CYNTHIA MATTHEWS: Bird Dog Country

Photograph (c) Cynthia Matthews /All Rights Reserved

Photograph (c) Cynthia Matthews /All Rights Reserved

Photograph (c) Cynthia Matthews /All Rights Reserved

Photograph (c) Cynthia Matthews /All Rights Reserved

This world of bird dog field trials, which originated in the Deep South, exists all across the nation and encapsulates a very unique sliver of Americana. You have dogs competing – running through fields, prairies or woods hunting for quail, pheasant or partridge – followed by men on horses, followed by spectators on horses, followed by me.– Cynthia Matthews

Bird Dog Country: 1985 to 2001

I met Cynthia Matthews sometime back at ASMPNY Fine Art Portfolio Review. As she explained, "It all began in 1985 when I was sent on assignment by Town & Country Magazine down to Tennessee to photograph the National Bird Dog Championships - some call it the Kentucky Derby of bird dog trials. I got hooked and the "addiction" led to many different locales in addition to Tennessee: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Dakota, North Dakota, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Jersey and New York." Cynthia Matthews Website.