Craving action photography, I took the advice of an ex-bull rider/bullfighter and shot a rodeo. I usually do wildlife photography, and this was a new experience for me--flying bulls were a lot wilder than flying birds. The bull riding events with bullfighters rescuing bull riders were the high points of the action. (2011 Elks Rodeo at Santa Maria, California.)
1. One of the coolest bull riders in the event.
2. The trajectory of the bull\'s jump and twist is tracked by the white string of bull mucus. In the background dust, bullfighter (aka \"rodeo clown\") Aaron Hargo in the bright shirt gets ready to divert the bull from the rider after the dismount (next photo).
3. Bullfighter Hargo deflects the bull from the downed rider.
4. But the bull reels away from bullfighter Hargo and aims for the bull rider. A second bullfighter Donnie Castle joins the rescue.
5. Responding to bullfighters Hargo and Castle, the distracted bull reels again, giving the bull rider time to run to safety.
6. In the next three photos the bull wasn\'t so easily distracted. As the bull charges, bullfighter Hargo intervenes, and the rider begins his scramble to safety.
7. But the bull leaps past the bullfighter and bears down on the bull rider.
8. With bullfighter Hargo in hot pursuit, the bull runs down the rider.
9. In a calmer moment, bullfighter Hargo interposes himself between the bull rider and the bucking bull.
Jul 04, 2011 at 03:22 PM
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