story by Lily Weinacht
The love of rodeo took hold of Andrew Deierlein four years ago and he’s made a second home out of the arena since, capturing the many faces of rodeo from behind the lens of his Canon camera. The 18-year-old from Lake Luzerne, New York, discovered that rodeo was a particularly exciting subject when a friend working at Painted Pony for the summer asked Andrew to come take photos of her. “I just fell in love with the sport and being around the people,” says Andrew, who just purchased his IPRA card this year as well. “There’s no other photographers that cover rodeos up in this area, so I ended up shooting open rodeos and after a year I bought an APRA card. This will be my third year with them.”
Andrew lives down the road from Painted Pony and drives his four-wheeler there several nights a week to shoot their rodeos. He also travels farther afield, shooting the Washington County Fair the last several years, as well as AFR 41 in Atlantic City. “That was the first time I’d ever been able to shoot decent rodeo photos indoors. The lighting outdoors is constantly changing and I have to account for that, but indoors nothing changes unless they’re doing a dark-house opening. So doing the indoors and the Finals itself, and being there in that whole atmosphere, was amazing,” says Andrew. He also plays organ and piano, and had the opportunity to play the largest pipe organ in the world at the Boardwalk Hall while he was in Atlantic City.
“I have Lance Jeffrey and Wendy Davis to thank for a lot of their help with rodeo photography like timing and getting the right shots, as well as a very good friend MJ Tash,” Andrew adds. “Without her I would not be the photographer I am today.” He also enjoys shooting bull riding and barrel racing jackpots, particularly those put on by Tye Eglin, an APRA stock contractor and owner of Lucky E Ranch. One of Andrew’s favorite photos he’s taken thus far features Tye picking up a bronc rider at the Washington County Fair. “Tye has his arm around Eli Hershberger who’s coming off his horse, and Eli’s face is sweaty and you can see the stress—it’s an amazing shot,” says Andrew. He’s always looking for new angles to shoot from—another favorite photo of his was taken lying down near the second barrel at Painted Pony—and the search for the unique never ceases to motivate him. “I appreciate the support from everybody, especially Painted Pony. The contestants are really good with support, and without them I obviously wouldn’t be able to do any of what I do.”
The rodeo atmosphere has also equipped Andrew with the smarts to navigate fire scenes as a fire photographer for several local fire departments. He shoots fire drills and calls, and his work has been featured at fire department banquets, as well as in Fire Engineering magazine. “At any point in time I can get a call on my pager, so it’s never a planned event,” explains Andrew, who focuses on photographing the fire crew members as they are staging or working. “I know my way around a fire scene and how to be safe. It’s like a rodeo in many aspects—there’s a lot going on and you keep your eye out all around you.”
Along with photography, Andrew works as a river rafting guide for Sacandaga Outdoor Center, and enjoys spending time with his horse Tuff. The 16-year-old gelding is an off-track thoroughbred Andrew’s family purchased in 2016, and while an injury in his front hoof prevents him from going far, he enjoys short trail rides around the area.
“My goal with photography is to become a PRCA photographer, and I would definitely love to shoot the International Finals Rodeo sometime,” says Andrew. “The NFR would be a godsend to be able to shoot, and I’d like to thank Painted Pony and the Graham family, Tye Eglin, and Carmine and Sheri Nastri for inviting me to all their events and supporting me throughout the year.”
