This was a wild one. Jonathan and our crew including 1st AC Carter, traveled out to Prescott Arizona to film at the famous Rodeo and capture all the rugged, hard-hitting action. Shooting with 2 Red Helium cameras outfitted with Leica Summicron prime lenses, Jonathan was able to shoot some portraits with real cowboys in an authentic location. Rodeo riding is a truly extreme sport because anytime you are working with large, ferocious animals, anything can happen. After the main setup with the riders, Jonathan actually ventured into the rodeo ring himself to get some action shots of the bulls. He soon learned first hand the dangers of these animals. As he was setting up a long-lens low angle shot, a massive longhorn began to charge Jonathan from a distance of about 20 yards! With some selfless quick-thinking, Carter, who was standing just outside the ring, was able to reach over and pound on the boards enough to distract the bull and cause him veer away from Jonathan and crash into the boards. Unfortunately, the hit was strong enough to knock Carter off the other side of the wall. Fortunately, he was ok, and so was Jonathan. The goal was to capture the unique energy and excitement of this distinctly American sport; and this trip to the rodeo definitely did not disappoint.
