Morning Canter Photo

Photographer’s Note

One is drawn like a magnet to the beaches of Normandy, where history mingles with recreation. There are over 300 miles of coastline in Normandy, and the beaches are well used. I stood mesmerized one cloudy morning by these two men racing their chariots up and down Omaha Beach, oblivious to everything except the euphoria of the fresh sea air, the spray from pools of water on the sand, and the joy of the moment.

There is a strong tradition of horse racing here. It was on the beach at Collignon, in Cherbourg, that the first trotting race occurred on September 25, 1836. The concept caught fire in 1837 when Caen held racing events at the Hippodrome de la Prairie, which is still considered by many to be the springboard for the Vincennes race track near Paris. Normandy also breeds some of the finest horses in Europe. The region has some 6000 horse breeding estates, of which 2000 are dedicated to trotters. But for these two seasoned racers, there was simply speed, spray, and the sea.

Another view appears in the WS.

fayeulle, robertosalguero, besnard, alainh, broglia, PixelTerror, flory, leonorkuhn, TopGeo, AiresSantos, Floydian, Cormac, chrisnet, bertolucci, jwmunro, Tue, kermit350, Dyerco, leo61, eza1701, jafadabret, riclopes, Cricri, jmdaoudal, jlmf, claudeD, alvaraalto, batalay, jhm, syd1946, plimrn, macondo, Photo65Net, gildasjan, papagolf21, John_F_Kennedy, lasscor, gneufeld, siolaw, elmec, Henryk_Bilor, singuanti, nivaldo, Emile, aloyho, Didi, anavazao, jpinkham, pboehringer trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

fayeulle (26547) 2007-08-16 0:11

Hi John
Nice shot this this riders on the beach
I like the framing. It's a pitty I can see a lot of artifacts on the sky on my screen
Cheers
JP

Andro (4) 2007-08-16 0:12 [Comment]

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besnard (31022) 2007-08-16 0:15

Bonjour John
Superbe cliché de cet attelage en mouvement bien saisi. Les couleurs sont magnifiques et l'ensemble très agréable à regarder dans cette belle luminosité.
Merci pour le partage et bonne journée.
Nicole

alainh (35385) 2007-08-16 0:17

hello John
splendid capture !!
the sea and the sky make only one. i like a lot. a1/250 was a good thing, dynamism is conservated.
have a nice day John
alain

Fis2 (46273) 2007-08-16 0:20

Witaj John!
Your photo is interesting. I like the composition and frame. Good colors. Curious moment...
Regards
Krzysztof

robertosalguero (110) 2007-08-16 0:25

Beautiful outdor scene. The carriage is an excellent subject and is well centered in the image. The colour saturation is very nice. I notice some noise on the scene but overall is a pretty scene. Thanks John.

Roberto

danyy (69357) 2007-08-16 0:47

Bonjour John,
j'ai visité la Haute-Normandie en avril de cette année, je ne suis pas descendu sous Honfleur.
Une photo bien cadrée où la brume au large efface l'horizon.
Belles couleurs au niveau de la plage et des chevaux et jockeys.
Best regards;
Daniel.

baba_flies (8081) 2007-08-16 0:50

Certainly a faster way to discover beach life, John :) I find it rather funny how they move along, leaving everybody behind. You were pretty fast too making this photo and I find it came out really good considering the surprise when they showed up. Good. Barbara.

PixelTerror (86691) 2007-08-16 0:57

Hi John,
That's the kind of scene you can only get in northern France, in the south they don't even allow dogs on the beach...
Good light on this one and sufficient speed to have it sharp, but you won't convince me this one was taken at 2:21 AM ;-))
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

flory (4804) 2007-08-16 1:14

hi John,
spectacular tradition,love the view,can feel the breeze and how they running away!!!it's for my taste;ws have dynamism,too.
nice day,
Flory

feather (50070) 2007-08-16 5:38

I knew I was going to like this from just the thumbnail. The grey background is perfect for keeping all our attention on the action, but the sense of place it gives us too, is wonderful. Raising the ISO was a good idea to give you a fast enough speed to freeze the motion. The wet sand has also provided a surface for some partial reflections.
A well taken opportunity.
Kath

leonorkuhn (13957) 2007-08-16 6:34

Hi John,

Excellent action shot! Lovely image with the chariot running on the beach. Beautiful strong horses. Perfect light, colors and details.

