking the calf and then, you know, this right here, you know, I can do some extra stuff there. Well, back then you shot one because you couldn't afford to just, that would have been wasted in film. So, you know, it's like, and you know, and there's so much more you can do now or you can just see something cool over there and just shoot it now. But back then you didn't because
00:09:00
Speaker
If you didn't think you could sell it, you didn't shoot it because it was just, it was, it was just expensive. So, and I was very poor back then. Yeah. Very humble beginnings, right? Yeah. Sleeping in a truck. And I mean, before I even got a Capri camper and I mean, whenever I got my first Capri camper, I mean, I thought I was just, just.
00:09:22
Speaker
I mean, I was high rolling then, you know, and then I was in a Capri for like 14 years before I, before I moved up to a motorhome. And it was like, and in the Capri, I had a, I had a dark cream in there. I could sit there and print my proof sheets off and the whole Capri camper be filled up with, uh, with proof sheets and everything, cement like developer in there. And, and it was like, and that's, that's how you did it. I mean, that was just the way it was. So.
00:09:46
Speaker
I love your insight because that's the stuff that people don't stop and think about when they think about the evolution of rodeo, the evolution of sports. They forget about the contract personnel, the ones that have to be there from start to finish before, during, and after the performances, they don't get to take a break. Um, and so I love your insight there. And I love what you said too, um, about you thought you had made it when you got the Capri camper talk about your, your humble beginnings there even more. I mean.
00:10:11
Speaker
You were living life, you were doing it. What was, I don't know, in that phase of your life, what were some of the best memories that you remember?
00:10:20
Speaker
Oh, I love I just I love going to the rodeo seeing everybody what's even better think what's better is now is what happens now, because a lot of those people that I was shooting photos of back then whenever let's say. So well, actually, some of the people that I shot pictures of at high school rodeos back then i'm taking pictures of their kids now.
00:10:43
Speaker
You know, and it's like and and like all my friends like all their all their their their i'm shooting pictures of them now like like let's say the very, very first.
00:10:57
Speaker
The first thing I ever shot was a little bull riding in Rusk, which is where I'm from. And Luke Thrash, two of the young bareback riders now and everything, Luke Thrash, his daddy was the stock contractor at it. So here you are somebody who the very first thing I ever shot as far as a rodeo, his son, I'm shooting pictures of him in the PRCA now. And then I was shooting pictures from outside the fence on the very first one or two.
00:11:26
Speaker
And then Jimmy Graham, he was like, once you get inside, he's like, you think they'll mind? And he's like, nah, they don't want to mind. Well, that there is Colt B. Mintz, granddaddy. So, so I mean, there's two people right now I'm shooting who are young Bayrick riders, who they had kinfolks at the very, very worst thing I ever shot in my life. So, so it was like, that's what's really fun is being able to see, see kids of people that I shot back then.
00:11:52
Speaker
In the full circle moment there, and I guess why you brought this up let's talk a little bit about that, because I think at the nbha youth world show world finals. there's a picture on your social media that really jumped out to me I loved it you have all these kids surrounding you and your little office space setup area at the rodeo and you named it piper's nursery is that right. Oh, because when you go there, it looks like a nursery I mean we got like three or four different.
00:12:17
Speaker
deals where you put the kids in everything there because like I don't know what it is about in the water right now but like everybody that works for me has little kids right now I mean we got I mean we got we got we got Megan Dillard who her husband used to ride bulls and her brother Shanhanshi like she's got two and she's got one on the way right now
00:12:37
Speaker
We got the other group we're going bear hunting with. She's got one and got one on the way right now. We got Daniel Beckendorf who worked for him. He's got two. I may be missing some other kids that were there. I mean, there was a whole bunch of kids there and everything. So yeah, we have a whole cute and it looks like a nursery. I mean, there are kids everywhere around this booth. So it's a lot.
00:13:00
Speaker
You know honestly though there's there's something to that because like you starting in fifth grade there's those kids are looking up to you and being raised in rodeo being raised at those events there's there's a lot of good that comes out of that i'm a walking testimony of that just you know being raised and stock shows and rodeos.
