"This is what I consider to be the first good photo that I ever took. 

It was shot back in 2011, when I was backpacking around the United States with my first dSLR camera in my early 20's. I had woken up one morning to do some landscape photography and was still shooting a couple of hours after sunrise, when all of a sudden I looked over my shoulder and saw this cowboy about to ride into the shot. It was one of those beautiful moments that you can never plan for that often make for the most interesting photographs. 

I also consider this to be the most important photo I ever took, as it was the reason I decided to pursue a career in photography. I was working as a bank teller at the time, and when I came back from my holiday, I hung a print of this image in my workstation. People would often ask me whose photograph it was, and when I told them it was mine, would ask me what I was doing working at a bank! 

That eventually struck a chord with me, and I left the bank to pursue a career in photography, the first of many steps that led me to now teaching and taking photos as my full-time work. The image has been processed with exposure, highlights, and shadow adjustments in Adobe Camera Raw with a little sharpening and clarity added. I also did some dodging and burning using the paintbrush and gradient tools. In Photoshop, a Black & White layer was added, with the colour mix adjusted to make the cowboy pop."

- Chris Bowes