Buzkashi - Act 3 Photo

Photographer’s Note

THE GAME:
“The buzkachi is a traditional game of Afghanistan and of the Central Asian steppes. The body of a beheaded ram is stuffed with wet sand to make it heavier. A white circle ( hallal ) is drawn with lime on the ground. At an equal distance on the right and on the left sides of the hallal two masts are erected. At a signal given by the judge(s) the participants rush to attempt to grab the carcass and throw it in the white circle after ridding around one of the masts. Once a rider has secured the carcass he may be immediately challenged by other competitors who will wrestle with him all along or be left alone while he goes to turn around the mast and then be assaulted on his way back to the hallal . Buzkachis can be pleasant affairs among members of the same clan or brutal encounters between highly-skilled horsemen of different groups, particularly when the monetary and prize incentives are high. (extracts from “Vents d’Est” – Pierre Claquin)”

THE PHOTO:
2 buzkash competing for the price. The buz getting from one rider to the other is definitely part of the spectacular moments in the game.

tehanu_f, TMLH, muzz, dinoo33, snowfalken, valentc, Clairedelune, flory, KKar, meyerd has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

photoman87 (207) 2007-03-12 9:44

Salut Vincent,
Très impressionante image . On dirait une affiche de film . Une image forte, claire et haute en couleur . J'y vois également une diagonale formée par les cavaliers et les chevaux ainsi que le cheval blanc qui donne le ton . Excellent travail .
Daniel

Poacher (183) 2007-03-12 9:48

Fantastic image very clear and the colours are good really good action shot well done Vincent

vincz (19043) 2007-03-12 9:50

Wow... Very impressive. I already heard about this "game" but seeing it like that is getting in another dimension. Your picture is top quality an excellent job! Congratulations.

euryan (8349) 2007-03-12 9:59

I seem to have missed acts 1 & 2, so I'll have to go back and check them out.
The depth of field is really amazing here with great sharpness on all the riders and the horses. I like how the white horse on the left really stands out against the other varies shades of brown. Very interesting shot.
Nice to see you posting again.
Regards,
Ryan

mikhalych (1311) 2007-03-12 10:03

Very dynamic moment perfectly captured.
So many interesting details, by the way. Look at the guy in Soviet tank helmet :)

Excellent!

TMLH (1668) 2007-03-12 10:43

Hi Vincent,

Wow what an outstanding photo.
Congratulation
Rgd
Tony

[workshop] [compare]

nicoz (1963) 2007-03-12 10:56

Hi Vincent!
What a choas in this photo! It's brilliant!
The long focal works well to squize the perspective!I wondered who's taking photos in Afghanistan at the moment, and then I read something that said that you were proud to have a gold star, so I thought that you were a general for a bit... Then is read the rest of it ;-)
Good photo!
Nicolas

gpsony (478) 2007-03-12 11:40

Hi Vincent,

Great action shot. You have captured the moment. Great colours and contrast. Terrific use of the DOF.

Cheers,
Guru

yeno (0) 2007-03-12 12:43

Excellent, almost perfect picture with great DOF and all sharp details of horses and men. Congratulations!
Regards, Borut

muzz (250) 2007-03-12 13:19

Heloo Vincent

very nice spot shot. great POV
Regards Muzz

dinoo33 (0) 2007-03-12 13:48

Excellent shot. Everything is on the move. The horsemen' faces are quite expressive. Also there are not too many merges, pretty much every single body stands out and tells its story.

grantcorp (117) 2007-03-12 16:29

A spectacular moment frozen in time. The white horse in the foreground steals a lot of the attention but the whole scene is still sharp and harmonious. The palette makes the picture feel more like a painting than an action shot. Well done!

everlasting (10898) 2007-03-12 16:54

So full of action, really gives us a good insight into this
''game''. Brilliant sharpness and colour.

asanak (1972) 2007-03-12 16:56

great job my friend !!!Beautiful photo.
I like it very much.
great colours too.
Best Regards...
asana

snowfalken (1108) 2007-03-12 17:41

Hallo Vincent,

This is a very dynamic shot of a very interesting and exotic game! The composition is excellent having some empty space in front of the competitors. Very beautiful colors with excellent exposure too. Very good quality of the picture overall and great notes! Outstanding job!