Have a nice day, my friend
Leonor

TopGeo (22145) 2007-08-16 6:53

Hi John,
Nice shot this with riders on the beach! I like these two men racing their chariots,Good the composition and frame with Normandy beach and tow sweaty famously horses. Good colors and clarity.
Congrat..
Georgios

AiresSantos (42760) 2007-08-16 7:23

Hi John,
Very nice this morning light. Excellent composition with great details and colours. It pity some noisy but i like it so much
TFs and cheers
Aires

Floydian (30970) 2007-08-16 7:24

Hi John,
I like your image a lot, but why iso400 if your aperture was at f10..!!!
Now there is some slight noise in the sky, or at least it looks like that, could also be the jpg artifacts created by compression.
Anyway, the image with colours and subject is really my taste...great captured scene.
Regards, Henk

rajju (1317) 2007-08-16 7:28

hi john,

very nice pov..amaizing monent...what i like most is the appealing motion coming out of this shot..

best wishes,
raj

Cormac (26455) 2007-08-16 7:53

Wow, what a great shot John! The horses look magnificent, and you caught them with a really good pose too. The sense of action and life is very strong in this. Great job to get a close in shot like this too. Excellent!

ChrisJ (70443) 2007-08-16 9:04

Hi John

I like the flattened perspective from the zoom & the obvious straining of the horses at right. Good symmetry between the 2 men & 2 horses with excellent sharpness for a zoom shot of such an active subject. Tfs!

carper (65524) 2007-08-16 9:37

a well takedn shot John,
a very fine atmosphere on the beache, good quality photo, fine composition and nice settings, good photojob, Have a nice day.
gr. jaap

Ann75 (0) 2007-08-16 10:52

Hi John,

This is a wonderful shot! I really love how you were able to capture these guys with the horse and buggy on the beach. Excellent colours, great details and I love how you capture the horse so beautifully while running. Excellent work, John!

Greetings,
Ann

chrisnet (20376) 2007-08-16 11:34

Hello John,
A good capture of these riders, nice framing too, a very dynamic view.
Regards
Christian

PJE (19483) 2007-08-16 12:01

John this photo is really incredible to view. I love the frozen moment and the excellent framing these two racers together. Very good capture John.

Clairedelune (4885) 2007-08-16 12:41

Hello John,
I know many won't like the noise in the sky. Noise doesn't always work with color photos, but I must say that I like it very much here. In that blue/gray sky, I find it quite appropriate.
I like how there is still some motion visible in the legs of the horses. It gives a good, dynamic photo.
A small detail that I like very much: the ripples made by the small waves... :)
Claire
P.S.: "Chariot" in French is "Char".

bertolucci (11992) 2007-08-16 12:51

Hi John, I love the well captured and frozen action here! The juxtaposition of the two combinations is great and evokes a real competetion atmosphere. The almost minimalistic background amplifies the feeling of pure action. Great job!
Have a fine evening,
Bert

jwmunro (6379) 2007-08-16 13:20

Hello John -

This is a very nice image but I kind of like the WS image a bit better. This image we have the reflections adding another dimension to the image but the WS image shows the horses in their canter or trotting mode. I think it is more representative of what these horses are being trained for. Both are well executed images.

Thank you for sharing.

