"This was a staged shot to show the compassionate side of cowboys. I talked my cousins into helping me set it up. We saddled up a couple of horses, grabbed a calf from their lot, and proceeded to the location. When we arrived, I put my old Kowa Six on a tripod and told Tom and John where to stand. Once they were in place, I tried to make an exposure, but the shutter had frozen in the 15º weather. The fellas grumbled but stayed put while I ran to the pickup and stuck the camera under the dashboard in a stream of of hot air. In the short time it took the shutter to thaw, it began snowing. That dusting of snow on hats and horses was a serendipitous event that adds a great deal to the photograph." - Bill Ellzey

A writer as well as photographer, Bill Ellzey’s articles and photographs have appeared in National Geographic magazine, Photo District News, Outdoor Photographer, and Camera & Darkroom, to name a few. He has been featured in Ski, Climbing, Outside Magazine and National Geographic. A Telluride resident for twenty years, Ellzey is best known for his iconic “Bear Creek Aerial” shot from 1994.