00:13:16
Speaker
You get some kind of a value out of that. Um, the kids are just so much better. They, um, have more manners. So I love what you're doing there. Keep that up. That's really encouraging. Um, and I, I didn't, I want to back it up just a little bit before we get too, too much more into it. I should have asked in this in the very beginning and I apologize for that, but I'm genuinely curious and I know a lot of people are out
The 'Rodeo Bum' Story
00:13:38
Speaker
there. Um, how did a photography by Pfeiffer rodeo bum photos? How did that all get started? Tell us the story there.
00:13:45
Speaker
Okay, as far as the rodeo bum part. Yeah, most people don't know about that really don't understand I just think it's just something I just pulled out the top of my head and everything. Well, like I said my brother he rode their back horses, whenever I whenever whenever he was young and like I said I was a little bitty kid then because he's nine years older than me. And one year and then.
00:14:04
Speaker
My mother did not like him riding bad bike horses. She did not like it. She tried everything she could do to keep me from rodeoing. She really did. She's good with it now, because we've got so many people in the family now rodeoing. She did not want me rodeoing and everything. But one year at Thanksgiving, this was probably 1993, 1994, somewhere around there. We were all around everything, and me and my brother was talking. I said, well, it's just kind of crazy. I said,
00:14:34
Speaker
mama try mama didn't like you rodeo and and she tried everything she can do to keep me from rodeo and I said and then look to become the rodeo bomb and we all laugh and everything well then for Christmas my brother he.
00:14:48
Speaker
His wife was working at a cap company over in the Rusk and they made a cap for me and everything. And it was like, and he went over and they like basically went to the scrap pile and grabbed everything they could do to get to make like the ugliest cap in the entire world and everything. Like literally is the ugliest cap in the world and everything. And it had rodeo bum on it. And it was like, oh, it's right here. I pulled it out just so I could put this right here.
00:15:17
Speaker
horrible and then it's like done with like some kind of classic writing and it's got my phone number from back then on it and everything it was horrible but it was so funny when we laughed we thought it was so funny and uh and it was like I said right then I said I said I said I said well one of these days if I end up becoming something big and everything I said that'll become the uh the uh
00:15:41
Speaker
mother name of all my companies that are something like that there, you know, and you gotta remember this nine three and four. I didn't even know there was such a thing as internet there. I mean, it was like no idea that there was even internet. Well, Ben, when everything went digital and I got a, I got a website that I checked it. I just did it as joke looking in and it was actually available. And I thought, Oh man.
00:15:59
Speaker
And I went to a whole bunch of different, I mean, I'm talking about I had a list, a huge list, writing them down. And I would literally write it on a piece of paper, the different names, and I would hold it up to people like this right here and go, okay, and then put it down.
00:16:17
Speaker
Do you know what that said? And can you spell it? Because I know nobody can spell Pfeiffer for sure. So it could never, because I've had people go like, why do you put like, like, like photos of my Pfeiffer as your website? And it was like, I was like, can you spell Pfeiffer for sure? And they were like, no. So, and that's literally what had come in. I mean, I, we measured it out to where it would go on my, on my deal and pinned them up, just making sure everything was like, you could dang sure see it, like the length on it. And
00:16:42
Speaker
everything was like that there and then that's the one I and I kept just going back to rodeo though so it was like so that's that's actually how it got started was all because of a joke so well honestly I love that and let's take a second then to appreciate that ball cap amazing thank you for showing it to us wow and it's bright pink right did I see that right oh yeah it's bright pink it's bright pink with like a milk cow
00:17:09
Speaker
What an amazing story. It's got this weird like rope deal on there. Oh, it was like some kind of, I don't know what you'd even call that there. I mean, some kind of rubberized like deal to make it. I mean, it was like, they literally went through the deal to make it the world's ugliest cap. I mean, I don't, I don't even, I mean, they didn't even, they didn't even make these match or anything. Just trying to make it as ugly as can be.
