Photographs of the Downtown Houston Rodeo Parade

capturing the downtown rodeo parade and rodeo run

I gave myself an assignment: to photograph the Downtown Rodeo Parade. I arrived early because I wanted to get a good spot. I had no intention of taking photographs of the run, but I’m glad I did.

The American flag caught my eye and so did the runners dancing to YMCA by the Village People, played by the event’s emcees on this part of the parade’s path.

I almost did not capture this moment.

I wanted the two static men, the pole, and the hydrant in the frame. I was not expecting to capture the boy running. To me shows movement and determination.

I found the pair of cows humorous.

Even more people in cow costumes. I saw them ride the train into downtown. I knew I had to photograph them, but could not bring myself to do so on the train. I was far too shy.

Families crossed the street in the middle of the Rodeo Run. I captured this moment because people kept crossing both during the run and parade and earlier before the race started I was told, almost scolded, that no one was allowed to cross. It was only after that I noticed the small details like the baby doll.

Even though the police officer wore sunglasses and could not see his eyes, I was certain he was looking right at me.

I liked the contrast here of the men riding their horses and the men riding the cart.

One yellow jacket, two black vests, and three hats. Two sitting in the cart and one standing. Water packs in the bed. That’s what grabbed my attention.

The girl’s wave carried so much emotion for me. The UH group was turning the corner. The mother of the girl wore a straw hat and a leopard print top.

The V-shape here caught my eye. More waving. More flag.

A group of three waving from atop their horses. More flag.

A group of three waving from atop their horses. The triangle shape and the colors caught my eye.

Three things draw my eye here in a triangle. First, the woman on horseback, then the red light with an arrow right below with the words “one way,” and then I see the people sitting down.

Man runs after firetruck.

I found this humorous. Seeing how small the looked compared to the hat. I must’ve looked small too.

Looked like a synchronized battle scene. The coordination, colors, and lighting caught my attention.

I compared and contrasted the previous image to this one below.

It looked like the rodeo official was telling the man to get off the street, or about to. The tension really caught my attention.

God listens.

I took about 550 photographs during the parade. I found only 20 of them to be worthy of sharing and frankly from these 20 that I have shown I could have been even more selective. I enjoyed this assignment that I gave myself because I was more intentional in the curation process than I have been before when sharing my photographs with others.

I stayed in that same corner throughout the entirety of the parade. I think this corner with the crosswalks was eventful and interesting in part due to the crosswalks and sunlight. I took quite a few photographs in the direction of the sun. It is not advised to do so.

There are many moments I wished I had captured, but I had to accept that some moments will be missed. At some moments I wished I had gotten closer to my subject. This made me think about how close I have to be to my subject to capture the scene, to capture what I want. I will admit I am still shy and at a distance, maybe it is fear. I will leave here a GIF of a moment I failed to capture.