Trails West Photography

Greg Bos

Greg Bos has generously donated his portion of the sale of every one of his limited edition "Trails of the West" photographic prints to O'Keefe Ranch. By purchasing a print, you support local art and help keep our rich history alive.

Biography

Greg began his career in photojournalism as a freelance in 1980 shortly after graduating from Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton, Canada. For three years from 1984, he was a staff photographer for the Kamloops News, a small regional daily newspaper in British Columbia.

In 1987 Greg moved to Europe at the start of what turned out to be a 24-year career with Reuters as a staff photographer and photo editor finishing up in London as their global sports photo editor. During his Reuters career, he covered major news and sports stories including the Lockerbie Disaster, the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the first Gulf War, the funeral of Princess Diana, the FIFA World Cups in 1990, 2002, 2006, and 2010, and the Olympic Games in 1992, 2006, 2008, and 2010.

Since leaving Reuters in 2011, Greg has divided his time between London and Plymouth working on personal photography projects, including Trails of the West. This is the first public exhibition of his work.

Trails of the West (Introduction by Greg Bos)

Barbican Library August 2-15 2018

It was a cold day in late October 1984. Kamloops News reporter Gerry Young and I drove up to Douglas Lake Ranch for a story and pictures marking the 100th anniversary of one of the biggest and most iconic cattle ranches in Canada. It was snowing heavily as we pulled off old British Columbia Highway 5A and made our way to ranch headquarters.

We then continued several miles up a snow-covered dirt road to the Dry Farm cow camp. By now the snow was really coming down. Not only was I concerned about my camera equipment getting wet and frozen, in the back of my mind I was thinking... how do we get out of here with all this snow. It was a whiteout.

Then he appeared like a mirage out of the whiteness. Terry Milliken was easing his horse out of the trailer. I scrambled from my car to get some pictures. It was a 'eureka' moment. Terry looked like how a cowboy should with the hat, the neckerchief, the winter coat, boots, chaps and spurs. The blizzard-like conditions made it extremely difficult to get any usable images. But a seed was planted that day and thus began my project on the North American Cowboy.

Perhaps it was a memory recall from watching western movies, or Bonanza and Rawhide on television as a boy in the 1960's. I have no ranching background. Regardless, as a photographer, I have been drawn to the serene beauty and stunning vistas of the North American west - a backdrop synonymous with the iconic image of the cowboy.

Over the winter of that first year, I did some research on ranching and rodeos, the old-fashioned pre-Google way, by going to the library. I was intrigued and decided to dedicate as much time as I could to learn about the dynamic history and the modern community of cowboys.

From 1984 - 2017 I have had the privilege of visiting a select few historic cattle ranches, and a few small-town rodeos in Canada and the United States to take pictures. Being based in the U.K. since 1992, it was never going to be easy or cheap to complete a documentary project like this. And, by no means have I explored or photographed all that there is in the vast North American west. My Story is merely a snapshot of the modern cowboy way of life told in a time capsule narrative.

During my 33-year journey, I have amassed an archive of thousands of images in analogue (slides & or film) and digital formats. Of the 500 images shortlisted for my book Trails of the West, only about 160 made it for publication. The harder task was selecting some 33 images for this exhibition of which only 21 made it to frame. These are the images I believe are the ones that work, and best tell my story.

Sales of the Prints

Greg Bos's limited edition "Trails of the West" prints are currently on display and for sale in the Gallery. Below is a sample of some of the available prints.

Skittish Pony image B-3270

Douglas Lake Ranch BC, Canada- May 2015

This is a 16 x 12 print, the cost is $150. This print is also framed, the cost is $300.