00:17:34
Speaker
They did you dirty. That is how it all begins. Well, I do love that because even with the kids, I know you do a lot of youth rodeo photography and the kids love that. Something about rodeo bum, I remember hearing it as a kid myself and thinking like, oh, that's cool. He must be really cool. And now as I I've gotten older, I'm no longer a kid anymore. I still look up to you because I see you at these big prestigious professional rodeos, American, NFR, all these places. And
00:18:02
Speaker
I'm like, wow, to think that you started so long ago, sleeping in your truck, you've made it to these big stages, big lights, talk to us about your, your timeframe, your career. There are maybe some highlights that have stepped out to you, reach out to you in terms of. Rodeos that you've gotten to shoot at maybe potential rodeos that you'd love to talk about that.
00:18:21
Speaker
Yes, this Fort Worth, of course, is my favorite rodeo there is because I mean, it's Fort Worth. I mean, that's just, it's Fort Worth. So, I mean, that is by far my most favorite there.
Favorite Rodeos and Event Logistics
00:18:32
Speaker
I think I've done it for the last 17 years and then I've shot the NFR. I've shot the Steer Open Finals eight times. Love the Steer Open Finals.
00:18:42
Speaker
I absolutely love this true open finals. I've done the WPRA finals off and on through the years. I think I've done the WPRA like 12 or 13 times. I mean I've done it whenever it was in Fort Worth back in the early 90s and then later whenever it was in Tulsa and then now while it's on Waco. I've been shooting ever since for several years now it's been back in Waco but I think it's like 12 or 13 years that I've
00:19:05
Speaker
that i've shot the wpra finals and just just all kinds of rodeos all across the country i mean i love them i mean i mean about a third of my rodeos or pro rodeos about a third of them are youth rodeos and a third of them are barrel racing some kind of got a good variety there so and it's like i like it and like i said i love doing the youth rodeos because they're
00:19:27
Speaker
you know, seeing the kids, you know, and then, you know, and then, and then doing the barrel races and it's going to go over East and everything that got that, being able to do the NBA chase that they're really got it to where I could go over East coast and see a different part of the country. Cause at the beginning I was doing so much stuff out West. Well then now I do a lot of stuff out East and everything because of that right there. And your schedule is so jam packed and so busy. How do you keep it all straight?
00:19:57
Speaker
As I told somebody i'm not i'm not a photographer i'm a logistics manager is what I am. We have like we have equipment that roles in different directions and. And it's not just me it's like I mean I have other photographers that they work for me, but they also have their own companies, but then sometimes I need some of their companies, some of their equipment to be able to do something like.
00:20:17
Speaker
The little British is final. So I mean, we have 53 lights up. I mean, it's just a huge amount of lights that all come together at one time. And then sometimes we need stuff in certain places. And it's like sometimes we got we got equipment on vehicles going in different directions. We'll have one year. I know that we had we had.
00:20:37
Speaker
Andy Watson, I helped Andy at the PBR finals and he had some of my lights because he needed something to be able to shoot that many arenas. And then he just kept those and he had another photographer coming in from Corpus. Well, he came up there and when that photographer left there, he came down to, I'd left there and went to Louisiana and he brought those lights back to me. But while that was going on,
00:21:02
Speaker
Daniel was shooting an MBHA in Fort Worth over at the stockyards but it was actually my lights working for Andy was using my lights over in the stockyards. Daniel was using my lights there. Well, Daniel he threw his lights on a truck and they went from there to Illinois where he needed them and then they went to Vegas and then they went to New York and then I picked them up in New York.
00:21:26
Speaker
We had lots going in every direction all over the country because it's just so many of us and we need so much equipment that, and you don't need that much equipment all year long, but there's certain rodeos like for Andy, for the PBR finals, for me, for Little British's finals, you know, and it's like, and other photographers. And we all, we're good friends and we let each other borrow our equipment, everything, because we know that they need equipment all over, you know, because you can't afford to just have that meaning. And we're just, we're just,
00:21:55
Speaker
got equipment rolling all over the country. So yeah. I'm so glad that you brought that up because just like in this border rodeo, I mean, you see Cowboys traveling all across the United States, worldwide, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and most of the time they travel together. They have, you know, travel impacts and then they turn right around and compete against each other. And that's really the same throughout the whole entire industry. And I think a lot of people either take that for granted or they forget about the little stuff like that. So especially for you guys being photographers where
00:22:24
Speaker
I guess in theory you guys could be considered in competition of each other if you're trying to bid for the same rodeos at some point in time and that does happen, but you guys still band together and choose to help each other for the greater good in every situation. And so I really really love and respect and appreciate that and that goes for.
