story by Lindsay King
What started out as videotaping for her husband, JD, has turned into a full-time side hustle as a rodeo and sports photographer for Susan Hoover. Always one to be behind the lens growing up, Susan didn’t really get serious about still-life photography until 2008 when she bought her first digital camera and 70-200 lens. “I’ve just always loved to take pictures. It got to be more fun when I could go look at the pictures of my kids right away rather than waiting for them in the mail,” said the Ainsworth, Nebraska, photographer. Married to a bareback rider, it was only a matter of time before Susan became a full-fledged rodeo mom. Two of her four kids – Whitten Hoover and Trent Kinney – took up bareback riding, as well as other events, just like their dad. Susan still regularly takes photos of Whitten in the arena today.
Although rodeo photography is more of a hobby for Susan, she was honored to cover both the NSRA and M-SRA finals for the past two years. She primarily focuses on M-SRA events during the season, attending anywhere from six to 12 rodeos during the regular season. “There are so many M-SRA rodeos in this area. The whole time my husband rode (17 years), he was in the M-SRA and NSRA. It has such a family-oriented atmosphere; everyone is so close and so friendly.” The close-knit atmosphere lends itself to Susan’s own growing family. In addition to her sons, both of her daughters – Bailie Kovarik and Tarin Adkisson – have kids of their own. “They keep me busy. I don’t take pictures of all my grandkids like I used to because there are so many. It’s fun, it’s a good problem to have.”
In the past Susan has taken photos of families, senior and weddings. As her family grows, her photography schedule outside of rodeo is slowly dwindling. “Shooting weddings is too much of a time commitment that I miss out on family stuff. I have enjoyed every aspect of shooting a wedding, but I would rather stick to rodeo and just do that when I can.” The challenge of shooting rodeos comes from variable lighting coupled with the speed of the events. Like most other photographers, it’s still a lot of trial and error when it comes to getting a great shot. “As far as settings, there is no perfect combination. I do a lot of reading to keep getting better. And I look at a lot of rodeo magazines to try and figure out what the contestants want to see in their run.”
Taking pictures of her family comes with its own challenges for Susan. “It makes me nervous to take pictures of them because it seems like I get better pictures of other people. I do enjoy it though, it’s fun to see what I can get.” Susan has moved from shooting behind the fence to finding her place in the arena for the timed events. Rather than using external lights to help Susan shoot at night or inside a gymnasium, she relies on fluctuating the settings on her Nikon. “It’s a constant adjustment, I am always playing with settings to perfect it. I have never gotten it perfect. That’s why you do some adjustments on the computer after that. It’s hardest to get the clarity that I want because of the light and the speed factor.”
For the past 35 years, Susan has worked as a staff assistant for the Nebraska Department of Transportation. Sorting through a lot of data occupies Susan’s days while sorting through photos keeps her busy at night and on the weekends. She truly wouldn’t have it any other way. Susan now has a granddaughter in the sport and figures it will only continue trickling down the family tree. “Rodeo is my favorite thing to shoot, it’s fun to be able to stop the action and capture expressions. I just enjoy the action part of it. I would like to thank all of the contestants who have supported this hobby of mine.”
