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Captured - Don
"Captured" A ranch cowboy(as opposed to a rodeo cowboy) fits a heel loop on a maverick. Hats by Resistol (of course),boots by Tony Lama (as expected) shirts by Buckley Bay,and pants by Wrangler (who else?). Only the *Rexall cowboys wear that other brand of jeans. *Rexall-drugstore cowboy and/or anyone that line dances. Selected for the Hall of Fame on 2003/Oct/01
| Camera: | Contax G2 |
| Lens: | Carl Zeiss Sonnar 90mm f/2.8 |
| Film: | Agfa Vista 200 |
| Exposure: | f.5.6,TV not recorded |
| Flash: | |
| Support: | |
| Filter: | haze |
| Adjustment: | Photographed from horseback. PS-dodge,burn,airbrush,and crop. |
| Posted: | 12-Jul-2003 |
Rating: 9.37 (62 ratings)
Comments
very cool shot!
I like the way the ropes lead me back into the picture, and I love the colors. Minor nit: wish there was just a tad more dirt in the foreground.
Robin Kleb 12-Jul-2003 at 12:49awesome
!
[Unknown] 12-Jul-2003 at 13:14Stunning...
great colours, action and composition - even a nice sky!
Carl Radford 12-Jul-2003 at 13:50Damn, this is just great
Don, I'm not a big fan of sports type photography but this just jumps out amd grabs you. The action, the right moment, the expression on the horses face, the expression on the cows face, plus all those technical details are right there. No way around it, this is real quality photography.
Bob Michaels 12-Jul-2003 at 16:53Thanks to all of you hombres for the kind comments. Robin-I too wish there were more foreground but my horse was acting as my zoom lens, since the Sonnar T 90mm doesn't work that way.When the heel loop encircled the steer's hocks I had already ridden in too close and the palomino horse was running toward me.
Don 12-Jul-2003 at 18:11Wranglers...
I don't think so! Grew up wearing them and just can't get them to fit right now that I am full grown. Have to have Levis. Love this photo Don. Great Catch. The expresson on the palamino is wonderfull and the concentration of the hands is right on. Great sky as a back ground.
Warren Dennis 12-Jul-2003 at 18:17Warren's Wranglers
I should qualify my statement regarding Wranglers. Jack Kyle,a highly respected horseman and one hell of a cowboy wears and always has worn Levis.Among cowboys though, it is rare to see them wearing anything other than Wranglers.This must be one of those exceptions that prove the rule.(Although,I've never really understood that cliche'.)
Don 12-Jul-2003 at 18:29Wow, wow, wow
Don, you ought to sell a ton of these as posters and fine art prints...unbelievable action shot. Evokes very good memories of my favorite Westerns, even though they may not have had duds quite as polished. My pulse races everytime I encounter this image.
Robert Mirani 12-Jul-2003 at 21:40S. . .
Don Agfa's color palette suits this image; the selective sharpening is well done, too. My favorite aspects are the 'S' and shiny silver belt-buckles.
Jerome Belthrop 13-Jul-2003 at 00:22Brilliant
-
William Symington 13-Jul-2003 at 01:50Confused...
Great image... one question though, is the blue sky a Photoshop composite? If it isn't can you explain the perspective of the shot? Thanks.
surfer 13-Jul-2003 at 04:52Exellent..
Great use of photoshop!
peter Casolino 13-Jul-2003 at 05:42Oh Yeah!
Well, it doesn't get much better than this. Sure there's things that could be better. The sun could have been at your back, more foreground as was mentioned. However, The moment is what makes this so special. Ropes flying, animals and men in mid leap. It's so cool that you do this from horseback. Now, if you really want to laugh, watch me try to ride a horse.
MARK MILLEN 13-Jul-2003 at 06:26What more to say?
I was searching for something to add and realised that the composition is a great rule of thirds example - two verticals and a lower horizontal. The sense of arrested motion is fabulous and the result is stylised (in a good sense) and iconic. When i read the description, I thought this was an advert for the clothes companies - may be it should be. I'd be interested to see what this looked like before the PS airbrush - particularly as I don't know what effect that has. That all this was done from horseback commands wonder - I have enough difficulty just staying upright!