00:22:39
Speaker
rodeo announcers to sharing stats with each other. That goes for time and getting, you know, making sure they have all the right rules and they're up to date on all the stuff, score guys, judges. It's just incredible. That's my hats off to you. That is so, so awesome that you're able to do that. And I think we're almost out of time. So I want to kind of continue this conversation along a little bit.
00:22:58
Speaker
And talk about the different, I know you mentioned NFR and you're so humble. That's like the biggest rodeo. It's a super bowl of rodeos for anyone out there that's curious about the NFR. I know most of the listeners here know what it is, but it's such a big stage, such a prestigious title to even be selected to shoot anywhere near around the NFR. And so talk about that for a little bit. Talk about the logistics there, what it's like, your day-to-day schedule, love it, hate it, pros cons, all of it.
00:23:28
Speaker
Oh, it's, it's great. I mean, I love shooting NFR. I haven't shot in the last few years and everything, but it was like, but the years that I've had to shoot it, yeah, you got like, if he was behind the scenes, but however, it was just insane. You're just going in every direction all over. I mean, you'll know all the different little things about what happened. We would have to go shoot. And then if you're shooting in the arena, then you have to be messing with your lights every day. You got, you have to hang, like, there's, there's lights. You got to hang. You got to be adjusting on those every day.
00:23:55
Speaker
You have to shoot head shots. There's the big group photos. There's all kinds of things going on that people don't realize that we have to shoot both sides out there. And then doing all the, just sitting there on the computer and getting the stuff out to different people who need things like you may get a, like the main thing would be as far as being able to do like that there.
00:24:17
Speaker
is somebody get injured and then Justin Sports Medicine injury report come out. And then all of a sudden you get a phone call from the PRCA and go, hey, we need a photo of so-and-so because they're injured and we got to put a press release out there from Justin Sports Medicine. So you just jump on there and get them a photo real quick so that the PRCA would have a photo for a press release that somebody was injured.
00:24:43
Speaker
That's a lot of stress. How do you juggle all the stress in the middle of the chaos of the rodeo? I know there's a lot of adrenaline, but how do you juggle it all? It's just what I've always done. It's just what you do. You just got to keep. The good thing about me doing youth rodeos, sometimes with the pro rodeos, some people go like, how do you handle it whenever there's just something like this? Everything just changes all of a sudden. There's no
00:25:10
Speaker
there's such a sudden change I shoot rodeos I see you I shoot rodeos and I said and stuff changes at the very last minute it's like. you're just used to it if you're shooting rodeos it's like nobody tells you anything you just go and then just go oh by the way we're going to shoot this big group photo over here today I was like.
00:25:30
Speaker
All right, we'll just go do it and everything, you know, because things change at youth rodeo. So that prepares you for doing the big pro rodeos to where when all of a sudden just like just plop something out there and like, Oh, we forgot to tell you, you know, the main part of it is we're going to take a photo, but yeah, we forgot to tell the photographer. So happens all the time.
00:25:49
Speaker
Happens all the time. You're absolutely right. I'm just looking back and thinking about all the events that I've been a part of on the production side and everything will be set to go and someone will say, okay, where's the photographer? You didn't call him? No, you didn't call. So I know that all too well. All the time.
00:26:06
Speaker
And that's really funny and really cool too, that you're able to just jump and do it and be flexible. I mean, that's kind of what the industry is about, the sport of rodeo in general. And that's really cool too. But along those same lines, in order to get to the NFR, you have to do a lot. You have to not only be a PRCA photographer, but then you have to be nominated. Is that correct?
Advice for Aspiring Photographers
00:26:25
Speaker
Is that right? No, actually for the nominating deal, that's for the photographer of the year. Okay. But then as far as being selected, you actually apply for it.
