The Woman Who Shot Cowboys: Rodeo Photographer Louise L. Serpa – Apache Junction

Anyone who has ever stared down an angry bull coming full throttle across an arena will understand why rodeo photographer Louise Serpa often uttered the adage, “Never Don’t Pay Attention.” Born into New York society, Louise ended up out west with her nose buried in the dirt & her eye glued to a camera, becoming the first woman to venture inside the arena & shoot some of the most amazing photographs of rodeo action. The dust & dirt of the rodeo became Louise’s lifeblood for almost 50 years. This PowerPoint program demonstrates the courage & resolution of a woman who was determined to decide her own fate while ascending to the highest pinnacles of rodeo photography.

Award-winning author and lecturer Jan Cleere writes & speaks extensively about the people who first settled in the desert southwest. She has written five books including the just-released biography of rodeo photographer Louise L. Serpa, Never Don’t Pay Attention. Other books include Levi’s & Lace: Arizona Women Who Made History, Amazing Girls of Arizona: True Stories of Young Pioneers, Outlaw Tales of Arizona, & Nevada Women: Remarkable Women Who Shaped History. Her work has been recognized by the AZ Newspapers Assn., AZ Books Publishers Assn., Natl. Federation of Press Women, & the NV Women’s History Project. She is an American Studies magna cum laude graduate of ASU West.