CODY — Two-time National Finals Rodeo Photographer of the Year Christopher “Click” Thompson has returned to this legendary Western Wyoming town that helped launch a rodeo photography career that has exceeded even his own wildest dreams.

Thompson returned last week to shoot the Cody Stampede Rodeo.

While he was here, he took time to give a little something back to the town that helped him get his start by hosting an exclusive photography seminar for rodeo shutterbugs.

Thompson has captured artistic, gritty shots from hundreds of rodeos, and he’s a regular at some of the best rodeos in the world. That includes Cheyenne Frontier Days and the Cody Stampede, as well as the Calgary Stampede and the Pendleton Roundup.

“It’s a surreal moment being back here,” Thompson told Cowboy State Daily. “Five years later, the resume looks quite a bit different than it did then.”

Then, Thompson was flat broke. He barely had enough money to buy a camping tent, and he wasn’t exactly sure how he was going afford gas to get back home to Texas.

He needed to shoot five Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) rodeos to become a card-carrying photographer on the circuit. A friend of his, who was the main photographer at the Cody Nite Rodeo and the Stampede Rodeo, invited him to come out and work with him to complete that task.

He’d been looking at a cheap hotel in the area, but it seemed pretty sketch. His friend suggested camping instead.

“I had never camped before,” Thompson said. “But they had their RV here at the Ponderosa campgrounds, and you can tent camp there as well. I”m like, ‘Well it saves me money, so why not?’”

His friend did a lot of work at the time for Coleman, an outdoor outfitters company, so they went to Walmart to buy Coleman camping gear, and Thompson placed his tent at the bottom of the hill at the campground, so it would make a cool photography shot.

“I was right by the river,” Thompson recalled. “And there were some 4H kids there.”

Thompson realized, watching the 4H kids working on their camps, that he probably didn’t know as much about camping as those youths.

He also had even less money than when he’d landed in Cody.

But there was a shower upstairs and he just had to have faith that all was going to be well. All his needs were being taken care of, somehow some way. All he had to do was concentrate on his best photography while he was here at the Cody Stampede Rodeo.

The Check Was In The Mail

Thompson had second-guessed leaving his Department of Defense job to chase photography dreams many times.

The time he spent in Cody was no different. Being flat broke, not knowing exactly how he was going to get back home, was a scary place to be in life.

“I think part of the reason my Plan A was successful was I really didn’t have a Plan B,” he said. “I mean, I knew that I would be OK if it didn’t work out. I knew there were other ways I could go, but I was kind of all in on this deal.”

About the time he was doubting his path the most, his mom called to tell him a check had arrived in the mail for him. It had $150 on it.

“Put that check in the bank,” he told her. “That is how I’m getting home.”

To this day, he doesn’t know where that check came from. Maybe he’d paid too much in taxes. But it didn’t matter. It was the boost he’d needed, right when he’d needed it.

“Every time I would maybe kind of second guess or doubt what I was doing, God would give me some reason, or there would be some sign that like, I’m on the right path,” Thompson said. “This was that moment in Cody.”

Camping in Cody was the first and the last time he ever had to sleep in a tent, Thompson said.

“Now I’m sleeping at the Holiday Inn, and I”m teaching people how to do what I do,” he said.

Home At The Rodeo

For Thompson, Rodeo has been one the most welcoming of environments. That’s part of the reason he fell in love with the sport while he was in Virginia.

A friend had invited him out to take photographs at a rodeo. Thompson arrived without expectations — but was almost immediately hooked.

There was the movement of the bulls — those muscles rippling under the surface, that power in their eyes. Each had a different personality. A personality he could capture with his camera.

They were captivating — and that was before he even saw bull-riding.

“Then a downpour came and here I am standing under a tent with a bunch of people I don’t know,” he said. “And it’s just a bunch of cowboys.”

But Thompson had this feeling that somehow he’d come home. This was where he was meant to be.

After that, he’d do a rodeo as often as he could. He was obsessed.

The bulls were raw power. Forces of nature.

And the cowboys who rode them …

He couldn’t get enough.

Before too long, Thompson’s photos were getting a lot of attention, and he got a couple of rodeo gigs over the course of a year, which made around $20,000.

