Best Foot Forward

Racing at Sha Tin, Hong Kong.

You stopped the time. :)

You caught the beauty of these magnificent beasts in full stride (and I don't mean the jockeys). Well done. PS - just curious, doesn't have anything to do with the the great photography, but have never seen race horses marked like this, at least that's what I think I'm seeing on their thighs. I think I'd have tried to paint them out because it's a little distracting.

Thanks Lucian. Regards, Neil

Thanks very much for your comments William. You raise an interesting point about the horse markings. These are identification brands. As far as I know they are applied as stud and individual horse identification. It is done in Australia and maybe Hong Kong but I'm not sure about other countries. I've checked my photos taken in California and Britain earlier this year and couldn't see any brands on the horses. As far as I know, it's mostly carried out by a freeze branding process, which is less stressful to the horse. Kind regards, Neil

Preciosa imagen de gran belleza, excelente luz, color y gran nitidez, perfecto encuadre. Saludos cordiales Neil.

Julio,

Gracias por sus comentarios, apreciadas mucho. Recuerdos, Neil

My favorite of your three recent posts, I love the great detail in the muscling on the horses front legs, they are powerful animals. Branding of horses is still done here in America but it's mostly just confined (not always) to ranch horses as a means of identification. Those do look like freeze brands. Another excellent shot from the track Neil.

Oh man,

I was thinking about you the last few days..must have sent out brin waves to you...this is amazing.....the colours, the sharpness and details..Is there something special about the light in Hong Kong a lot of shots taken in that part of the world seem to have this special kind of life..

Thanks Ger. Yes, the few times I have been to Hong Kong the light has been perfect - cloudy but bright. It seems to give great clarity and colour. It's probably the pollution that hides the sun but allows beautiful even filtered light falling on the subject. Kind regards, Neil

Thanks Neil..I'll have to get there one day...your shots are getting better and better BTW

Hi Neil, great photo! I love the repetition, both horses and their jokeys are exactly in the same position

Thanks very much for your kind comments Nikos. Regards, Neil