Want to Ride? Photo

Photographer’s Note

From Poros we took a ferry to Hydra, pronounced ‘EEEdra.’ A Hydra website says, “the entire island is a preserved national monument and there are no cars or mopeds allowed - anywhere! On Hydra you get about on foot or by donkey.” So of the many donkey photos I took, the dilemma was: cute or educational? I’ve been so educational lately, I decided to cut loose and go for cute.
Someone decided a truck was needed for garbage. The drivers were clearly entranced with their vehicles. They must have picked up the trash five times in the hour we sat beside the ¼ mile road ringing the harbor. I guess there’s just something about guys and their trucks!! Clearly there was a requirement that waste be picked up, perhaps this photo illustrates why donkeys have been so widely replaced by small trucks in the Greek islands. There was also a water scoop that was used to wash off the dock area where the donkeys were billeted.
While there was much use of donkeys for freight; few people rode the donkeys. Leave it to Larry to get the to get the best shots of the donkey riders. It requires a lot of confidence to ride these fellows without looking like a doofus.

scobert, john_c, COSTANTINO, pboehringer, dareco, John_F_Kennedy, elmec, gunbud, jwmunro, xuaxo, singuanti, lilimih33, Angshu, Standa, josepmarin, zmey, turkamerikali, danos has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

COSTANTINO (22475) 2007-11-05 10:22

Hi Pat,
beautiful picture of this donkey typical in greek islands with nice colours and excellent framing. It really seems like real. Congratulations.
Regards,
Costantino

ifanik (20468) 2007-11-05 10:51

Hi Pat
Very nice portrait and very beautiful model
Nice shot with beautiful colours
Bravo
Regards
Nick

markstaples (15670) 2007-11-05 11:27

Hi Pat
I like very much the tight framing here which cuts out anything that might take our view away from the main subject. The portrait is lovely and sharp allowing us to see all the individual hairs on his coat. Nice work,
Best wishes
Mark

pboehringer (770) 2007-11-05 13:43

Pat,
cute or educational? Not quite sure either, but the donkey doesn't look quite pleased with the idea for a ride. Anyway, a nice portrait in close-up of this colorfully dressed character. The combination between your and Larry's post is great and gives a perfect combo. It almost seems to me that one is complimentary to each other. You should do a link.
Regards, Peter

[2] +

dareco (17100) 2007-11-05 16:00

This is such an adorable little donkey. You've really captured it well, with a nice pov, great color and detail. I love the decorations! TFS

jmcl (13721) 2007-11-05 21:27

Hi Pat,

I love the feel and sense of place from the bridle .. I love the eyes .. they have a great expression .. love the tight crop .. very nice .. great workshops : )

take care,

John

John_F_Kennedy (31087) 2007-11-06 2:58

This really is a beautiful animal presented. Very sharp and beautiful. Remember him when crying in the early morning.
Best wishes,
Achim

elmec (12194) 2007-11-06 3:47

Hello Pat!
Lovely harbour and town is on Hydra Island!
Their atmosphere is better for donkeys - typical for this island and more on Kyklades.
Perfect portrait!
Great note!
Best regards!

gunbud (27741) 2007-11-06 18:52

Hi Pat,
Very nice vertical presentation of this handsome well adorned beast. Wonderful color contrast in is multi colored coat and marvelous detils to his lovely coat and adornements. Excellent sharpness and a very informative note with fine additional photos.
Regards, Tom

jwmunro (6569) 2007-11-07 10:49

Hello Pat -

I am not sure whether this is cute or not but it is a well executed portrait. All of the important elements are sharply in focus; eyes, ears, and nose. The details in the BG are a bit busy and I think I might have gone with a shallower DOF (f/4 possibly) to soften them a bit and force more attention on the subject. The image is tightly framed which works to some degree IMO but, I think just a little more breathing room would make the image feel less constrained. Well done and seen. Interesting note.

Thank you for sharing.

John

xuaxo (5683) 2007-11-07 15:04

Hi Pat,
Very nice portrait of the burrito, but I prefer Larry's primary post with the Greek rider. (This time I saw Larry's photo first :-)
SAA, F.

toto (18661) 2007-11-08 4:43

Belle photo de cet ane qui vous regarde en coin d' un regard noir,Belle prise bien nette, jolies couleurs.
Amitiés Thomas

singuanti (15240) 2007-11-08 19:35

Hi Pat. The angle you chose to take this one at was perfect. The use of the portrait orientation was the way to approach the framing here. Your image quality is impressive. Great work Pat!

john_c (24635) 2007-11-10 8:54

Hi Pat,
A high impact shot of this nicely decorated donkey. This resembles fine portraiture. I like the way the chain dangles just within the frame. The fine light is well used, with a perfect exposure and clarity of detail. Impressive work, Pat...Just recovering from a major computer crash involving extensive "surgery."
John

lilimih33 (9872) 2007-11-10 16:13

Hello Pat!
Nice donkey portrait and great detail!
Beautiful colours and perspective!
Good WS too!
Excellent done!
Best regards!
Lili

Standa (1861) 2007-11-12 8:30

Hi Pat,
lovely donkey portrait, I like how soft is his skin captured. Colours are amazing in this nice photo.
Best regards,
Stanislav

Angshu (33493) 2007-11-13 2:35

Hi Pat
Nice portrait of the beast. Tightly framed & superbly focussed to show each and every hair. Larry's shot is excellent especially the frontal shot. But all your links are excellent & both your shots complement superbly to give us a total picture.
Best Regards
Angshu

Scharan (13951) 2007-11-13 14:30

Olá Pat

Você nos mostra uma foto bem diferente.
Gostei da idéia e cores. Parabéns.
GA
Vera

zmey (7244) 2007-11-15 7:49

lol, pat. a great portrait of this donkey asking "wanna ride?" the expression on his face speaks volumes. don't even think about it! the tight crop enhances the feeling further. great color detail on the animal too. perfect sharpness. TFS.

regards,
kristaps

yedirenk (7269) 2007-11-29 9:14

Hi Pat.I like this portrait.excellent details.and very beautiful eye.perfect photo.thanks for sharing.best regards.

Cevdet

pablominto (40364) 2007-12-01 1:03

Hello Pat,
What a cute little donkey!
Looks like he is a bit tired, no wonder with a stupid job like that, hehehe...
A fine portrait, good details and expression well conveyed...
Greetings,
Pablo -

turkamerikali (4772) 2007-12-22 10:26

Hi Pat,
Cute Donkey Portrait my friend.
I like donkey's expression,colors,focus,sharpness and your framing.TFS
Happy Holidays,
CT

scobert (5333) 2008-02-09 11:23

Hi Pat,
Great job of mixing up your travel images to some add variety and humor to your trip. Your notes are great! This donkey really is cute (in his own way) and your portrait of the donkey is excellent. Great job of closely cropping out the background clutter and the sharpness and detail is superb. Excellent photograph!
Stan

jmdias (19041) 2009-03-23 16:11

pat

the portrait of this animal is very nice framed, beautiful light and sharpness. we can see the small details like that adorns very well.

hugs

jorge

danos (32116) 2009-04-05 8:49

Hello Pat,
just return from a two day excursion in a district near of Athens.So I saw this characteristic 'face' in a lot of Greek post carts.These cute donkeys,as you know, are the main conveyances in a lot of Greek islands.A very nice close up portrait.

Have a nice week,Danos