“I thought if I could just string a couple more of these events together and do a few things on the side, maybe I might have something here,” he said. “I mean, it ain’t going to be the luxury lifestyle, but the freedom and the quality of life is definitely going to change.”

That Gold Buckle Feeling

When Thompson shows up for a photography seminar, he brings an impressive array of telephoto and wide angle lenses. There’s at least 16 on the table and that’s not even all of the lenses he has.

But what really makes the difference is not the equipment. It’s his mindset.

He’s going to change his location. He’s going to think like the bulls and the cowboys, so he can anticipate where the action that makes the best photo is likeliest to happen.

He also knows the cowboys well. He knows their habits. He knows which ones are going to jump off the horse and fly through the air and which ones are going to take that moment to pump their fist when they taste victory in the dusty air.

The technical understanding of his equipment is important, but it’s the emotions he captures that makes a photographer of the year.

It’s an approach he freely shares with other rodeo shutterbugs during his seminars. It’s his way of giving back what he feels the universe of rodeo has given to him.

Being named PRCA Photographer of the Year for two years in a row was an awesome feeling, Thompson said.

But what really gives him the gold buckle feeling is knowing that he isn’t a Ferrari in first gear any more.

He’s in full throttle, chasing after his dreams, and, in doing that, he’s found his place in the world.

“No day is the same,” he said. “Each day is different. And there’s always new opportunities and I get to share what I do with people. So that’s pretty cool.”

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.

A once in a lifetime opportunity for these photographers.

As wildlife photographers, they most often spend their time positioning themselves to be unseen and unheard so they can capture the perfect shot of animals in the wild doing their everyday tasks. While I personally would never have the patience to make it in this field, and I am clumsier than a bull in a China shop, I would constantly be disrupting the perfect shot.

However, those in the field are experts at their craft and capture many moments from the wild that humans would never see without their talent.

With a job this hard, when the perfect shot comes to you, they must be in awe. And that is precisely what happened when this group of photographers were stunned to see a momma bear leading her cubs right toward the group of photographers.

An Alaskan wildlife photographer, Casey Cooper, led a group of photographers when this rare moment happened. Cooper took to TikTok to educate viewers on why the group remained still and quiet during the interaction, as the mom was checking out the group to ensure they would not harm her precious cubs.

“You’re probably wondering what is actually happening here and why this mother brown bear is getting so close to us so let me explain…. My friend Stone_images and I are longtime professional bear guides on the bear coast in Alaska. Scott has spent almost every summer camping in bear country with these bears for well over a decade and watched them grow from a young age, including this mother bear.

The safer option in this moment was to keep everyone close and just let her calmly pass by us. This is Alaska and in specific locations the bears have more than enough natural food for them so they take almost no interest in mammals or humans especially when they are habituated like this sow. (This would never happen in other regions of Alaska or really anywhere else in the world) but quickly getting up and moving under these circumstances would have made her uncomfortable and could have changed the bear’s behavior.

Also to this bear that is very used to people being around she has learned that humans are not a threat to her or her cubs so her body language is very relaxed. This is why it’s so important for you to do your research when choosing people to take you into bear country who can read bears and offer safe encounters.”

The informative information was wrapped up with sharing that brown bears in this part of Alaska are very tolerant of humans, but you should never let a group of brown bears get that close to you in the wild.

They are at the top of the food chain in the wild for a reason.

@cooperlost Brown bear brings her cubs right by photography group😳 You’re probably wondering what is actually happening here and why this mother brown bear is getting so close to us so let me explain…. My friend @stone_images and I are longtime professional bear guides on the bear coast in Alaska. Scott has spent almost every summer camping in bear country with these bears for well over a decade and watched them grow from a young age, including this mother bear. The safer option in this moment was to keep everyone close and just let her calmly pass by us. This is Alaska and in specific locations the bears have more than enough natural food for them so they take almost no interest in mammals or humans especially when they are habituated like this sow. (This would never happen in other regions of Alaska or really anywhere else in the world) but quickly getting up and moving under these circumstances would have made her uncomfortable and could have changed the bears behavior. Also to this bear that is very used to people being around she has learned that humans are not a threat to her or her cubs so her body language is very relaxed. This is why it’s so important for you to do your research when choosing people to take you into bear country who can read bears and offer safe encounters. Dont ever let bears get close to you or approach them. They are the apex animal on almost every continent and they will attack. The brown bears in the area this clip is taken are extremely well fed and tolerant of human presence. #brownbear #alaskalife #bearsofinstagram #apexpredator ♬ original sound – Casey Cooper

While many of the photographers remained as still as possible, a few in the group moved around, which made those in the comments extremely nervous.

