Panachallenge #138 Creatures, Great and Small: Draft Horse Pulling Competition

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#138 Creatures, Great and Small

Entry 3 of 25

21 comments on this entry

jomari
Jul 10, 2017

This just came up in the random top fives from the past. I'm so glad it did. Great photo, great viewpoint. It really shows the power and the effort that the horses are putting into their task.

Jade O.
Feb 18, 2014

I knew there was a skilled photog behind the lens. Congrats!

SteveBee
Feb 18, 2014

Thanks for all of the comments. This was a fun event to photograph. The horses are magnificent and the venue permitted moving around to shoot from lots of different angles.

dogma02
Feb 18, 2014

Congratulations, this was my top choice too. Super photo!

Lo
Feb 17, 2014

So glad to see this one place so high - great shot!

Mepo
Feb 17, 2014

Congratulations. My top choice; I loved the atmosphere you recorded.

wrosenthal
Feb 17, 2014

I thought this was a terrific shot and it was my first choice. Happy to see it do well. Congrats.

Comments After End of Challenge

Comments During Voting

Mepo
Feb 17, 2014

Loved this from the first. Great shooting angle reinforces the power of the horses. I've seen many of these competitions and am always impressed by the relationship between the animals and their owners.

gealexander
Feb 17, 2014

You caught so much movement in this shot; the horses noses, the dirt flying up. Love this shot!

Old Finn
Feb 17, 2014

Excellent photo.Interesting topic, good sharpness and composition. Nr 1 in my favs.

mrsawyer
Feb 16, 2014

I feel sorry for the creatures pulling the weight, but I suppose those big muscles have to do something...
These are two magnificent horses! Your point of view adds drama and makes me wonder if you were in danger. The lights and glow between the horses distracts. The men's expressions add interest to the photo. In my favs.

Lo
Feb 16, 2014

How did you manage to get this shot without being trampled to death. Great action and a wonderful show of strength.

davep56
Feb 16, 2014

Excellent work. Love the angle

Jade O.
Feb 15, 2014

Very nice. You managed to pull off a tough and complicated shot here. Great scaling (horses are dominating the frame and the clear subjects), lighting (everything in the foreground is well exposed, everything in the background is either washed out or dark), great mood (the lights overhead against the roof forced the eye down to the action), great sense of place and position (the low angle adds interest and helps keep the attention on the action where you want it, minimalizing the background distractions), great composition (the horses are centred on the horizontal and vertical intersection of the rule of thirds divisions, three men on one side and one on the other - with a fifth in the background avoid the static presentation of a balanced 2+2 composition, and you've avoiding slicing the frame in half either horizontally or vertically with any background or framing elements), and great action (you've caught the power of the horses and the stride of them and the men all out of sync with one another -each figure moves independently rather in lock step). Negatives? Well the horses are in sharp focus which if you had to choose is what you pick, but if the men were also in sharp focus it might make this even better and yes, that foreground eating up the horse hooves - and men's feet. A smidge more and you've have amputated both man and horse; a smidge less (lift that lens an inch) and you've have a near perfect shot.

My No. 2 (second only to Grace). This is a fine shot; Grace is equally outstanding in a different way - I had to pick one.
Edited on Feb 15, 2014

SteveBee
Feb 14, 2014

KJW, I don't think you need to worry about the horses -- they are not abused. They are just like human athletes -- well fed, well trained, and superbly conditioned. They are not prodded in any way to pull -- on the contrary they are so eager that the biggest problem is holding them back long enough to get them hooked to the sled!

dogma02
Feb 14, 2014

So many interesting characters in this. I love the horses expressions showing how they are hard at work.

KJW
Feb 14, 2014

Wow that's a lot of weight, not sure I personally would condone this type of entertainment. But personal feelings aside since I'm only commenting on the entry it is a wonderful shot of the horses, really like you shot from the low perspective.

Edward
Feb 14, 2014

Sharp, clear image. One can feel the power in these horses. Nicely done.

LaRee
Feb 13, 2014

Great depth to this image. The angle you chose adds to the feeling of depth. You had to be close since you don't say you cropped and you were at 90mm. Must be something to stand in front of these strong animals coming right at you!

SteveBee
Feb 13, 2014

Forkcandles -- No, the horses are pulling the load and it makes no difference whether there are two, four, or six horses or how they are harnessed and connected to the load.

forkcandles
Feb 13, 2014

the extra info is some ways incorrect, the horses are actually Pushing against the harness which happens to connected to them.
horses in 2x4 or 2 x6 formation will pull as they are connected more to the frame of the carriage.
that said like the picture with a tighter crop losing the light brown of the foreground and the first row of lights at the top

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Vote Stats
20 total votes:

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[Votes]

By SteveBee

United States

193 Challenge
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Avg rank:
7th

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