The Modern West: Ky’s Horseback Ride into the Wyoming Sunset for his Senior Portraits

The spirit of the West is alive and well if you know where to look.  On this Wyoming ranch outside of Laramie, big wide open spaces for horses and pronghorn to roam are just part of another hard day’s work.  The relationship between a man and his horse is a special one, and Ky, a senior in high school coming into his own, loves his painted horse named Gracie despite the fact that she is as stubborn as she is sweet.  It is always a pleasure to come into someones life during big milestones, and for Ky, he is just about to finish high school and enter the responsibilities of adulthood.  Ky is already a wonderful person and definitely adds so much to the world with his easy going and hard working disposition.  Ky dressed all in his favorite color that’s always a classic and never goes out of style, black, and gave Gracie’s mane and tail a good brush for their debut in front of the camera for his senior portrait session.

  

Since Ky loves to ride horses, camp, and is proud of his strong work ethic, for his lifestyle senior portrait session we drive out to On A Strong Ranch and watched the sun go down.  As Ky rode across the open prairie with Gracie, the sunset did not disappoint and turned out to be one of those classic legendary western mountain sunsets full of color and clouds while a storm brewed off in the distance.

Although a man and his horse is an important relationship, the relationship between a man and his guns is sometimes just as strong in a different way.  Ky was just as proud to be on his horse as he was to show off the Henry Golden Boy .22 Rifle and Ruger Revolver he chose to bring out.

With a rifle in one hand and a revolver in the other (unloaded, of course!), it wasn’t hard to imagine being in an old Western scene from 100 years ago.  The houses of Laramie off in the distance off the ranch still remind you of a sparsely settled and rugged Western town and just begged for a specialty old and aged Western photo inspired edit.

  

After a nice ride on the prairie the sunset turned to pinks and purples and the mosquitoes started to appear.  Ky rode back to the ranch to his friends and family waiting for him and we enjoyed some conversation, laughter, and views until the last light of the day was gone.  It was a real pleasure to get to spend an evening out on the high plains with such a wonderful person as Ky.  His future is bright and I know that he will succeed with whatever he choses to do in life!