I just love this portrait I took tonight at the rodeo.

I watched this father and son behind the scenes for a while as they prepared for the world champion rodeo. When they moved through the crowds, the son held onto the fringe on his dad’s chaps.

The pride I saw on the son’s face was undeniable - especially when he was handed his own matching plaid shirt to change into before the event began.

We left before the bull roping, so I’m not sure how well the team did in the end - although I can say that the elder cowboy of the duo was bucked off far before 8 seconds in the one wild horse run we saw.

Madison County Fairgrounds, NC.

A few portraits of cowboys at the Madison County World Rodeo Championship. (More photos and stories to come.)