“I don’t need to be faster than the bears; I just need to be faster than that first row of photographers, lol.”

“Too close, dude.”

“The woman who keeps moving!”

“No photos are worth my life.”

“Nope. Nope. The bears will bear. They’re glorious- do not get me wrong- but they’re gonna bear!!”

While these photographers were safe and all turned out well, I can’t blame the public for expressing their concern. I’d be shaking with tears running down my face if I were in this situation.

The end result, though…breathtaking.

@cooperlost Intense bear fight broke out extremely close to us 😳 #bearsoftiktok #katmainationalpark #brownbears #bearfight #grizzlybear ♬ original sound – Casey Cooper

This morning the world is looking at a picture by Doug Mills, a New York Times photographer, which appears to show a blurred trail of a bullet having passed President Trump or clipped his ear.

Many will be asking themselves “Is it possible to take a picture of a bullet in flight?” The short answer is “Yes”, so there is no reason to assume Mills image is a fake.

Taking a photograph of a bullet has been done before, but typically it’s done in controlled circumstances – Sweedish photographer captured a picture of biathlete Hanna Öberg, using a Nikon Z 9 which shows the bullet leaving the muzzle of a rifle.

Strand used a “spray and pray” approach with the camera’s 120fps stills mode and a shutter of 1/32,000sec, but it was still the result of a good amount of timing and practice getting to grips with the timing of the athlete’s firing so the bullet was fired while the image buffer had from to write to.

At 1/32,000sec, however, the ‘frozen bullet’ – despite some motion blur – is more or less visible for its shape….

Mills, being a professional, will also no doubt have used his burst and full image buffer to capture as many images as possible the moment it became clear something was happening.

With the bright conditions and the camera closely focussed on the President, a nearby passing bullet would be in sharp focus if passing close enough.

The only remaining question as to whether a blur is visible is how fast it was going compared to the shutter speed.

The shooter, identified by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks, used “an AR-style rifle” – which would send a bullet at around 3000ft/sec as it leaves the gun.

A bullet loses speed as it flies, and the shooter was around 600ft from the former President. 

According to Politiko, Mills was taking photos with “a Sony camera capable of up to 30fps and 1/8000sec” (though they don’t say which one or what setting he was using). 

Mills is known to have spoken about why he switched to the Sony a9 (from Canon) in the past (the interview is on the Sony site). We now think he’s using a Sony A9iii.

In that case he might have been shooting at 1/8000sec (it was a bright day), but the camera offers up to 120fps bursts and 1/80,000 sec, not that anyone would choose that setting unless planning for a bullet!

Mills has since described the event to the New York Times (subscription required for full story).

The point being that the shutter speeds and ballistic math seems to suggest there is no reason why, in this photo, we’re not seeing air displacement from a passing bullet – though since 5 shots were fired it’s not clear if it’s the one which clipped Trump’s ear.

One might expect to see debris in that case, and according to Politiko again, Michael Harrigan, an FBI retiree agress that is could be a bullet but “the angle seems a little low” to be the one to go through the ear.

For more reading, check our guide to the best Sony cameras.

The assassination attempt on Donald Trump is dominating the morning of Sunday, July 14. As the day goes by, more details are known about the assassination attempt on former President Trump in Pennsylvania.

Just as new graphic documents are coming out, from the cameras of the assistants, which explain a little more faithfully what happened.

After seeing how the private security rushed on Donald Trump, how the sniper, located behind the former president, shot down the author of the shots, how the candidate for the Republican Party stood up bloody, now the social networks, through a new video shot, have captured the moment in which one of the photos that will surely go down in history has been executed.

The unconsciousness of this photographer is going around the world, being shared exponentially and raising more and more surreal comments from users of social networks.

The photographer didn’t think twice

Evan Vucci, a professional photographer, was working at the Republican candidate’s rally when the shooting started. Far from getting to safety, the photographer, with an instinct worthy of a person with inordinate courage, ran to the area where Trump was getting to safety to take some snapshots that will surely go down in posterity.