John

Tue (25608) 2007-08-16 13:51

Hej John,
A great shot of these two men and their chariots on the beach. With the blur of the horse's legs you captured nicely their speed. Also the reflections are fine. And there seems to be a little sunlight, that I like too, well done!
Regards,
Lars

kermit350 (8988) 2007-08-16 14:50

Hello John, I like this stereotype with the blur which underlines the very dynamic and alive movement, the effort and the action are quite visible as your point of view which makes it possible to evaluate their mass, you were ideally to place and it emanates from this image much of power, sincerely...................Hello John, J'aime ce cliché avec le flou qui souligne le mouvement très dynamique et vivante, l'effort et l'action sont bien visibles ainsi que ton point de vue qui permet d’évaluer leur masse, tu étais idéalement placer et il émane de cette image beaucoup de puissance, bien amicalement

Dyerco (9256) 2007-08-16 20:50

Hi John

You have caught these gentlemen enjoying themselves so well. The soft warm light adds even more to the mood. Well placed in the frame so as the horses have somewhere to move into.

Regards

Phil

leo61 (43650) 2007-08-16 21:46

Hi John!
Good shot from the beach and good timing.The position of the horses with some space in front of them is perfect and I like the red tones of the wet sand.
Regards,Leo

Graal (58616) 2007-08-16 23:28

HiJohn,
interesting scene, good captured moment, fine composition. I like it. Good work and informations.
Gr., Aleksander

Gerrit (36157) 2007-08-17 0:22

Hi John,
ideal crop and a perfect timing and focussing. The movement of the feet and the beach give a perfect sense of speed and strenght.
Regards, Gerrit

batalay (21140) 2007-08-17 0:46

Hello John,

This must be the finest action shot on a beach since the scene that opening scene in the 1981 film, Chariots of Fire. The film opens with a couple of dozen young English track stars training on the beaches of Brighton for the 1924 Olympic Games. Accompanying the filom is a mesmerizing sound track that I can hear in my mind as I view your photo. If you haven't seen the film, I would recommend renting it.

Warm regards,

Bulent

jafadabret (40217) 2007-08-17 2:04

John, c'est une excellente photo pour la lumière et les couleurs en plus avec un filé qui floute un peu le décor pour donner l'impression de vitesse. Dommage que les chevaux soient de la même couleur on arrive à les confondre.
Jacques

eza1701 (3343) 2007-08-17 2:04

Hi John,

This is a great 'action' shot and the feeling of movement is strongly conveyed. Usin iso400 enabled you to get a fast enough shutter speed to capture the action.

Best regards,
Paul.

Angshu (34027) 2007-08-17 4:31

Hello John
The sense of motion is palpable. The tones of the sand, red, the splashing water behind the wheels, the strain on the reins tied to the horses...wonderfully captured. Would nitpick about the noise in the sky though...result of 400 ISO?
With Regards
Angshu

hdl (6737) 2007-08-17 4:37

Hi John. Very nice shot; quite different than what we usually see on the beaches (although I like that very much too...;-))). Good, sharp action shot that is very good balanced and framed.

vincz (19045) 2007-08-17 6:50

Beautiful image. We can really feel the motion. I love the legs of the horses, the "splash" in the water/sand, the other shoes in the air. 400ISO is creating some noise it seems, maybe lower ISO, larger aperture, would have been as efective at freezing the motion. A very good one in any case.

riclopes (33119) 2007-08-17 7:32

Olá John, fascinating action shot that remind me more of ancient times than a scene from the year 2007. You freezed well the movement and the reflections are a nice bonus on this unusual image. I enjoyed very much the WS as well, specially the front leg of the horse. Great post.
Ricardo

Cricri (43616) 2007-08-17 9:54

Hi John,
Magnifique scéne, joli moment bien capturer sous une lumiére et des couleurs qui donne une image trés agréable a regarder, joli reflet et cadrage, compliment
have a nice weekend for you
cricri

jmdaoudal (82) 2007-08-17 10:10

A pleasure to see this, as usual you offer well the subject. More its interesting to have two horses the same colors;
Action !
I like it
Jean Michel

jlmf (968) 2007-08-17 11:02

Bonsoir John,
J'aime le cheval du premier plan on dirrai qu'il vole dans les aires. Quand au deuxième on vois bien le mouvement du tron cela devait être beau à voir passer. Je trouve que les couleur de la photo sont belles, la netté aussi et le décore derrière la calèche et les cheveau n'est pas mal non plus. bon pov
Amitié
Joss

claudeD (11434) 2007-08-17 11:06

Bonsoir John,

very good action picture at the beach with the horses running.I like your composition and especially the nice colors.Well done.