00:26:35
Speaker
And maybe pick so the photographer is. Okay. See, so you have to jump through so many hoops just to get there. Um, but before that, like I mentioned, you had to, um, apply for your car, buy it, buy your car and talk to us about that. I know there's a lot of photographers out there that are interested in potentially maybe applying to be a professional rodeo photographer. Um, what's your best advice there? What are the steps? All of it.
00:26:57
Speaker
Well, the main thing is, is so many people think they want to just go straight to here and everything. Well, it's just like being a bull rider, a calf roper, or anything like that there. It's like, don't skip through all them parts right there, because your learning part is going to youth rodeos, going to amateur rodeos, just like you are doing it, being a contestant. People think you need to just jump straight to that, like, oh, I went and shot a little backyard bull riding and stuff, and then I'm going to jump straight to having a PRCA car.
00:27:27
Speaker
in order to be able to handle the financial part of it and everything and just knowing the business of it really needed and then even just honing down the photography really need to shoot a lot of youth rodeos and amateur rodeos because if they don't know because I mean there's just certain things I mean you got to be in a certain place and there's certain places you need to be just for the fact that you just to be out of the way
00:27:51
Speaker
And then also the fact that that's the that's the best angle that you can get the big largest percentage of shots to be in that certain spot. I mean, there's some there's some cool low percentage shots and everything to get some really cool photos. But if you're really you're going to do it for a living, you got to kind of make it in a way where you really, really.
00:28:12
Speaker
the most potential of taking the best shots and then mainly just staying out of the way because that's one thing for you to not make money but for you to get in the way and you call somebody like a world championship because you don't understand you can't be right there. I mean like let's say you were sitting there like one time at the national final stirrup and
00:28:32
Speaker
I mean we uh I mean Scott Snedeker was like he was he was in the average in the average and everything and I had a steer come and it was just like I just squeezed up against the wall she didn't move at all and that steered and he got him tripped right beside me and it was like but it was like I knew it was like I can't move and I just had to stay there in order to make sure because if I'd just jumped up and run
00:28:54
Speaker
It could have, it could have, it could have, it could have cost him the world. I mean, so you, you gotta know that there and you gotta, you gotta understand that about rodeo and you gotta be able to sit there and read the stock to go like, you know, or, you know, am I in trouble or not? You know, cause it's like, I mean, and it takes time going to the, the, the lower rodeos in order to know that stuff right there. So.
00:29:15
Speaker
And James, I respect that so much. You know, I was a rodeo queen and that's how I got to know you, but growing up as a rodeo queen and then more specifically getting more involved with professional rodeo as a rodeo queen, there are, the professional word should not be taken lightly. Everyone in the organization is professional. Those rodeo competitors have paved their way, worked harder,
00:29:35
Speaker
They have more just grit to them that they're professional. It's no longer amateur. And so that is a big pet peeve of mine. If you're out there listening, you just heard my pet peeve and James, I'm so glad that you mentioned that because yes, you do. It is so important no matter what your position is in the rodeo arena at around near at all. You just need to be aware of your surroundings and know what's about to happen. And along those same lines, I'm sure you've had many opportunities where a rough stock horse or a buck and bull has
00:30:03
Speaker
come a little bit too close to you or you've had some kind of rodeo wrecks for yourself. So I guess that now's your time. Tell me some stories about sometimes that you might have been trampled or maybe you've seen people get trampled. What about that? Tell us about it all.
Injuries and Lessons Learned
00:30:16
Speaker
Oh, let's see. I guess about the very first really, really big kind of deal that got me was, uh, I was at a bull riding in Belleville, Texas, and it was the second bull lap, the second one. And it was like, um, it was about to hook a guy and then a bull turn didn't get him. He got me, cut my finger off. They, uh, uh, got to the fence and everything. It's hanging off to the side and everything. And.
00:30:42
Speaker
And then drove myself to the hospital, and then they sewed it back home. I got back out there, shot the rest of the bull riding, and then come find out it was a guy who I was living in Huntsville at the time. And the guy sent me across the campus, he said, are you the photographer? And I was like, yeah.
