My photos of cowgirls like this one working on a ranch in the Bear Paw Mountains near Lloyd, Montana helped a mother and her daughter with their Halloween costumes this year.
From time to time I receive emails from people who compliment my photography. It often makes me a feel silly and I'm not sure why. But the compliments are always warmly received. And frankly, they provide the inspiration to keep doing what I'm doing.
Recently, though, I received a special compliment in the email from a mother named Katharine. She Googled the word "cowgirls" and she found her way to my blog article and photos of real cowgirls. I was blown away. Her compliment was one of the nicest I ever received. More importantly, it was also a compliment to the many real working cowgirls who grace my photos, too. Here's what she wrote:
“I just wanted to say thank you for your photos of real cowgirls. My six year old daughter and I wanted to be cowgirls for Halloween so I Googled cowgirl. How horrifying! What came up was X-rated. But I loved and was proud to show my girl your photos of real working women. Do not underestimate the good effect of what you wrote and your photos. Thank you.”
Those are the kind of compliments that really inspire you. I hope the many Montana women who are the subjects of my photos are equally gracious, because those words say much more about them and their contributions to agriculture and the beef industry than me. Because there's at least one mother and daughter, who probably live in the city, who were inspired by what you do and how you do it.
Kudos.