“The truth is that yes, very cold-blooded to continue with his work as a photographer,” commented a user of the social network X, while others ventured to congratulate him on his upcoming Pulitzer Prize. David Altizer, a famous American graphic designer, even unraveled the photograph taken and explained why it was the perfect photo.

Details continue to come out about what happened in Pennsylvania as we can count the possible second Pulitzer Prize for Evan Vucci.

His photo has been viewed by 2.4 million people in the first seven hours since it was posted and has over a thousand comments.

Anthropics PortraitPro is one of a new breed of software that utilises AI technology to deliver results. In the case of PortraitPro, the tools enable photo editors to perform a wide range of retouching tasks. These features are different from many photo editors in that they use AI to determine the elements of the subject, followed by trained models that enable intelligent adjustments to be made.

This solution is able to detect the subject’s face, gender, and age and thereby make use of the correct trained images to make the necessary edits. It also locates facial features, skin, hair, objects, and backgrounds, so that you don’t have to waste time creating masks.

Almost all of the tools are controlled by sliders, which makes the software incredibly easy to use and amazingly intuitive. In this regard, it is very similar to Adobe Lightroom. I thoroughly enjoyed using the application and, as a photographer with many years of editing experience, found it extremely easy to pick up and get instant results.

PortraitPro: Key specifications

Features

Skin smoothing

PortraitPro is a master at smoothing out skin blemishes and problem areas. It does all this thanks to ClearSkin technology and a touch-up brush that enables photo editors to target specific areas. This has the added benefit of avoiding softening out the whole face when it isn’t necessary.

Face sculpting

Aside from skin smoothing, it is also possible to sculpt the face thanks to its AI-trained technology. By providing a set of sliders, editors can refine the subject’s features rather than having to get ‘hands-on’ with the image. This generally avoids the risk of creating something unnatural but does have the downside of limiting potential edits. 

Skin Lighting and Colouring

Portrait Pro pushes beyond the removal of unflattering shadows and provides the ability to adjust the direction and colour of the light. The 3D lighting tool is pretty easy to use, although it does have its limits to what can be adjusted.

Eyes, Mouth, Nose, and hair

This is one of the features that will be popular among portrait photographers because it provides a set of innovative tools and sliders for quickly enhancing these features. The hair tool is particularly impressive, as it can make fine adjustments to the colour and look of the hair without generating unnatural results.

Performance

In general, most of the tools performed pretty well. The first tool I tried was skin smoothing and it worked nicely. The removal of pores and shine was particularly effective, with perfect results achieved every time. 

Eyebrow trimming didn’t appear to do anything, which was a little disappointing, as I could envisage instances where this would be extremely useful. Spot removal provides a set of options rather than a slider and even though it takes time to work through the options, the results were incredibly good.

Shaping tools were where things became scarily good. Through a range of sliders, it is possible to completely transform the look of a person without ‘pushing’ the picture too far and damaging pixels. The ‘Face Shape’ slider provides a range of options for adjusting the face shape and the eyes can be both widened and expanded. All these tools work perfectly. 

The shape of the mouth can also be changed and the lips can be made more plump. Again, these are flawless. Unfortunately, the neck and shoulder adjustments were a lot less effective and largely unusable in a production context.

The general sense of quality continues with the eye, nose, and hair tools. All of these produce fantastic results and allow the retoucher to adjust every part of these features. It really is impressive. 

The inpainting features are a little more hit-and-miss, especially the ‘Reduce Reflections in Glasses’ tool. I was dubious of its ability before I even tried it and unfortunately, I was proved correct. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before it improves to a usable point but I don’t think we’re there yet. The same is true for the sky-removal tool. It did an alright job but wasn’t always able to create the correct mask for perfectly swapping out the sky.

User experience

Right from the word ‘go’, I thoroughly enjoyed using PortraitPro. I was greeted by a set of interactive tutorials which guided me through various workflows and helped me get my bearings within the software. I was incredibly grateful for this introduction, as it meant I could proceed with the features and tools with confidence. 

Almost everything is set up with sliders, which makes it beautifully intuitive and simple to pick up. I was able to adjust settings and quickly see the results before either reverting, sticking with the result, or pushing it even further. I love this type of workflow and, as a photographer, it feels very natural.

