In Fort Worth, the road under the Stockyard sign rises as it moves west away from the heart of Cowtown. This allows for much deeper visuals of the historic area and, from a filmmaker’s perspective, offers the potential of a wider narrative. If the road was flat, the location would still be strong, but it is the hill that transforms the potential.
Fort Worth is a fully paid-up member of the Americana Club and the city’s rise in fortunes over the last 10 years is testimony to the role the Stockyards played in the old west. The cowboy is the most enduring symbol of America and Fort Worth is the cowboy’s spiritual home. Little wonder, therefore, that this stretch of road will host nine million visitors this year.
There are few hotter areas in American real estate right now than this pocket of Texas and I sense that Taylor Sheridan has played something of a role in the growing awareness of cattle culture. The lore of the cattle markets and ranches no longer only speaks to Texans. I wanted to shoot this tableaux at first light to amplify the neon lighting in the background and create more of a visual mood. That ambition made for greater challenges with the camera, but I just hadn’t seen a picture like this before and that always energises me. The location will always be there and that forces the cameraman to push a few boundaries in the quest to be authentic. It is just not good enough to shoot the Stockyards during normal working hours. More of the same is never an option. I think the vignette plays to the vibe of Cowtown. This is a storied place where, over the last 160 years, there must have been many late nights of hard drinking and those on the street at dawn, will be going to bed, not getting up.