Bjorn Staps (3 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Brand New. Hardcover.Width: 17 cm. Height: 24cm. 96 pages. English & Dutch text.

Condition: New.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Limited edition of 500 copies. Large format hardcover, fully bilingual (French & English), chiefly full-page and double-spread photos, some folded, colour and b&w, unpaged (147 pages), pictorial endpapers, NOT ex-library. Shipping weight over 1 kg. Interior is clean and bright throughout with unmarked text, free of inscriptions and stamps, firmly bound. Boards show handling wear (a bit of rubbing, a long scratch on the front panel). Issued without a dust jacket. A barcode sticker on the rear board. -- Cowboys are forever linked to the mythical American West, immortalized in history books, films, TV series, comics, and ads as symbols of freedom, courage, and masculinity. But what about the cowboys of Europe? In "European Cowboy", Dutch photographer Bjorn Staps takes us deep into a tight-knit community of young rodeo riders across Western Europe. These fearless men specialize in the most dangerous discipline of the classic (American) rodeo: bull-riding. Every summer, they travel through Belgium, France, and Italy, competing in local rodeos hidden in rural villages and ranches. With each ride, they risk their lives attempting to stay atop a wildly bucking bull for just 8 seconds. Each of them carries their own dreams, ambitions, and scars. Over four years, Staps embedded himself with these European cowboys, capturing not only the gritty reality of their sport but also the bonds of brotherhood, the agony of defeat, and the triumph of victory. "European Cowboy" blends the iconic visual mythology of the Wild West with the raw, often harsh lives of real men chasing their passion. It's a story of dreams, friendship, and vulnerability - a humanizing glimpse into a subculture few ever see.