With regards from Luxembourg

Jean-Claude

ohe (2332) 2007-08-17 13:50

Dear John,
Very nice composition.
The framing is quite appropriate with an opening on the right.
Movments are really well rendered.
Thanks for sharing,
- Olivier -

alvaraalto (5301) 2007-08-17 15:01

Hi John,
Really a great picture of the man’s life. A life of speed and loneliness.
You show it here in a beautiful, well-balanced composition.
Groet Rob

ndb1958 (9248) 2007-08-18 2:14

Hi John,
a beautiful iage of the horses and the guys on the beach. Reminds me a bit to "tempi passati".
I like the bg of the sea and the sky, like painted.
A beautiful composition,
Best wishes and have a nice weekend,
Nino

jhm (83193) 2007-08-18 8:22

Hello John,

Nice shot of this riders on the beach, nice action shot, certainly with a F/10 and 1/250, you did good with ISO 400, maybe alone the grainy in the background still remove. But this is absolutely not disturbing.
Thanks for sharing.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

syd1946 (17953) 2007-08-18 10:12

This is Great John!An unbelievable capture of scene and of the motion.I like it very much for the cinematic feeling for the nice colors and the perfect light.And your note,help us to understand more and enjoy.Excellent work and presentation!

All the best for the weekend,
Thomas

plimrn (19694) 2007-08-18 15:21

Hi John,
Fantastic action shot!! The detail of the well-muscled horses with the spray flying off their hooves is impeccable. The red sand/clay beaches with the shallow slope against the gray sky and sea reminds me very much of the coast along the Northumberland Strait. Will you be spending the winter in NB or just going for some autumn color? Larry's cousin commented that they 'have just two seasons in NS, July and winter.' I think he was irritated about cool & stormy weather in August. HLJ, Pat

macondo (13249) 2007-08-18 19:13

Hello John. Very good shot taken from low pov. Gleaming is the best word I can find to describe it. The movement is sharply captured, allowing a little blur on the lower leges and the horses and sulkies are well placed in the frame. This kind of racing is very popular in Australia, where the 'pacing' is more popular than the 'trotting'. That is, the two legs on one side of the horse are trained to move forward together - the horses here are indeed trotting. But you probably know all that! Anyway, great shot and thanks for the note.
Regards,
Andrew

Photo65Net (43096) 2007-08-19 0:55

John,
Wow, what an action shot !
Your tight framing works nicely here, and so does your choice to include the wet sand in the FG.
Beautiful,
Regards,
JB.

gildasjan (24069) 2007-08-19 23:15

Bonjour John
Très bonne réalisation.Ces chevaux à l'entrainement sont idéalement placés dans le cadre.Bonne gestion des paramètres de la prise de vue.
Bonne journée.
Amicalement
Gildas

papagolf21 (56675) 2007-08-20 1:29

Bonjour, cher John,
Inutile d'ajouter des louanges méritées, il suffit de regarder, d'apprécier et d'admirer cet excellent travail.
Bravo !
Amitiés.
Philippe

