Shelby Rita is a real cowboy…but I’m not sure if she’d call herself a boy, though. Shelby is a Hawaiian rodeo star on the North Shore of Oahu. You ask…cowboys (girls) in Hawaii? Well…yes. Cowboys, or the paniolo, were first introduced from Mexico in the old days to help develop the cattle industry in Hawaii. The culture and clothing stayed and now small pockets of ranchers ride around the range on horseback in the beautiful Hawaiian sun. Shelby comes from a long line of ranchers so naturally she grew up riding horses, raising cattle, and competing in state and national rodeo events.
American Airlines Magazine commissioned me to shoot her along with her riding partner Troy Gomes for an upcoming article featuring the two young riders. The catch is they wanted a shot on a seamless gray background. Its not often I get to shoot in a “studio” as Hawaii is its own beautiful background; however, my assistant extraordiniare Tammy and I were given the task of setting up a seamless in the great wide open. We succeeded in finding a nook in Shelby’s garage where we carefully set up the background, flew an Octabank and snapped away. Luckily, the windy North Shore didn’t spoil our “Studio 59” and we were able to capture some wonderful pictures. Shelby’s a beauty and our images came out fantastic!
Though, Shelby upstaged her partner Troy (am I bias?) Troy held his own. He naturally would stand with that cowboy swagger, thumbs hooked into his big belt buckle. A real classic image.
Funny enough, the mag chose a secondary shot out on the range. I somewhat argued with the editor about the background as an outdoor Hawaiian blue sky beats any gray seamless any day but the art direction called for a seamless. How surprised they must have been when they got the secondary shots of Shelby and Troy on horseback with the green Hawaiian mountains and blue sky in the back. The ed fell over backwards! Nonetheless, the seamless were not chosen. The American Way issue will be on planes sometime soon. If you happen to fly, please take a look.
Now on the issue of Shelby calling herself a girl…I saw her ride off on the back of a horse at full speed. She controlled the beast with grace and power. I’ll let her tell you if she’d prefer to be called a girl.
