November
One of my favorite photoshoot events! I get to meet great people and enjoy watching as they bring their own special character to life. The light in and around the buildings provides a great atmosphere to the images.
The Historic Empire Ranch
Founded in the 1870s by Welsh immigrant Walter L. Vail and his partner Herbert R. Hislop, the Empire Ranch grew from a small homestead into one of Arizona’s largest cattle operations. At its peak, the ranch encompassed more than 180 square miles of rolling grasslands in the Cienega Valley southeast of Tucson. Its success helped shape the region’s ranching economy and remains a vivid example of early Western enterprise.
Source: Wikipedia – Empire Ranch
The Cowboy Festival
Each November, the Empire Ranch Foundation hosts the Empire Ranch Cowboy Festival, a free, family-friendly celebration of Western heritage. The event features live horse demonstrations, cowboy cooking, Western music, and hands-on exhibits that honor the traditions of the working ranch. Proceeds support preservation projects and educational outreach that keep the ranch’s story alive for future generations.
Preservation and the Empire Ranch Foundation
In the late 1900s, public concern grew for the ranch’s future as development and neglect threatened its historic structures. The Bureau of Land Management acquired the property in 1988, and the Empire Ranch Foundation was established in 1997 to protect and restore it. Today, the Foundation works closely with the BLM to preserve more than 20 historic buildings and to educate visitors about the ranching heritage of the American Southwest.