Five Frames from En Plein Air Texas

En Plein Air Texas is an outdoor painting event held annually for the past few years in San Angelo, my fair city. The 2018 edition had an event at the 65th Annual Roping Fiesta (a roping competition that includes calf roping and often other roping events) at the San Angelo Fairgrounds. I went out to photograph the painters and assorted other subjects. Here are five frame of hidden art.

Saddle

I liked the colors and textures of the saddle and rope.

Boots

Here is a pair of old boots. They were waiting patiently outside a trailer. I like the textures and colors of the leather in the boots, but the picture is made by their reflection in the metal door.

Cowboys

Here is a pair of cowboys. The one on the right is carrying his rope, so I assume he was a competitor. Maybe the other one is his brother or a sidekick. In case you are wondering, the roper is looking at his cell phone.

Action!

The cowboy had just roped his calf. He is about to jump down off the horse and tie three of the calf’s legs together to complete his run. The loop of rope he will use is clenched in his teeth (you cannot see it in this shot). The horse’s job is to keep the rope taunt so that the calf can’t slip away before the cowboy can get to it. In the picture, the horse is already stopping.

Art

En Plein Air Texas is a painting competition. In the morning of the day I was there, there was a Quick Draw Paint-Out where each artist had 2.5 hours to complete a painting. Judging, viewing, and sale immediately afterward. There was some really good work on display. Here is a shot of one of the paintings and its easel.

Bonus Frame

Here is a family having lunch. I loved the hats on the kids. The girl has her boots, but she is too cool for a cowboy hat, instead she has a sun visor. I’m guessing that this group was here for the roping and not so much for the art.


These photos were taken with a Canon 6D wearing either the Canon 100-400 or 24-70 zoom lenses. They were processed from RAW files using Darktable, a free program available for Windoze, Mac, and Linux.

John Osterhout

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