John_F_Kennedy (31919) 2007-08-20 2:46

Great composition with good light! Good job. You have captured the riders very well with excellent details.
Best wishes,
Achim

rbcy1974 (20746) 2007-08-20 4:12

HellO JOhn
Great capture of the movement, nice soft textures. Very nicely done
Regards
Daniel

lasscor (7637) 2007-08-20 9:15

Hi John,
Wonderful scene.
Nice framing and colours.
TFS,
Corinne

jaywalker (12276) 2007-08-20 14:23

Hi John, A very beautiful photo, the grace of the horses as they gallop over the sands looks wonderful, you have composed the shot brilliantly leaving them something go ride into, excellent timing, perfect exposure, superb light, & TFS, kind regards Wilson.

gneufeld (15233) 2007-08-20 18:43

Hi John,
Wow, what a winner this is! You have captured a most fascinating action image with perfection. The colors, clarity, and perspective enhance this unusual scene. Great work and thanks for sharing. Gerald

siolaw (25802) 2007-08-20 23:07

Hi John,
Interesting scene with horses and riders on the beach in full action.. well timed capture with subjects in good position in the frame, space in front of them... soft colors and correct sharpness... i can hear them trotting!
Laurent

cessy (13647) 2007-08-20 23:58

wow.. what great horses !! beautiful moment captured, so dynamic
I like the one in WS too
very nice, John

Budapestman (42694) 2007-08-21 1:10

Hi John,
Beautiful shot, I like the dynamic spectacle and the fine details. The POV is very attractive, this is a really fascinating moment, Great! Congratulations. Have a nice week
George

Albrecht (11189) 2007-08-21 2:34

Hi John
Such a well captured moment and you can see the speed in the picture. Great job.
greetings Albrecht

jemaflor (39689) 2007-08-21 3:58

Hi John,
Well taken, good dynamic effect and interesting reflection on this wet sand, good result.

oochappan (22032) 2007-08-21 8:01

How they are spotted out against the mist over the sea in contrast to the enlightened horse span and the drivers theought the red textured sand and water puddles, well isolated with a great early sun mood John.
Henk

elmec (12194) 2007-08-21 8:36

Hello John!
Great scene!
So dynamic!
I like the reflections in wet sand!
Perfect composed!
Congratulations!
Best regards!

faubry (32407) 2007-08-21 17:31

hello John, like a picture...a lot dynamism and action, well done
francine

Henryk_Bilor (20371) 2007-08-22 1:19

Hello John
What an excellent capture, full of dynamics. Great light and colours too.
Regards

gilou530 (35602) 2007-08-22 1:53

salut john
grandiose cette vue, une netteté absolu et des chevaux noirs magnifiques sur l"écran, bravo
amitiés
gilbert
zut je repasse

Jeppe (18623) 2007-08-22 8:46

Hi John
An unusual view indeed - I like the sight of those horses and the water giving extra motion in the shot - well done.
Jeppe

singuanti (15240) 2007-08-22 18:58

Hi John. This is a rare action shot from you. The location of the horses and people is perfectly placed in your framing. I love the blur in the horses feet too as it helps give the shot movement. Excellent shot John.

nivaldo (13333) 2007-08-23 17:57

Hi John,
A beautiful capture, a good flagrante!
Les chevaux et la plage! Le monde!
TFS, kind regards,
Nivaldo

Emile (20085) 2007-08-24 21:45

Hola John.
Excellent shot of the two racers with the beautiful horses and carriages, very well captured from a very good POV. You used a good exposition to get a good sharpness at that speed. Nice colors and reflection. Your B&W WS is good but i prefer this one. Well done. TFS.
Best regards.

aloyho (6109) 2007-08-25 2:07

Hi John,
I am attracted by this interesting composition where an abundance of movement in the foreground is set against against a relatively calm and peaceful background. The contrast brings out the exciting scene. I also enjoyed the colours as it emit that feeling of energy and enthusiasm on the part of the riders. Brilliant shot!!
Have a nice weekend.

Didi (36390) 2007-08-25 3:28

Hi John
Ok for this shot with movement; very nic frame of the subject with the wheels on a strong point.
Cheers.

ben4321 (9807) 2007-08-25 10:25

I'm not sure how I missed this, but I think it's excellent.
You've managed to capture a great sense of movement, with the blurred hooves and spokes of the wheels. It looks to me like you panned this ever so slightly - there's a kind of lateral blur to the beach and sea that works well.
Excellent work John, well timed and well framed.