There are times when you are required to edit the masks, which is a little more hands-on, but even this is simple enough with brushes and sliders to help you along the way. Mask settings overtake the main menus to avoid confusion with what the present tool is.

Anthropics has done a great job of creating a package that will feel very natural and creative. Photo editors and retouchers will find it easy to get on with, especially those who are already used to something like Adobe Lightroom.

Price

PortraitPro 24 is currently discounted from £99.90 to £49.95. The 50% discount makes this software very affordable indeed, especially compared to the likes of Lightroom. If you want the complete set of batch processing tools, then you’ll need to purchase PortraitPro Studio Max 24 for £154.95.

One of the best alternatives to PortraitPro is Luminar Neo which, at £59, only costs a little bit more. If you’d like something super mobile-friendly, then the Lensa app for £32.99 is a fantastic option.

Who is it for?

There’s a good reason that AI image generators are taking most of the headlines but swooping in behind are a great set of AI photo editors, with PortraitPro being one of them. This application from Anthropics will appeal to all types of portrait photography, including wedding photographers and studio portraiture.

Lightroom and Photoshop have served us well over the years and I’m sure they will continue to do so. But in a world with such demand to make varied edits as quickly as possible, there’s most definitely a market for AI-driven tools. Photographers wanting great results and maximum flexibility in post will be drawn to PortraitPro.

Buy it if:

• You’re into portrait photography
• You love AI-driven tools
• You want great results quickly

Don’t buy it if:

• You want maximum control
• You are a die-hard Adobe fan
• You are looking for a free option

Forough Yavari is a visual artist, fine art portrait and fashion photographer, and educator based in Melbourne, Australia.

With over 20 years of experience in the art and photography industry and a solid foundation in painting from art university, she has achieved significant growth since starting her photography business in 2013.

Her work intricately portrays the narratives of people worldwide, reflecting her diverse background and influences. Combining her artistic roots from Iran and her experiences in Australia, she passionately pursues visual-arts, encapsulating the essence of her life journey.

Forough has earned numerous prestigious awards, including being a two-time winner of The International Portrait Photographer of the Year; winner of the Advertising & Fashion Category for The Capture Awards 2023; finalist in National Portrait gallery; and finalist for the Beautiful Bizzare Art Prize. Her works have been globally exhibited in solo and group exhibitions as well as several art fairs around the world.

Salvation. I was inspired by poems of Langston Hughes (the American social activist and poet).  Dance and Blues play major role in Hughes poems, allusion to freedom and loneliness.  The background and custom are also made using various hemp fabrics, with background forms and shapes inspired by paintings by Mary Obering (American abstract painter). 

Iris is from an ongoing series “The Skin Around Me” that I examine how objects serve as shields and enhancements, concealing and unveiling aspects of youth, beauty, and vulnerability. This series invites viewers to reflect on the materials that shape our identities and the dualities they represent—between self-perception and the external world, beauty and fragility, protection, and exposure.

I have a dream. Referring to the speech “I Have a Dream” a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Freedom on August 28, 1963, in which he called for end to racism. 

In between spaces. In this image, I illustrate my experience as a female migrant artist to another country that is so different in many aspects. “In-between spaces” invites viewers to consider the complexities of identity for those who migrate.

Serenity. This portrait from the “Salvation” series celebrates the beauty and strength of black women, drawing inspiration from Langston Hughes’ poetry, and infused with the themes of dance and the blues, echoing their experiences. I crafted the background and clothing using painted canvas, gold leaf, and paper, symbolizing freedom, and movement. The golden circle signifies the woman’s power and resilience, paying homage to the transformative power of the human spirit in overcoming adversity. Ellie is my subject here, wearing an outfit I created from wrapping paper. As she danced to music in the studio, I captured her genuine emotions and expression, avoiding a staged approach. With painted backdrops and the enchanting golden hues, the portrait conveys the profound essence of her being.

You can see more of Forough’s work on her website. 

Shane Dunlap is a TribLive photographer covering Westmoreland and Allegheny counties. He grew up in the Ohio Valley near Pittsburgh and has worked for newspapers as far away as Fayetteville, N.C., where he covered the U.S. Army at Fort Liberty. He can be reached at sdunlap@triblive.com.