Zooming, a photo from Himachal Pradesh, North

Photographer's Note

These motorcycles are zooming past me, on an almost perfectly straight wall of old looking, shabby, wood. Yesterday I posted the car passing me at the top. They wear no safety equipment. They are traveling full speed. The bikes and cars are old and battered. This guy is at the top edge. They sit sideways, stand, use no hands. They have amazing balance and are fearless. The entire structure shakes violently, as though ready to fall any minute. It takes a few days for the workers to assemble this huge circular wall for each carnival. This carnival has occurred for over a thousand years in Chamba. It would be interesting to find out what attractions were like in the beginning. I am holding the camera above my head, looking straight down at the rider, he is sideways on the wall. You can see that on the other rider, on the other side.

oochappan, Catli, Kenny10pin, nwoehnl, teacozie heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

avis2avis (4264) 2004-07-28 5:00

Super shot Gloria.. great timing! Those wooden planks look like they are gonna give any moment. :)

jrzufferey (7305) 2004-07-28 5:15

Parfaite ton image j'aime beaucoup, sont-il un peu fou? Amicalement\jr

oochappan (4880) 2004-07-28 6:06 [Comment]

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lol (48) 2004-07-28 6:31

Hi Gloria : Really great "action" shot with good POV !

Catli (550) 2004-07-28 9:02

VEry impressive shot, Gloria. I like the composition and the details that can be seen in the background, it gives a good feeling of the whole atmosphere. Thanks for the excellent note.

Kenny10pin (19301) 2004-07-28 10:55

How fast and dangerous is this, very good capture, you must have taken alot of photos, very good crisp shot of the people and the movement and depth of the shot is great

well done

nwoehnl (122) 2004-07-28 14:01

Wow, what a scene, Gloria. The feeling of speed and the intrepidness of the guys is very well conveyed, and the motion blur and angle only add to the excitement. Very cool.

Ebbe (9625) 2004-07-28 15:36

I like the weird perspective in this shot Gloria. The combination of the climbing village and the carnival artists makes the picture. One picture of the village and another of just the riders would not have the same impact. There are so many details that work together here and then the skew perspective to enhance it. The rider in the foreground would be hard to understand without the companion on the other side that shows us what the first one is doing. The run down barrel with numbers and lost boards are a picture in itself. The man at the bottom gives a centerpoint for the barrel and the motion like the pin on a turntable. And then the levels of barrel, audience, poor houses for the poor, white estates for the rich and finally the forest. A good one Gloria!

KevinRL (835) 2004-12-24 17:19

This is a fabulous photo Gloria.

teacozie (1377) 2006-01-04 4:29

Yo Gloria!

Wow, this is one amazing shot you have here! I movement and frenzy can hardly be contained with the exposure showing great motion through a very fast bike racing the camera's shutter. I love the composition and think you have done very well to take the photo some what blindly by holding it the right direction above your head. It's great how you've timed it so the first rider is entering the frame on the left side while the other ride is also entering the frame from the other side.

The wood does look rickety though doesn't it!?

Great stuff!