With Friendly Regards,
Eddie

sebinho342 (18740) 2007-03-13 8:48

Elles sont magnifiques tes photos Vincent, tellement lointaines, de ces contrées d'afganistan, tellement exotiques également.
Continue ! C'est un plaisir de les regarder.
Tu contribues a la merveille de ce site
Bravo

tehanu_f (6874) 2007-03-14 18:57

everything about this photo is great - your timing, pov, sharpness and contrast, etc...and I like the calm expression of the horses amidst that chaos. Congrats!
Fusun

vagabondtravels (6107) 2007-03-25 6:51

Hey Vincent

A great series you have going here. This iamge is full of action. I wasn't lucky enough to witness a game when I was in Afghanistan. What a great opportunity. Really well done.
Ben

lucasvdb (631) 2007-03-29 17:23

a perfect capture of the intensity of the buskashi game. I wish I was there! And then you pushed the button at the right moment !

doctabrez (329) 2007-04-05 2:05 [Comment]

Show Comment

KevRyan (22378) 2007-04-15 4:31

Really well taken action shot Vincent which puts us right in there with the action - I guess it's every serious photographers dream to catch one of the world's action games like the buzkachi ...and there you are in a prime spot with a fine photograph (and series of photographs) - if you were of a mind very saleable!! The moment, composition, DOF, your point of view, colour - everything is working really well - fantastic image.

bw Kev

p.s. a belated welcome back!

Clairedelune (4885) 2007-04-28 10:02

C'est peut-être ma préférée de la série (mais pour en être sûre, il faudrait que je les dispose toutes devant moi en même temps). Peut-être parce que l'on voit la "proie" et l'effort des protagonistes, ici les deux hommes tirant chacun sur une patte du bélier. Bien que je comprenne l'envie de Tony de couper au carré, je préfère nettement l'originale. L'espace à gauche, avec la poussière qui se soulève, me semble essentiel pour permettre à cette photo de "respirer". Encore une fois, une très bonne netteté et vitesse qui, en ayant figé l'action, nous permet de voir les expressions des visages.
C'est vraiment excellent!
Claire

Curioso (9117) 2007-04-30 12:15

Splendid impressive astonishing scene !!!! I wished you were lower, there were more dust and the light was better. Can you try this again ?

Cheers,

Steven

faubry (32299) 2007-05-04 13:45

superbe photo reportage encore une fois, par contre triste pour cette bete... j espere qu elle est morte avant?
a bientot
francine

flory (4804) 2007-05-04 14:34

ciao Vincent,
wuau..you brings here the spirit of this game..an interesting game,in my opynion..good timing to catch it the dynamism,so well sharpn..
nice evening,
flory

Magritte (418) 2007-05-08 15:44

Vincent,
Une merveille!!! félicitations, c'est une grande réussite, à tous points de vue! Amicalement

KKar (486) 2007-08-16 0:33

What an amazing picture. Full of action. I am very much impressed
kostas

jasc (52) 2007-09-11 9:17

Hi Vicent,
Great photo, excellent moment, all perfect one.
Congratulation,
Rgd
José Soares

meyerd (1498) 2007-09-24 11:40

Dear Vincent,
you did some incredibly good shots here with the buzkachi tournament. My heartfelt congratulations! And your comments are excellent. Don't you worry about "your own style of photography", you have found it here. Thank you for showing pics of everyday life in Afghanistan.

My best regards,
Dietrich

beberhdb (58) 2008-12-02 2:24

Super bien cadrée

ozkanabim (92) 2008-12-06 23:35

wonderfull capture
ozkanabim@hotmail.com