ProRodeo Sports News - August 10, 2018

Photographing rodeo like taking family photos for Click Still Shooting BEHIND THE CHUTE

BY MATT NABER A t 81 years old, Bob Click is the oldest active PRCA photographer, and he has no plans to retire anytime soon. “I hope that day doesn’t come,” Click said. “As long as my health holds out, I’ll still go. It (retiring) would be like saying goodbye to your family.” Going from competitor to photographer makes shooting rodeos a family affair for Click. The 2010 Photographer of the Year primarily shoots in the RAMColumbia River Circuit and occasionally in California. Click grew up on a farm near St. Helens, Ore., and now lives about 20 miles east of the Vancouver, Wash., area. As a contestant in the 1950s, Click would take a “cheap Kodak” along and take photos of friends, since most rodeos didn’t have a photographer. “It was never intended as a money-maker,” Click said. “It was something ranch kids did. There was a dance every night, and it was fun.” Click served in the Navy before joining the Rodeo Cowboys Association as a bull rider and

a year, including the nearby Canby (Ore.) Rodeo and St. Paul (Ore.) Rodeo.

Who is in this photo, and when and where was it taken? This photo is of ProRodeo Hall of Fame saddle bronc rider Billy Etbauer on Sankey Rodeo’s Skitso at the 2004 Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up. Etbauer had won the world title four times (1992, 1996, 1999-2000) and went on to win his fifth world title that year. Skitso was the PRCA Saddle Bronc of the Year in 1994 and 1997.

What was happening before this photo was taken? When I got my daysheet, it jumped out and grabbed me, “Holy cow, Billy drew Skitso.” Not many guys could ride him. He would be in the eliminator pen at the NFR because he had moves and tricks and would explode out of the chute, so I was ready for the picture.

Why does this picture still hold so much sentimental value?

I like the Etbauer brothers, they were a class act and similar to the Wrights today. They were nice young men and they were humble, and you never heard of them being drunk or in a fight. Being a media person, we are supposed to just report and not root for anyone. But there are some so likeable you want them to do well, that’s how I felt about the Etbauers. They were never in too much of a hurry to talk to someone and they would pose for photos with fans. They were good people to be around. That’s the main thing that kept me involved in rodeo, these old friends are good to be around, and you never run out of laughs. This photo was taken 14 years ago, but can you recall what settings you would have had on your camera to make this shot possible? I used Nikon my whole career, and that was with a Nikon D1X. That was at daytime, so I had my f-stop at 5.6 with a 1,000-shutter speed and the ISOwas 400. Do you have any other shots that turned out like this? I do, but they’re not as good. Billy started the horse and his feet were up. It’s hard to get in time with a horse like Skitso because he’s all over the place – it’s hard for even the best bronc riders to stay in time with a horse like that. That was a good name for him because he was crazy.

bareback rider. He also worked for a telephone company while competing. “My supervisor thought it was hilarious until I came in with broken ribs,” Click said. His days as a competitor ended after breaking his vertebra in a car wreck in 1963. By 1995, Click was back at the rodeos, but this time it was around the kids of guys he used to compete against. “I’ve got lifelong friends and second- and third-generation friends in rodeo,” Click said. Click got his PRCA card as a photographer in 1996. By 1997 he was shooting his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo for a news service. He went on to photograph every Wrangler NFR through 2014, a total of 180 performances for three news services. “When I was working, I did over 20 a year, and that was miserable because I would leave Sunday and drive all night to get to work,” he said. “When I retired in 2003, I promised myself no more night travel.” Now he shoots about 15 rodeos

Bob Click is the oldest active PRCA photographer and used to compete in the 1950s. He became a PRCA photographer in 1996 and went on to win Photographer of the Year in 2010. Larry Fulgham photo

ProRodeo Sports News 8/10/2018

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