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Hawaiian cowboy photography book publishedOLD MILL CREEK, Ill. (AP)--Slightly rolling hills. Vast prairie lands surrounded by thickly wooded areas. Flat-paneled wooden fences and a horse stable that has been converted into a home. If you were suddenly dropped into this setting unaware of your surroundings, you might not be surprised to witness a herd of approaching cattle followed by a few cowboys on horseback. This isn't the Wild West, however; it is Old Mill Creek, a rural community in northern Lake County. It is the home of Michal McClure, a retired entrepreneur who has recently published the photography book "Hawaiian Cowboys: A Photographic Journal." Seeing McClure's home setting, his interest in horses and cowboys seems only natural. One of his business ventures and passions was training horses on this property. Walking the grounds, it's easy to imagine horses grazing behind the wooden fences. Now retired, the 67-year old Toledo, Ohio, native sold off his business interests 10 years ago, and now concentrates on photography. Interested in photography since he was in high school but choosing a business career and rearing three sons instead, McClure didn't pick up a camera for years. He only dabbled a bit when on business trips in Hawaii. "I had a travel business and I would go out with some of the photographers we would have to hire," he said. "To me it was my break; I would go out and photograph with them." It was on those trips and family vacations that McClure learned about the culture of Hawaiian cowboys. "We'd go up into the mountains. We like to explore and hike, and that's what got us into those areas. If we were down below at the beaches sunning ourselves, we would never have seen this," McClure said. "We would see guys transporting these horses back and forth in their trailers. I had a friend who lived up there where the ranches are, and I asked him if he could introduce me to one of the ranchers he knew. And that's what got me going." He started small, by first publishing a 10-page story in the Aloha Airlines in-flight magazine. Encouraged by the response, he continued documenting. To gain interesting points of view and to access the varied places that cowboys go, McClure made photographs from helicopters, the backs of pickup trucks, standing on fences, on horseback and even on ATVs. "I hadn't been on a horse for a while, so before I went to Hawaii, I worked to get myself back in condition. I knew at my age I could be worn out in an hour and I had to go all day, so I really worked hard to get myself toned up," he said. "When I got there, I said to one of my subjects, which horse would you like me to ride? And he said, we're not gonna be riding horses, we're gonna be riding ATVs." Documenting both the traditional and contemporary ways of Hawaiian cowboys, McClure took 12 trips over the course of three years, snapping about 15,000 photographs in all. Many times he was invited to stay at the homes of his subjects. Other times, he traveled to Hawaii with two of his sons, who share his interest in photography. Brian and Chris McClure are contributing photographers to Hawaiian Cowboys. The trio worked together to try to properly document the rodeo portion of the story. The book contains about 90 photographs, from candid moments to portraits to landscapes, from a half-dozen of the Hawaiian islands. McClure concentrates on everyday ranching scenes, rodeos and leisure time, but also accesses the more intimate settings of weddings, funerals and church services. 10/27/08 Date: 11/14/08
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