Charez Golvala 14-Jul-2003 at 00:35-
This is absolutely Hall-of-fame-stuff, I agree - even if it were for only capturing the action and managing to keep all legs, heads, etc. inside the frame. I do, however second the remark about the horizon - it looks unnatural. The same about the cyan cast in the clouds , BTW.
Wilfred van der Vegte 14-Jul-2003 at 07:43Breathtaking action
Don, this amazing photo is simply the best action image yet posted on the site imo. It can eaily hang next to any classic western painting. We are not worthy.
Gregg Humphrey 14-Jul-2003 at 08:19Brilliant
!!!
Pete 14-Jul-2003 at 09:04-
I've waited a bit to comment on this image. Indeed it IS a fantastic capture! Reminds me of a Remington sculpture. As good as this is though I would send it back to the "shop" before any printing. I see what looks like DIGITALis on parts of the cow's leg and brand, the highlight on the rope, and the metal parts of the saddle. The horizon is a bit odd to me-a little too blurry and is that blue I see in the dust on the left? Incomplete cloning? As terrific an image as this is the PS work looks a bit heavy handed to me but certainly nothing that can't easily be corrected if you chose to. I'm also curious about your description of the image. One could get the impression that there is a uniform for "working" cowboys vs. wannabees. Are these folks really that clothes conscious? Anyway, congratulations on the shot- we'll be seeing you in the HOF.
Kevin Conville 14-Jul-2003 at 12:05wow!
i love the way the action has been captured, and the colours are just great. love the sky, but not so keen on the horizon, personally i would like to see it a bit sharper
rachel miles 15-Jul-2003 at 13:08Perspective
The 'horizon' may be at its correct height, but still I think the sky looks as if it were pasted in. To achieve the same impression as in the 'perspective' image, I think you need a darker, less saturated zone without contrast starting just above(or rather - behind) the dust clouds, gradually transitioning into the saturated blue at the top.
Wilfred van der Vegte 16-Jul-2003 at 00:12There are
very good details and drama in this shot. The strongest part is the way the two cowboys are positioned and act towards the cow and amongst themselves. I, however, miss a more clear "dialogue" between the comboys and the beast, since ITS "drama" is obviously outside the shop LH. I would like to see more foreground and also at least an indication of the cows drama. What, who and how is occupying it? As for airbrushing parts of this shot I am not sure that I like that. Anyway, I would like to see the raw shot as well. I am not sure that Wranglers and airbrushes, as a matter of consistency of style, goes that well together. Apart from these minors, very good handling of what have been an extremely difficult situation. Well done
Knut Skjærven 16-Jul-2003 at 01:35Some Answers To Your Questions.
As for the cow's subconscious,I can't answer that burning question. Yes, cowboy's do have a certain preference for certain gear,saddles,ropes,and even clothing,although I don't think they would take kindly to it being called a uniform. Yuppies have their "uniform",street gangs,and bikers do too. Even hippies of the 60's,while trying not to conform, had their "uniforms". Cowboy's also have their own language (lingo) as do truckers,bikers,street gangs,and stockbrokers.As for my poor photoshop work,I have mentioned several times that I don't know much about it. Give me a chance,I'll learn PS eventually! I set out to get the shot-I got the shot I wanted,that's what I do with my camera. Any sh- - that goes down after that is purely my fault for not knowing what I'm doing. If the New Mexico sky is too blue for you,move to L.A.where they don't have that problem.
Don 16-Jul-2003 at 11:17Addendum
Before someone calls me out on California skies, I would like to mention that occasionally the sky is this same color of blue in Malibu. (Please see Kevin C.'s image entitled "Malibu".)
Don 16-Jul-2003 at 11:31Legitimate
point you make about clothes and language Don. I guess what triggered my question about the clothes was that your emphasis in the description was about clothes and not so much about the action depicted. I'll drop it. Your answer is somewhat telling about PS component of the shot. You're obviously an exceptional photographer and this IS a great image. Did it need the PS tricks? I'm sure you will master PS soon enough and will use it to supplement your in-camera work but in this case, and this case alone, I'm not convinced it adds anything. Oh, and please leave me out of the "sky" hubbub! I never said a thing about it!