Cheers,
Ben

evanrizo (456) 2007-08-27 0:57

Heeey John what a great luck to be there and to capture this excellent scene!
You cropped it clever in an ideal moment with very good contrast and sharpness.
The reflection of the light on the water and the some details of the cart adds more effect.
I think the blur effect of the background helps very much.
Cheers
Evan
tomorrow...

anavazao (5592) 2007-08-28 12:08

hi friend,
the dynamic is amaizing ....Great combination of light, with the warm! like the reflection too, which is very good and tends to balance the photo. Well done! Take care Ana:)

jpinkham (848) 2007-08-28 21:08

I love it when a great note is just the beginning, John. A fine bit of composition here. The bland sky draws the eye to where it should be, on the cantering horses and the riders. Colors are sharp and vivid; good freezing of motion and positioning within the frame, too. The foreground water helps add to the sense of dynamism. Finally, you appear to have made a great choice for time of day and lighting.

rozy975 (3047) 2007-08-29 20:32

Beautiful scene.
These two gentlemen must be having a great time.
Well done!

noborders (14201) 2007-08-30 1:58

Both photos (WS and this one) are excellent, you had good reflexes ; here, I like the reflections... Beautiful and elegant, congratulations,
Cath.

anesugur (16970) 2007-08-30 13:33

Hi John,
What a great composition...
Excellent colors, details with superb exposure.
Nice work.
Best wishes. Uğur

jmcl (14097) 2007-09-01 20:37

Hi John,

Well I feel I have to pile on here .. in addition to all the technical aspects of this the symbolic analogies are endless .. the black horses .. the grey sea and sky .. etc. beautiful and thoughtful image.

take care,

John

Stepan (27175) 2007-09-02 1:55

So typical from the place... You caught the spirit of the places you've discovered !!
That's very well captured and managed, despite the moves and the speed (I suppose). Unusual warm colors in your gallery, too.
Stéphane

captainsgirl (3448) 2007-09-03 14:33

Hello John,
Hmmm not to often you but they are for sure trotting not cantering...:o) Its an awesome photo and I bet an awesome place to let a horse open up. I owned a trotter once, had to work with him for months on end before he would canter for me as they are forced not to as if they break into a canter in a race they are disqualifed. This photo would look awesome blown up and framed. I love it. TFS
Donna:o)

coco (28054) 2007-09-08 13:04

Hi John.

Excellent panning and capture. The composition is right and the exposure too.
Also I prefer this one than the WS, but both are very good.

Regards.

toni_al (15476) 2007-09-08 13:51

Salut John
C'est marrant ces cavaliers au bord de la mer, la netteté est très bonne.
@+
Toni

pboehringer (770) 2007-09-11 18:07

John, isn't wonderful to have this mornings with that maverlous light conditions just waiting for the right composition? The placement of this action is perfect in your framing and I love to see that the 1/250s still gave some blurr to enhance this feeling of dynamics! A panning would certainly have been another interesting approach to this scene but I like this a lot too.
Regards, Peter

toto (18755) 2007-09-12 4:42

Belle photo de ces gens qui font du trot attelé,les cheveaux sont superbes et musclés,la position des hommes est typique de ces courses,grande netteté et les détails aussi bien de la plage, des hommes, des cheveaux et meme des éclaboussures fait par les roues dans l' eau sont très visibles. Amitiés Thomas
je reviens

elihesamian (26091) 2007-09-20 13:37

John,
This a great action shot with a special dynamism that skilfully freezed.
the background and a part of the reflection are fine here,wonderful atmosphere,very well composed,too,nicely done,indeed I enjoy it,Thanks,
Best Wishes
M

xramm (745) 2007-09-27 13:14