Welcome to Wise Magazine Cover Photo

He Really Did!

The Photo shoot for Welcome to Wise 2018 Newcomers Guide was the brainstorm of Wise County Messenger- Editor, Kristen Tribe.  It just popped out at a brainstorm session and that was the idea everybody agreed was perfect. First on the agenda was to get permission from Trinity coffee bar on the downtown square in Decatur. Given wood floors and the damage that could’ve happene,  I was very surprised they said “Yes”! Next thing on the list was to find a Cowboy with a horse, but not just any horse, one that would be gentle enough to handle all the distractions. My first choice came to mind, Asa Johnson, a long time friend and real working cowboy.  Asa, and his horse “Noodle “,  fit the bill so perfectly as a direct opposite of today’s world.

I was out of excuses, it was all on me now. Goal – get Noodle in the bar and pop off a few flashes to get him use to the lights. I had decided to try to keep lighting as simple as I could, given the nature of the shoot, and try to recreate that old world light.  I still needed to have enough watts to open up the shadows for Magazine reproduction. Main light was a bare bulb profoto and pack set to half power on camera right, with a kicker strobe in the back to open shadows toward the back door and ceiling.

After a few shots with no issues, Asa saddled noodle and we shot some more images, slowly leading up to the final mounted position. Then it came, the perfect pose, deciding I had it after checking sharpness, I decided not to push my luck and get Noodles out the front door! Everybody involved breathed a sigh of relief and it was done.

Thanks to all that helped and a special thanks to Matt- the coffee bar owner, General Manager-Jeremy Ottens and the news team at the Messenger.

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