A photographer spent over a decade living with Black cowboys and cowgirls in the U.S., capturing a culture that is often overlooked.
Photographer Ivan McClellan brings together more than 90 previously unpublished photographs in his new book Eight Seconds: Legacy in Motion, published by Damiani. His striking portraits document Black cowboys and cowgirls across America, highlighting their athleticism, individuality, and cultural traditions.
The photographs are the result of more than a decade spent documenting Black cowboy culture. McClellan first encountered Black rodeo culture in Oklahoma in 2015 and this introduction began a photographic journey that would take him across the United States. Over the following years, he built relationships with competitors and their families, documenting both the intensity of rodeo events and the lives of those involved beyond the arena.
Through intimate portraits made across the country, McClellan documents a side of the American West that popular imagery has often overlooked.
“When I started photographing Black rodeos, I wasn’t looking for historical artifacts,” McClellan tells Deadline. “I found an incredibly stylish, charismatic, competitive group of people with larger-than-life personalities. The kind of people Hollywood should have been making movies about all along.”
“And I think that’s the real power of photography. I don’t have to invent a Black cowboy superhero. I just have to show up with my camera. These people are already extraordinary.”
The title of the photo book Eight Seconds: Legacy in Motion refers to how bull riding is scored, but it also represents a moment when life and death are at stake. Like the cowboys he photographs, McClellan works in an environment that demands complete focus, where connections between people, animals, and the land come together to create moments with universal appeal. His photographs go beyond rodeo to explore a culture that values individuality and self-expression, presenting a fresh perspective on the American West and its traditions.
Ivan McClellan’s Eight Seconds: Legacy in Motion is being published by Damiani. It can be purchased here.
Image creditsAll photos courtesy of and published by DAMIANI Books.
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