00:31:01
Speaker
And me and him became friends for years and years and years. And like I said, I basically prevented him from getting hooked on the photo of a guy that was just insane. Like everybody goes, oh, he must have got it. I was like, nope, got me. And then he was back when we were in college. I knew that in his house, he had like a set of drums and everything in there, but it was like,
00:31:22
Speaker
I just thought he just played around I didn't know it was any good and everything but uh but anyways uh names Randy Grimes and he became later on he was the drummer for uh Billy Joe Shaver so uh so it was like that was pretty cool so uh and that's how me and him got to know him like he didn't even ever admit me before that moment right there and then of course I think the one that
00:31:42
Speaker
Most people know about is whenever I got run over by the barrel horse at the NVHA Youth World in 2015. So that broke my scapula in half. My shoulder blade broke it in half and went to the hospital. They wrapped it up whatever.
00:31:59
Speaker
come back. So we never missed a, we never missed a, we missed two runs is all we missed. One of the girls that worked for me, she was shooting the backdrop. I caught her over there and I was like, go get my camera because my camera lens first time, it was the first time in like,
00:32:16
Speaker
20 something years that anything had ever gotten my gotten my equipment and everything broke it in half. She ran there and got it got a new deal while they were wrapping me up. I'm putting the camera together and and she sits down there and she she gets it fixed. She does a test shot. I got no like just the camera and it was like okay.
00:32:35
Speaker
Now I go to the hospital and then went to the hospital, come back. I was on my way back and I was like, I told her, I said, Hey, tell Seth, my boy, I said, tell him to go get my tripod. And she said, what do you mean? She went, Oh God, she said, you're going to shoot ancient. I was like, well, of course I am. So shot another 250 runs that day. And then the next day shot the short go. And then, yeah, so did that there. And then it was later on whenever they went to take it off. That's when they realized,
00:33:04
Speaker
how bad it was and everything and then but then Justin sports medicine jumped in there and sent me to Shane Barton over in Shreveport and he was a Justin sports medicine doctor and just I mean did it up he did surgery on me on September 23rd of 2015 and 10 weeks later I was at the NFR shoot.
00:33:28
Speaker
Oh my gosh. I have no words other than mad respect. That was my very first year to have the NFR. That was the very first year I had the NFR. And I got the phone, when I got the phone call to doing it, I didn't, I was, I was still in a, in a, in a, uh, shoulder sling and I had to pull over to make sure I didn't wreck. Cause I seen it was a PRC. I was like, Ooh, what if this is the call and I get it and everything. And they tell me, but like I said, then they, then I find out I'm going to have surgery a few weeks later.
00:33:54
Speaker
And then I told him, I said, I've got to be ready. And he said, we will have you ready. So, so yeah, they, they put me back together and everything. And boom, we're shooting. So.
00:34:04
Speaker
You truly are a rodeo bum. I mean, you've experienced the cowboy life as a true cowboy, just for, you know, taking photos of the rodeo. Wow. James, I did not know any of those stories. And it's, it's actually really crazy that you've had your fair share of run-ins with the big mean ref stock and that it took a barrel horse, a fast, crazy barrel horse. That's so on brand, right? With a 15 year old rat.
00:34:28
Speaker
And it was just a fluke, it was just a fluke accident. But yes, yes, it was, it was, it was a barrel or set of youth at a youth barrel racing. Yeah. What are the odds of that? That's so, so bizarre. Wow. That that's yeah.
00:34:49
Speaker
i'm glad that you live to tell the tales oh that's what it's all about right, you know. And mark. burke you got a good video so there's video out there, you know so.
00:35:03
Speaker
You're going to go viral again. We're going to resurface this video. I would love to see it's out there. Oh my gosh. Yeah. What a, wow. What a, um, what a, what a time, what a trip, what memories. And that's so cool that you were able to be tough, you know, tough it up just like a cowboy would, like I said, that's wow.
00:35:24
Speaker
I don't even, you got me there. That's so incredible. It's just so bizarre to see the opportunities that this career has taken you and even as a fifth grader that started taking photos on a vacation. That's so inspiring for a lot of people out there. There's tons of people that are so hungry to be involved in the industry in some way.
