A French Photographer Captures the Modern Cowboys of the American West

For American Cowboys from The Images Publishing Group, French photographer Anouk Krantz spent two years traveling across the country to take a deeper look into the American West and cowboy culture. Along the way, she met Navajo cowboy Derrick Begay and formed a bond with him as they rounded up cattle together in the shadows of 30-foot cacti. Over the course of her journey, Krantz encountered men, women and children from California to Oklahoma to Florida with different backgrounds who share the common bond of embodying the modern-day cowboy thanks to their values and their work ethic. “Once you’re out there and you get to know these people, you realize how big it is,” she tells InsideHook. “These people are still here and they work hard. They put food on American tables. It’s a big part of our country, yet it’s sitting in the shadows of our nation’s consciousness.” To help us get a feel for the book, Krantz rounded up 10 of the photographs from American Cowboys and gave some background. Giddy-up …

“This is Derrick next to a saguaro. He’s one of the greatest guys out there. I mean, he’s unbelievable,” Krantz says. “He grew up on Navajo land in very poor conditions with no electricity and no running water. He’s just this legend. He’s done extremely well in the rodeo world and carved a path for others so they know it’s possible. I was amazed that there are Native American people who also are cowboys and ranchers and in the rodeo. I didn’t know that. I think most people don’t know that. Derrick is really just a tremendous source of inspiration, whether it’s for Native Americans or other people.”

“This is a woman. She’s a barrel racer and this is the final stretch, so she’s close to the finish line,” Krantz says. “It’s all about your agility and getting done as quickly as possible without messing up. Barrel racing is definitely a big part of the rodeo.”

“This was just a long moment that I shot,” Krantz says. “These are all cowgirls from the University of Wyoming. They were going out. The girl to the right also grew up on an Indian reservation in South Dakota. She’s on the rodeo team at the University of Wyoming. That’s how they dress and how they are. They were just having a good time.”

“They go to Starbucks too. We all want coffee. Who doesn’t love a good cup of Starbucks?” Krantz says. “On my trip, I pretty much just ate spinach wraps and drank their coffee. I would actually drive 40 miles out of the way to be able to get a cup of Starbucks and a spinach wrap, and then there would be nothing else.”

“This is a simple picture, but it’s fun. It’s a bunch of guys who are at a college rodeo,” Krantz says. “Just like with lacrosse or football, you compete against other colleges and universities at rodeos. I don’t even know what this game is called, but these guys were tossing and playing around with that ball for an hour while others were competing. There were no phones. Everyone was just having fun and looking up and interacting and talking and laughing. This wasn’t like the northeast where everyone is on their phones all the time. These young men were just having fun with a silly little ball. I thought that was pretty cool.”

“This was the first moment that I met this man. I thought it was really cool that I came and he was ready,” Krantz says. “To me, you just look at a picture, and you’re like, ‘My gosh. I know he’s a great person.’ He just exudes welcome to this world. Looking up and looking at your eyes and lifting your hat up to say, ‘Hello.’ You don’t see that anymore. That’s what I loved about this.”

“The title of this picture is The Beast. It was shot in Kansas at a rodeo. To me, the horse looks like this massive beast,” Krantz says,” If you look at the size of the horse and the size of the guy, you’re like, ‘Holy cow. How can you stay on something like that?’ He’s a bronco rider. This guy is probably not getting bucked off yet. He’s in a pretty great position right there. But he probably will not last for more than four seconds.”

“I was invited to a place called Mud Butte in South Dakota. You’re driving for hours and hours and once you get off the paved road, you’re driving for another 50 miles on dirt roads. I’m talking about the middle of nowhere,” Krantz says. “Every Friday a group meets up about an hour away at a bar on another dirt road to catch up. We went there. I opened the door and there were 10 of these cowboys, all ranchers. They were playing cards, shooting pool, talking, drinking beers and having a great time. They were just shot in the moment. The cowboys saw the picture and were like, ‘Oh, my gosh. I can’t believe we look like that.’ It was fun to have these pictures to show them.”

“This is winter in Wyoming. When you have cattle to take care of and the moms are giving birth and it’s subzero temperatures, the work doesn’t stop,” Krantz says. “Work continues and it goes through the night. You can’t say, ‘I’m tired.’ You can’t say, ‘I’m cold.’ You can’t say, ‘I just don’t feel like it.’ No. You have to continue. it’s just a reminder these people are here too and the values they live by are values we can be reminded of. It’s integrity. It’s dignity. It’s hard work. It’s love for your country, your land and neighbors, and how to work together. How can we not love that?”

“This was shot in Nevada. I was given this rancher’s number, and he invited me over. I actually had to come from Montana. I drove over 10,000 miles on that trip,” Krantz says. “I got there and he offered to show me something he’d never really shown to anyone before. That was this saloon. It’s from the early 1900s and it’s standing right there on his ranch. No one sees it because it’s on private property. He shared this treasure with me, which I thought was really cool.”