Ray Manley’s photo of an Arizona cattle drive appeared in our April 1995 issue. It was one of several cowboy-themed photos that complemented a previously unpublished manuscript by folklorist J. Frank Dobie.

Ray Manley’s photo of an Arizona cattle drive appeared in our April 1995 issue. It was one of several cowboy-themed photos that complemented a previously unpublished manuscript by folklorist J. Frank Dobie.

 

A horse leaps from its trailer at the CO Bar Ranch near Flagstaff. Our current photo editor, Jeff Kida, made this image as part of a June 1981 photo essay on working cowboys. “Because I grew up in suburban Northern Virginia, everything I witnessed at the CO Bar Ranch was new and spectacular,” he says. “I felt like I was on a movie set.”

A horse leaps from its trailer at the CO Bar Ranch near Flagstaff. Our current photo editor, Jeff Kida, made this image as part of a June 1981 photo essay on working cowboys. “Because I grew up in suburban Northern Virginia, everything I witnessed at the CO Bar Ranch was new and spectacular,” he says. “I felt like I was on a movie set.”

 

Jeff Kida and J. Peter Mortimer were working on a story about Nogales when Mortimer photographed this old cowboy, who claimed to be more than 100 years old, and a young friend in the doorway of the cowboy’s home. The image was published in our November 1980 issue. “You really have to go below the surface and try to show some of the inner feelings, inner workings of a person,” Mortimer wrote.

Jeff Kida and J. Peter Mortimer were working on a story about Nogales when Mortimer photographed this old cowboy, who claimed to be more than 100 years old, and a young friend in the doorway of the cowboy’s home. The image was published in our November 1980 issue. “You really have to go below the surface and try to show some of the inner feelings, inner workings of a person,” Mortimer wrote.

 

Sam Udall checks fences from atop his horse, Blue, at Slade Ranch in the Greer area. Scott Baxter’s photo, published in February 2011, was the impetus for his 100 Years, 100 Ranchers project. “We didn’t talk about it, plan it or decide where it was going to be,” Baxter says of the photograph. “[Udall] just got on the horse and started checking the fence.” 

Sam Udall checks fences from atop his horse, Blue, at Slade Ranch in the Greer area. Scott Baxter’s photo, published in February 2011, was the impetus for his 100 Years, 100 Ranchers project. “We didn’t talk about it, plan it or decide where it was going to be,” Baxter says of the photograph. “[Udall] just got on the horse and started checking the fence.” 

 

Cody Lee locks on to a pair of horns at a University of Arizona rodeo in the Tucson area. Ken Akers shot this photo in the days before autofocus, but Kida says Akers “had a remarkable ability to manually focus his lens and stay with the action.” The photo ran in the February 1989 issue of Arizona Highways.

Cody Lee locks on to a pair of horns at a University of Arizona rodeo in the Tucson area. Ken Akers shot this photo in the days before autofocus, but Kida says Akers “had a remarkable ability to manually focus his lens and stay with the action.” The photo ran in the February 1989 issue of Arizona Highways.

 

Near sundown, cowboys gather around a campfire at Dave Ericsson’s ranch near Wikieup. This Ray Manley photo, published in February 1980, accompanied The Most Beautiful Cowboy Country in the World, a story by Jana Bommersbach.

Near sundown, cowboys gather around a campfire at Dave Ericsson’s ranch near Wikieup. This Ray Manley photo, published in February 1980, accompanied The Most Beautiful Cowboy Country in the World, a story by Jana Bommersbach.

 

Cowboys Buster Scarbrough and Bob Pulley pose for a photo at the A Bar V Ranch in Skull Valley in 1981. This shot was one of several Jay Dusard photos published in the August 1982 issue of Arizona Highways. Like much of Dusard’s work, this shot was made on 8x10 film. “In this day of miniature equipment, such an undertaking is a startling departure, reminiscent of Mathew Brady and others in American photography,” Harry Redl wrote in an accompanying story.

Cowboys Buster Scarbrough and Bob Pulley pose for a photo at the A Bar V Ranch in Skull Valley in 1981. This shot was one of several Jay Dusard photos published in the August 1982 issue of Arizona Highways. Like much of Dusard’s work, this shot was made on 8x10 film. “In this day of miniature equipment, such an undertaking is a startling departure, reminiscent of Mathew Brady and others in American photography,” Harry Redl wrote in an accompanying story.