Kevin Conville 16-Jul-2003 at 14:08Re: Confused
My initial question regarding your use of Photoshop was prompted by the perspective and the appearance of image manipulation. At the time the recorded details of the shot didn't seem to mention that any modification had taken place. As my rating approach is heavily influenced by such action, I wanted to clarify the situation before deciding (I rate unmodified images higher than modified). Now that this information is available I feel comfortable in making an assessment. I like the image very much, although the manipulation is a little heavy handed in parts, and would like to see the original for comparison. Thanks.
surfer 16-Jul-2003 at 16:57Horse
Simply a great image. I'm quite interested in the crop, which I think works very well. It would be interesting to see the full frame for comparison purposes. I'm amazed to read that you took this on hoseback - maybe Glen should add a new category to the details listing - ' name of horse'.
Steve McBride 17-Jul-2003 at 02:05Dont' confuse
... 'cyan' with 'blue'. I still have the impression that there is a slight cyan cast over the image, most visibly in the clouds, where the highlights are not as neutral as they should be. It can also be seen in the some of the ropes. Cyan can be (inaccurately) described as a greenish blue or turquoise. The sky in Kevin Conville's Malibu is not as greenish as the sky here.
Wilfred van der Vegte 17-Jul-2003 at 07:28Cyan vs Blue
Yeh Partner, I know the difference between cyan and blue,but sometimes my Epson printer doesn't. My printer has a tendency to exhibit too much red in the prints,even after calibration with Monaco color management.. I have to make color compensation adjustments to get an accurate print. I thought I had undone that correction before uploading the image-evidentally,not enough! However, my Sony Trinitron monitor shows only a slight cyan cast,while my Toshiba laptop shows slightly more. Niether show an objectionable ammount and the sky is rendered true to life in the print.Or maybe I was frightened by a Charles Russell painting when I was a child.(Western America paintings with cyan tinted skies). In any case, the image was not intended to be journalistic reportage, rather it is simply a view of ranch work in progress,showing the action, that is sometimes present.
Don 17-Jul-2003 at 09:50And For Kevin-
Re: Clothing Thinking that the action spoke for it's self, I thought I would spoof fashion photography's captions. That's all! Neither I, nor the rest of the cowboy world in general are obsessed with a dress code.
Don 17-Jul-2003 at 10:15Were waiting....
Until tomorrow; when the timer expires on this picture. I think you can expect a flurry of images to be posted. Everyone wants the coveted 'Top Image', but there was no point in putting out ou best work. This image was too good to compete with. Look what you've done to us! Now I have to go out and be even more creative. You've raised he bar for us all.
MARK MILLEN 18-Jul-2003 at 11:48-
After so has been said about this shot Don there seems little more I could add except this shot is superior in every aspect. It looks 3D. Flawless. Gary
Gary Eden 18-Jul-2003 at 20:08Absolutely superb
Congratulations, Don - a worthy entry to the HoF
glen 01-Oct-2003 at 09:32Congratulations
Don, we all knew this was a HoF image the moment you posted it. You are way overdue and we're not worthy. Congrats again.
Gregg Humphrey 01-Oct-2003 at 12:33congratulations on a superlative piece of work Don....the perspective, the perfect marriage of colors and actions makes this a masterpiece. Its got a very 'Marlboro' feel to it.
Ed Ng 07-Oct-2003 at 07:12Allessandro-
Ringraziare per le parole gentili.
Don 16-Jun-2004 at 14:45This original shot is an extremely well captured moment especially with the variation in sunlight between the two horses. What I find distracting is the photoshop work. Meaning the selective sharpening around the image and the obviously airbrushed dust could be a worked a bit more realistically. The lack of a true horizon between the ground and transplanted sky gives it a bit of a too-artificial feel for my tatses. Though in all, a well put together piece.
Jonathan Hollada 23-Jul-2004 at 17:35The perfect cowboy picture!
Peter Marx 18-Oct-2004 at 07:47Damn stunning!
how is it even possible...
Vadim Melamedov 15-Jul-2005 at 22:45A Keeper
Perfect timing and composition.
Scott Russo 11-Oct-2006 at 08:57my first
10 score.
Sean Cleary 24-May-2007 at 17:42for my ten pence worth, possibly the best photograph on this site, and one of the best I've ever seen!
Ibbi 02-Nov-2007 at 05:30One of the best
One of the best photos on this site
dejan selakovic 25-May-2011 at 15:24Real American West
Very reminiscent of a C.M. Russell painting. Excellent art.
George B Carpenter 30-Jun-2011 at 11:54