Fort Worth, Texas

Southwestern Photojournalism Conference

The Stockyards

Whiskey Joe's namesake is a legendary horse who drove cattle north along the old Chisholm Trail from ranches in Texas to railheads in Abilene, Kans. The current Whiskey Joe greets visiting photojournalists. This year we host a pre-conference workshop for students and turn them loose in the stockyards.

Every morning and afternoon modern-day cowboys round up longhorn cattle and ...

... drive them through the stockyards. They pass the building where the cattle exchange is still located, only today all trading is done online.

Jose has crafted handmade boots for 50 years. The least expensive pair sells for $750 and go up from there — depending on materials and the amount of detail that goes into them ...

... but how far they go up the calf doesn't affect the price. The same amount of work goes into them no matter how tall they are. Jose measures instep and rise, tracing the outline of any bumps and bunions accumulated through the years and constructs a model of the foot around which the boot is built.

Antique bridle and tack for sale at the Cross-eyed Moose.

Proof that pigs can fly ... ignore the string.

Riley Auditorium

The evil Jim Morris appears after the lights turn low, off to the side, in the back of the auditorium where images are projected.

Photographs taken with a Canon 5D Mark II