When I first started making boots I somehow knew it was important to have professional pictures taken of each pair when I completed them; this is why I have thirty years of quality photos of boots I’ve made. There was a photographer in Guthrie named Bob Bozarth. He’d agreed to take boot photos for Jay Griffith in exchange for boots but never got them (and didn’t get paid for the photos either) so when I approached him about boot photos he wasn’t sure he even wanted my cash. Over the years though, we became friends and I enjoyed visiting with him when I completed a pair of boots.

After Bob retired his son Robert took over the business and Robert became my friend as well. He was kind and patient if I was running late, and he had a delightful laugh. I believe it was Robert who took this photo of me one day while I was waiting to have my boots photographed.

Robert eventually closed the business but he sold me a table and some lights and encouraged me to buy a good camera and learn to take my own photos, which I have done. He moved to another town and we didn’t see each other again. He died recently, as a result of a terrible car accident, and my world is a little less bright knowing that Robert is no longer in it.