At a team roping in January, a man sits astride a horse in the welcome warmth of the Arizona sun. He shifts in the saddle cursing his too-tight jeans, adjusting his Jordans in the stirrups. In a sea of mounted cowboys, a young kid stands near his horse squinting up at him with curiosity. “Are you a roper?” he asks, “No,” the man replies. “Are you a bull rider?” the kid tries again. “No,” the man says with a humble shake of his head, “I’m just a photographer.”
Ivan McClellan has been weaving his way between horse trailers and bucking chutes at rodeos for six years now, documenting the daily life of black cowboys. Today his images are sweeping the Western world, bringing a muted scene to the forefront, and coloring in the details of how the west is being won.
As a husband and father, he has spent what little free time he has traveling across the country from his home in Portland, Oregon to document a different way of life; and the heritage western brands of today are clamoring to share his point of view.
In Modern Huntsman Volume Six, Emilè Zynobia and Idris Solomon brought you the story of “The Forgotten Cowboy,” and today Ivan continues that story hoping that one day cowboys of color will not be newsworthy because of their skin but for their talents and contributions alone.
KATIE MARCHETTI: Tell us a little bit about the eight seconds project and what sparked this project for you?
IVAN MCCLELLAN: Eight seconds is a project focused on elevating the stories of cowboys of color. I have at times focused on Mexican cowboys, and on native cowboys, but mostly I focus on black cowboys because that’s a story that’s close to me. It’s a story that I
