MIKE Kenyon, a photographer rated among the world's best action-grabbers, has been coming to Warwick Rodeo for 40 years and he has the photos to prove it.

In an historic exhibition, he has some of those riders who were superstars of the sport in the 1970s and 80s and, although their legends live on, are no longer around the sport.

But there's a lot more to Mike than rodeo action photos. He went to the Sydney Olympics in 2000 where, as an accredited photographer, he represented Australia in the three-day event and the showjumping.

He's been well beyond the horse world with his camera too, having been accredited to take action shots at most of Australia's big motor racing events.

And it was at Lakeside in the early days he had his memorable start - he was the only photographer there to capture an amazing crash. The photo made front page in several motor racing magazines and his career was 'off and running'.

This successful start led to him being invited to photograph other sports, including yacht racing, sailing, powerboat racing, golf, game fishing and surf lifesaving.

He has been the official photographer for the Australian Championships of the Australian Stock Horse Society, the Australian Quarter Horse Association, the Australian Cutting Horse Association and many more.

But rodeo is Mike's passion.

Mike said rodeo photography started almost by accident when he was invited by a friend to a rodeo in NSW.

"I was hooked from the first bucking horse,” he said.

"It was all new and I didn't know what to look for, but a few of the riders, people like Dave Johnson and Col Wilson, came around and gave me the inside story of the types of photos the cowboys would buy, and from then on I was away.”

So where does Mike Kenyon come from?

Mike was born in Brisbane in 1941 and started his working life in the field of graphic arts and offset lithography.

During a five-year apprenticeship after leaving school, Mike was rarely without a camera and it wasn't long before some of the camera companies wanted him to use their equipment.

"Leica set me up with some very expensive equipment at one stage but at present I'm using the best Canon has to offer,” he said.

Mike's photos are on display in the Stockman's Hall of Fame, Longreach, and the Queensland Arts Council commissioned a travelling exhibition of his work, titled 25Years of Rodeo, which travelled Queensland for more than three years.

Photos from the Queensland Arts Council Collection have been hung in the Warwick Show and Rodeo Society's pavilion for all to see.

Mike has had a bad knee for some years - the result of a mishap in a rodeo arena - and had surgery in early 2004 to correct some damage, so his rodeo friends and rodeo patrons won't see him in front of the chutes or scrambling up a fence with an expensive camera in his grip

"Cameras have come so far now with auto-zoom, almost instantaneous auto focus and unbelievably good technology, I no longer need to go into the arena to get the best shots,” he said.

"I can sit on the fence and not have to climb out when something goes wrong.”

Mike will be found near the fence at the 2017 Warwick Rodeo and his photos can be found online at kenyonsportsphotos.com.au.