Out West Occasions 2026 | 4-C Photography: Capturing moments in time  

All images courtesy Chuck Miner, 4-C Photography 

Rodeo has all the time been a part of Chuck Miner’s life. From highschool rodeos to bull driving on the novice circuit to dabbling in saying, the sector stored calling him again.  

“I took a shot at the pros, but that lets you know where you stand real fast,” Miner stated.  

These days, Miner shoots together with his digicam. 

“Now in the rodeo world I’m more known for my photography than I was for riding bulls, but that’s all right,” he stated. 

Miner calls Mandan, North Dakota dwelling, and has lived in western North and South Dakota his entire life. He was saying at rodeos in his native space after he stopped driving bulls, however then Covid hit and rodeos had been shut down. 

“That put a damper on my pursuit of what I wanted to do,” he stated. “I just wanted to stay active in rodeo and be a part of it.”  

Miner grew up doing pencil drawings and generally performed round taking footage together with his cellphone digicam however stated “being a photographer wasn’t on my bingo card of life at all.” 

But then somebody talked him into shopping for a digicam.  

“Well, what am I going to shoot?” he puzzled.  

Rodeo was the plain reply.  

The first rodeo he shot was a highschool apply rodeo in Faith, South Dakota in 2020.  

“I started doing it as a hobby; I just showed up and shot from outside the arena,” he stated.  

Miner began sharing the images he took on social media, tagging riders or their mother and father. Pretty quickly individuals began asking him what they owed him, and when he tried to inform them to not fear about it, they might insist on giving him one thing. 

After some time, he realized he may flip his pastime into a viable facet gig. The rising demand for his work introduced additional incentive to up his recreation. 

“You’ve got to learn, keep advancing, and try to perfect your craft as much as possible,” he stated. “Once photographers start creating their own style and get into their niche, people can point to your work and say ‘That’s Chuck’s’ or ‘that’s so and so’s’ – people can tell by your angles and your editing process. It’s good to have a calling card when it comes to displaying your photos.” 

The studying and development by no means ends for Miner. 

“I didn’t know anything about a camera when I started,” he stated. “There’s so much detail and intricacy that goes on with learning a camera, from settings to composition to how to frame your subject. I became a student of the game and try to learn as much as I can.” 

Now that he’s within the behavior of taking footage, he sees photographic risk in all places. 

“You hate yourself if you miss the opportunity to take something,” he stated. 

He all the time carries his digicam and typically stops on his solution to work to shoot wildlife. 

“When I was a teenager, other kids always made sure they took pictures of stuff. I kind of kick myself because I didn’t, but when you’re young, you live fast and never think you’ll make it past 25.” 

Photography has taken Miner to among the greatest rodeos within the nation. 

“One of the first rodeos I shot when I got my pro card was the American down in Fort Worth, Texas. I’ve done Cheyenne, a couple of Xtreme Bronc [matches], and I was invited to Pendleton this past fall but didn’t get a chance to go.” 

Shooting professional has offered additional alternative to get his work observed, however he does have a delicate spot for the highschool rodeos in his space. 

“I’ve been pretty blessed,” he stated. “I absolutely love the committees who ask me to shoot high school and other kids’ events. A lot of them are people I used to rodeo with, since I rodeoed in the northwest region in South Dakota. It is fun to see kids I rodeoed with now raising their kids the way we were raised.” 

Shooting the National Finals Rodeo was a particular excessive level for Miner. 

“I got to go shoot the NFR as a media photographer,” he stated. “Photographers for different media outlets or brands that sponsor athletes get to shoot from a designated area. You aren’t one of the official NFR photographers, but you get to go down to Vegas and take pictures.” 

Doors open and doorways shut, however Miner believes every thing occurs for a motive. 

“It makes you go out and hustle harder,” he stated. “You have to be a salesman and go out and promote your work and let committees know why they should choose you. I was blessed to already have a network in the rodeo community behind me when I started.” 

Miner’s associates would come as much as him and say, “I didn’t know you were a photographer,” and he joked, “Neither did I.” 

Miner provides credit score to the Lord for blessing him with alternatives. 

“Always be appreciative of what you’ve got,” he stated. “I’m still able to walk around an arena, kneel down and move around. Thankfully, my body still operates as good as it can. I’m blessed to be able to do stuff.” 

He does nonetheless have to look at his again.  

“I thought my injuries in the rodeo arena were over till last fall,” Miner stated. “All afternoon, horses would buck toward me and peel off. I watched this horse coming and realized he’s not peeling off. I climbed the fence, but he just runs into me and I ended up breaking three ribs. I thought my days of getting wrecked were over.” 

Weather might be an inconvenience and a discomfort for the rodeo photographer, simply as it’s for the rivals. 

“You have to bring rain wear for yourself and your equipment,” Miner stated. “You just learn to adapt to the elements. If you’ve been exposed to it, it’s no big shock, you’ve just got to deal with it.” 

The large phases of professional rodeo are thrilling, and Miner has loved assembly different shooters from throughout the nation. Every venue is exclusive, from “The Daddy of ’em All” to Globe Life Field. 

But the hometown highschool rodeos are nonetheless his favorites. Miner has been the official photographer for the South Dakota state highschool finals, the North Dakota state highschool finals, and the South Dakota 4-H finals for the previous couple of years.  

“For the intimacy, you can’t match a good high school hometown rodeo,” Miner stated. “Everyone feels like family. I love the kids and the parents and all of the committees treat me well.” 

While he retains the shutter button clicking, Miner hopes to start out competing once more within the “old man’s breakaway.” His associates tease him that he’s the one individual they know who was so excited to show 50 so he would qualify for the occasion. 

When younger shooters ask him for recommendation, “I tell them to learn the sport,” Miner stated. “Learn what judges are looking for, what makes a good ride, and what cowboys and cowgirls are looking for.” 

Anyone can sit within the stands and take an image, however that’s not the identical as studying to be a photographer. 

“Experiment with your creativity,” Miner stated. “When you capture a moment in time, it becomes an image for that person.”