ADAM JAHIEL

b. 1956

Adam Jahiel, has had a varied professional career. He has worked extensively for the motion picture industry, working on projects as varied as Out of Africa to HBO comedy specials. But, Jahiel is also drawn to adventure projects, most notably as the photographer for the landmark French-American 1987 Titanic expedition. His work has appeared in most major U.S. publications, including Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, National Geographic Society and others. Jahiel's work also has appeared in literally dozens of books, including the acclaimed “The Day in a Life of” series.

For years, Jahiel has been photographing the cowboys of the Great Basin, perhaps one of the most inhospitable regions of the already rugged West. These people represent one of the last authentic American subcultures, one that is disappearing at a rapid rate. Cowboying as an art form is almost obsolete; still, the cowboys hang on, with a ferocious tenacity. Respect there doesn't come from the trappings of modern life. Talent, knowledge and skill are valued above all else. And the cowboy tradition has its roots in the oldest of human conflicts: man against nature and man against himself.

Jahiel tries to reflect those sentiments in these photographs. These cowboys aren't “remade” into a Hollywood image. Instead, they are “found” images, in keeping with the spirit of authenticity that permeates the best keepers of this tradition.