Moment of Truth Photo

Photographer’s Note

The bullfighter jumps in front of the angry bull to save the stunned cowboy that had just been thrown off its back.

So what happened next?

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Critiques | Translate

Sanderson-Brown (1697) 2008-07-31 2:05

Hi Ryan,
well chosen moment. great capture, i especially like the dust flying out from the bulls hooves. great work, wonderful colours of the mans clothes
tfs
regards
paul

[2]

smarcell (14715) 2008-07-31 2:08

Really a decisive moment. You captured a very concentrated expression of the cowboy (how could it be different, considering the situation ?)
I do not understand what the thing on the left is. A fake cow, or a fake cowboy ? My complete lack of experience with rodeos...
Regards Stefano

marion44 (4284) 2008-07-31 2:13

Hello Ryan,
Waow ! Very impressive ! You caught very well the tense atmosphere ! Just missing the head of the cow boy but I guess the timing was very short for you to frame !!! Very impressive !
It fits well with french actuality as about twenty of those bulls ran away from their pen two days ago and are still in freedom ! ;)
Have a nice day,
Marion

anes_lc (14778) 2008-07-31 3:44

spectacularmoment you capture ,and on best quality
to bad about the ut head ..but :D maybe this is next :D
great shot .thanks for share
anes

Berat (1579) 2008-07-31 3:56

WoW
Une photo en plein action.
Dommage juste que le personnage de gauche a la tête coupé.

Dpbours (220) 2008-07-31 4:15

Hello Ryan,

Nice how you captured that moment! The cowboy crawling away and the bullfighter needed to distract the animal so the cowboy could get away. Just the right moment!
A bit of a pity that the cowboy wasn't entirely in the composition. But a nice posting!!

Greetings,
Dennis

grantlp (2104) 2008-07-31 6:58

Hello Ryan,
Its a great after action photo which I am sure has something interesting to follow it. The "bullfighter's" clothing adds some dramatic colours to the neutral tones of the scene. The dust rising from their feet provides movement, and to me enhances the overall result. Pity you couldn't get the fallen cowboy's head in the shot, but I realise it must of happen in a split second. Well done.
Cheers Grant

[2]

azleader (6) 2008-07-31 7:21

Great action capture... nice color and processing. You got the one cowboy's face very nicely in the picture.

Too bad the guy on the left has his head outside the frame. :(

You might consider cropping off the left side of the frame to just right of that one guy's arm so none of the arm is in the frame. In that case you would still maintain some offset to the main action on the right side of the frame but eliminate the thought that the guy on the left simply has his head cut off in the picture.

[2]

toto (18783) 2008-07-31 13:38

Bonsoir,
belle photo du moment précis ou cet homme vient attirrer l' attention du taureau de l' homme tomber a terre.
Prise a l' instant précis ou il falait.

Amitiés Thomas

SteveH (4025) 2008-07-31 20:38

Hi Ryan, well caught moment. That bull looks like a frightening beast and your image show him well. good definition of his muscluar back legs and huge chest. As Dennis said, it is a pity the guy on the ground wasn't complete, but enough of him is there to tell the story. So tell us, what did happen next? cheers, Steve

[2]

Wanda1 (11025) 2008-07-31 22:05

Hi Ryan,
I can imagine the atmosphere of being at one of these rodeos or bull fights in the surrounding stadium with the crowd filled with tension and I suppose excitement too. His expression of concentration and probably a bit of fear is well captured, but what most captures my eye first in this shot is his flaming outfit and then the bull with all it's strength. A good action shot.
Regards
Wanda

bantonbuju (48858) 2008-07-31 22:19

good stuff here, so...real...
-------
i remember, the other day i went for corrida festival in madrid, sort of a national competition... i saw how the bulls treated "those guys"... so i guess i know what might have happened next in your story... i hope i'm wrong...:-)))
bw, j.

aadilj (17950) 2008-08-01 0:36

Thats a lot of action with sueprbly handled colours and textures. I like the moment and the way you have captured it. Great

luisafonso (858) 2008-08-01 1:57

I don't know, but you are going to show us, aren't you? :)
The drama of this scene is amazing. I can feel a lot of that bull's strength in its restrained muscles. And the dust adds also a lot. Like this one a lot.

robiuk (10763) 2008-08-02 14:19

Hi Ryan,
very good. Red and yellow seem to be quite saturated, but
on the other hand that accentuates the guy dealing with the
bull. The action is great - the tension is palpable between
all three involved and the air is full of dust.
Also, the light is absolutely great and I wish you took
some close-ups (I mean, if you could come even closer to the
ation, that would have been brilliant).
Plus, I've never realised before those muscles on a bull...
Cheers,
Robi

lrw1966 (1632) 2008-08-07 9:20

Ryan Hi;
Marvelous composition and impressively presented.
These bull fighters (some call them clowns) are very very good and my guess is all is well with both cowboy and bull fighter.
Wonderful detail and colors - stunning action clarity.
Congratulations, nicely done.
Larry
USA-tfs

kensimage (8543) 2008-08-09 20:54

The expression on that rodeo clown's face makes your timing perfect, Ryan. Well, that and the composition, and the dust, and the golden glow, and the guy escaping by crawling out of the frame, and...and...and...

So, what did happen next? Is the clown a McCain supporter, calling in a surge of cowboys? Or an Obama supporter, willing to talk to the bull?

Regards, Ken.

danasam (1057) 2008-08-17 0:30

Hi Ryan, excellent action shots, i like your POV here and the composition. the colors are just right. thanks for sharing it.
Sam.

Rodrigues (995) 2008-08-17 13:02

I guess the bullfighter got a rough time didn't he? By the way, nice "boots" he was wearing ah, ah, ah...probably Nike.

I'm in the middle of my vacations, and just sleeping one night at home, but when I get back I'll post at least one photo of a Portuguese "chega de bois", a fight between bulls. Sadly, when I got at the end of my photo session I realized I forgot to take care about the background, and beeing near the fence, the audience in the other side of the arena got in the picture...too bad, I'll chose some close ups. You solved it well beeing in an upper position.

cdmonson (2783) 2008-09-08 21:47

Hi Ryan:

Love it. Such a great action shot. The rodeo clown's flashy clothing, the bull's stance, the cowboy hurrying to get out of the way--fabulous. I went to the Calgary Stampede when I was in Canada, but my images didn't turn out so well. Glad to see yours did.

Clark

pboehringer (770) 2008-09-15 9:32

Ryan,
that doesn't look good at all. What next? The bullfighter will be thrown through the air ... what else? Pure action! The freezing of the moment, just a split of a second before all the contracted muscles of the bull will unload in a huge charge against the poor bullfighter. Don't tell me that you didn't have your camera at high burst and won't present us with what happend next!
You can interpret the cropping of the stunned cowboy in may ways, but I don't have the feeling that I'm missing here a head. This guy is done and history. To have his full body there would just distract from the real attr-action.
Peter

vapours (7957) 2009-04-08 18:38

Nice shot Ryan, plenty of action here, the dust being kicked up helps portray that. Colour looks good as well, although possibly just a touch over saturated.