00:35:44
Speaker
And so what would be before we go, what would be your best advice to give to anyone that wants to be a photographer in general or a rodeo photographer in general, or, you know, cause you've already covered the PRCA thing. Um, but in general, like what, what would you tell them if they're, let's say a hobby for photographers right now or photographer now, um, what would you, what would advice would you give them to like make the next step to start getting clients and getting paid for those clients?
00:36:09
Speaker
The main thing is, like I said, as far as rodeo, go to the youth rodeos, the amateur rodeos, and then also quit or
00:36:21
Speaker
don't motor drive, really slow down and pay attention to what the actual animals are doing because it'll make them so much better of a photographer if they actually understand what the animal's about to do. Because I mean, you literally kind of need to know what it's going to do. You got to have the experience in order to make sure what the animal's actually going to do before it actually does it. But that there takes slowing down,
00:36:45
Speaker
shooting one photo at a time just really concentrate on what the actual animal and learn the animals I mean learn the animals and learn the events I mean learn and learn what the cowboys really want is the one thing too because I mean it does no good to do it if the contestants that's not what the contestants are looking for you know if you're if you're if you're shooting it from some angle that makes it to where
00:37:09
Speaker
you know the cat force doesn't look as good or you know whatever so you know and the stock contractors really want and then also signage too i mean where i mean you're from what i'm doing i'm shooting for rodeo committees and they really need to make sure that i'm shooting in a place that has good signage sometimes i'll even move just a little bit in order to get a little bit better crowd situation in the background because i mean you don't want to look like there's um
00:37:35
Speaker
Nobody in the crowd, you know I mean so. It is. Yeah, it is an art and you've mastered it, in my opinion, I remember. The Douglas county fair and rodeo back in 2018 when I was misread Oklahoma I got to have like a small moment of your time, I think it was debbie mills and I, we were just talking to you and.
00:37:52
Speaker
The stories that you were just spitting out right then and there were incredible. I could tell your wisdom, but, um, even now getting to follow your journal journey through the little bitches finals, get, you know, getting to watch you be one of the photographers at the NFR. I am so inspired. And, um, there's a lot of people out there to that, that agree. And because you're behind the camera, you don't get a lot of opportunities to be in the limelight. So I just wanted to say hats off to you. I commend you so much. Thank you for everything that you've done for the industry.
00:38:19
Speaker
You've gotten some historic photos that people will be able to cherish for the rest of their lives and then their ancestors leading on their legacy will get to see them as well. What a cool opportunity you have. I wish you the best of luck in the future with your other rodeos.
Connect with James Pfeiffer
00:38:35
Speaker
If anyone out there wants to follow you on social media or check out your website, where should we send them to?
00:38:41
Speaker
Um, uh, it's rodeo bum.com on Facebook and then on Instagram, it's rodeo bum.com, but without the dot, it just, you can't put a dot in the, in the part of his relationship is rodeo bum.com. So. Okay. Yeah. If you guys want to catch up on the bear hunt, if you want to see what it's like, like what rodeo is like from the perspective of James, there's lots of fun content. His humor is hilarious. I wish we had way more time.
00:39:04
Speaker
to talk about everything. I've loved watching, you got to go fishing with, who was that? Oh, goodness. You get to go fishing all the time, but you go fishing in between rodeos with all the different world champions. You just get really cool opportunities to shoot celebrities, musicians, whoever's at the rodeo. So yeah, if you guys are out there and you're curious, you want to follow along, you have questions about photography, becoming a professional photographer of any sort. Don't be afraid to reach out, send a messages. James is a really, really
00:39:33
Speaker
Hi class guy and James, we just cannot say thank you so much enough for being on team Justin and wearing the brand so proudly. You do a really good job and we appreciate it. Thank you.
00:39:46
Speaker
Thanks for joining us on Kick Your Boots Up. I'm your host, Taylor McAdams, and we can't wait to share the next story of the West. Until then, feel free to like, subscribe, and leave us a review. Follow us on social media at Justin Boots to keep up with our next episode, and we'll see you the next time you kick your boots up.