Up until recently, most of my photographs of cowboys have been made in the spring during branding season in Montana. That will soon change. At the end of October I will be joining some Montana ranchers and cowboys as they move cattle from their summer grazing grounds to the winter pastures closer to home. At least in one case the cattle drive will take three or four days.

Many years ago cowboys in the west would move large herds of cattle sometimes up to 3000 miles across the central United States from Texas to Montana. Those days are long gone.

Montana used to have some high profile cattle drives that would lure photographers from around the world. Even those have ended. I was fortunate enough to find a couple lesser known drives (not the kind staged by dude ranches) where they would allow to tag along and make some more cowboy photography. Can’t wait.