WHERE THE WEST BEGAN — CHEYANNE (Patreon)

Pulled this one back out of the archives because it deserved more than the original release ever gave it. This new version includes a bunch of previously unreleased images, along with completely reworked color that brings back the heat, dust and golden light I remember from that barn.

Looking back, this was really the shoot that started the cowgirls for me. Before the desert road trips, old motels, horses, ranches and everything that eventually became part of my work, there was Cheyanne standing in a barn with sunlight cutting through the boards.

The location was rough, the styling was loud, and the light was doing half the work for us. Cheyanne completely owned it. The hat, snakeskin boots, rhinestones and warm skin against all that dark wood created something that felt less like a costume and more like the beginning of its own little world.

I didn’t know at the time how many times I would return to the American West for inspiration. I just knew these photographs worked. Years later, their influence is even easier to see.

This is where the cowgirls began.