Tibetan Horseman

A very good picture. The horse, and horses appear to have short legs.

Are they ponies?

There were no other photographers for many miles around. This was the first time this event had ever been photographed by an outsider. Later, I was invited to attend a dance celebration that lasted through the night with lots of dancing and endless amounts of "chang" or Tibetan beer consumed. I got some shots during the evening, but as the honored guest, I was forced to drink what seemed like gallons of their homemade brew, and after an hour I could hardly stand, much less operate my cameras. But it was fun trying. Back to the photo, I was shooting in continuous focus mode at around 6 frames per second. Since then, I have taken a couple of my small photo tour groups to this location. For a photographer- it is sensory overload to the max.

Even though these horses are small in stature, they are not ponies, and they are very hardy, swift, and tough.

William--

 

You sneak:-)

 

Thought you sounded familar....I will give you an unsolicited plug.

 

On my shelf is Mr. Chapman's wonderful FACES OF TIBET. If you liked this picture, you will certainly love this photoessay. I did.

I like the most recent upload far better than the other two. There are now several interesting people in the background to give us a sense of place, but they don't distract from the subject due to DOF. The foreground has no distracting elements, be they shadows or tape or whatever. The rider's face is no longer hidden by the hat and the hat itself now has the blue band which makes the red 'grabber' of this image that much more interesting. We can now see what the rider is doing without needing to refer to the photographer's description. The decisive moment is the one where he's actually grabbing the scarfs. Yes, we do give up the great expression of the horse, but I think all the other attributes contribute far more to the understanding and therefore the success of the image.

It is only in your POW photo that you have that only-in-a-painting look on the horses face. That, to me, is what makes it remarkable. The ethnicity of the man's face looks more caucasian in the POW photo than in the others which also adds to the very different look than what one would expect.

I agree with James here Carl, no contest! The painterly expressions that you see with the horse in the POW, blow away any of the other insignificant things (in my opinion) that you pointed out. I do agree that the others are very good...even excellent works of art. But the POW is a priceless gem, and as good a photograph as I can ever remember seeing! Your finished version belongs in my house William!! Do you do prints with these?? I have seen some really great POWs (Dancing Cranes in the snow for instance) but this one is simply unrivaled!

Vincent- Yes I do have prints done from this image. I have made several 20x30's even with good results. For this, I have used a 50megabyte scanned file and it works very well.

It has always seemed odd to me that some people want photographs to look like paintings.

Some painters strive to make their paintings look like photographs.

Go figure?

The sharper images seem static. Maybe the slide was tack sharp, but I like the original posting. Very few POW's have cought my attention the way this one has. I breez right past most of them, this one held me for a while. Thanks.

I'm very glad to see the new scan, presenting the image well, as it deserves. It is, after all, an excellent image showing something most of us have never seen in person. Enjoy.

It looks photographic to me.

 

If I understand the painterly style, it is a 'rushed' look, with brushstrokes which are tentative and lack fine detail. That's not what I see here. The horse's eye looks photo-blurred, not painterly.

 

William, next time tell us that you already have the image secured as perfect from scan, so we don't waste time on such things as quality of scan, and so on. We can handle the fact that this is a professional shot:-) Also, you might wish to take the 50 meg file, downsize the image, and then convert to jpg so we can see that, rather than the original, dusty,undersampled one posted:-)

Simply, it's fascinating! even if it's not that perfectly manipulated !...I enjoyed the( usefull, and exiting ) discussion, but it dosen't need to be repeatative...the OriginAL PhoTo'S

GEGA-FINE to me.

Thank you William!!

Hold your horses....

I thought that this site found it's origine in showing photo's and to discuss how they

could be improved. And by 'improved' I understand the way how they impress the

viewers, how they can provoke a emotion and how they can comfort by exposing their

beauty. In art at the moment it's not the discussion HOW the image came to existence,

but what they mean to the eye. Example: I see a lot of contributions under the

categorie 'fine art' and am I the person to judge that they do't belong there?

It's the beauty and emotion that charmes me in the Horseman and I don't give a ......

about how a little part meight be out of focus or that the framing is wrong. This is

pure magic captured at the right moment.

When long ago a be-friended prof. music critic came to my house, I did apologize for

the quality of my speakers. Very surprised he responded: "But my friend, listen to the

MUSIC". I will never forget that moment and I try to stay free from people and their

opinions who try to convice me of their disciplines that could easely kill any creativety.

I'm greatfull for all those who try to innovate their techiques in the photographical

world and worship all their einergy. The people who have no other response than

critizising issues like above. Learn to see the technique NEXT to the beauty, but the

beauty first.

Good luck.

I like the shot- it's dynamic and vibrant. A little PS here and there wouldn't hurt. It might not even be necessary. It's really your call. Posting the additional shots of the event has been appreciated- perhaps you could create a panorama using the same rider. In the future (next week) it wouldn't hurt for the POW to have an opportunity to clean up their posting.

We all need to eat a little dirt now and then to get shots like these.

These are all dramatic and exciting, beautiful color and texture. I can see why the first one was selected, it's probably the best moment,but I think I find the 2nd and 3rd more interesting maybe. Anyone should be very happy to have taken these, it must be very difficult work. Congratulations.

I am posting one last image for reference in this discussion. It is one of my favorites. This rider was quite young and dead set on having a good ride. Notice that all 4 feet on the horse are off the ground.

Maybe we should start a thread on why craftsmanship is an integral

part of a good photograph. Maybe some of

you think all you have to do is show up at an event like this and if

you take enough snaps, you'll get some like this. Sorry, it's not

that simple. Do you really think these images came from someone who

has never had his work critiqued in the past?

I still think the original image conveys the feeling of the subject best. Though it may not document the event quite as well as the pictures uploaded later, the elements of the photo (colour, shape, dof etc) aesthetically support the subject's movement. Great photo

In what part of Tibet was the photo taken? I understand from

reading World Tibetan News posts that the Chinese government

is quickly eliminating the Tibetan culture from Tibetan, only

allowing small remnants that appeal to tourists for commercial purposes.

 

I have heard that parts of India are more Tibetan than say Lhasa, because Tibetan Buddhism is not allowed in Tibet, except as ornamentation.

Jake- These images were shot in a very small village in south central Tibet, near Mt. Everest. I spent alot of time there over a five year period compiling material for my book "The Face of Tibet" published a couple years ago. I can tell you that Buddhism and Tibetan culture is very much alive there. ALthough after the Chinese invasion they made tragic attempts to destroy traditional life there, the spirit of the people is unbelievably resilient and it has survived. I don't have time here to talk about all the injustices and crimes that the CHinese perpetrate even today, but the Chinese have relaxed restricitions on religious freedom. They have even come to see the usefulness of traditional Tibetan culture to draw tourists (mostly CHinese) to the region. The Chinese influence is seen mostly in the towns. I have traveled and trekked alone and with nomads and would go for weeks without seeing a Chinese.

The last image you posted is really awesome...!

by-ze-way the corrected and upgraded upload of the original POW you posted in that thread is far better also than the initially selected image. A great documentary indeed taken in hard condition and which deserved a perfect post-treatment. Again : Congrats William!

On all the other photos in this series the horses look quite composed, even disinterested. I think it is the horse that actually makes that originally posted shot.

The entire series IS great indeed. I agree with you Tom..the horse makes the POW shine above all others. A True Classic!