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Valentin Borsan PRO

2 months ago

Hi everyone,

I’d like your opinion on a photo I’m thinking of submitting. It shows a moment from a bullfighting event — horse, rider, and bull in action, with a crowd in the background. The image is processed in sepia for a documentary feel.

My main concern is whether the subject itself might be considered too sensitive or ethically problematic for 1x, regardless of technical quality.

I’d appreciate any thoughts before I decide to submit.

Thanks in advance,

Valentin Borsan

Mike Kreiten CREW

2 months ago — Head senior critic

Dear Valentin,

Thanks for asking, not sure yu receive relevant answers. I woud assume you may lose some positive votes because of the topic. These events happen, no matter if there are photographs taken, but the for sure they divide society.

To the photograph: I find it a bit odd the bull is passve in this frame, in context it raises the question if he's exausted. You did well separating the very agile horse

by btightness / less toning, but the rider falls short. And the bull merges into the background too mich. A bit more open aperture would have more focus on the subject, a slighly less bright and contrasty backgrund does the same. And while your yellow / sepia toning is a matter of taste, I'd go for a more pure black and white. Here I did all three, blurred the background with Gaussian blur , except for the front part, apllied a b&w conversion on top, but just 85%, and toned down the background a bit:

Best regards,

Mike

Steven T CREW

2 months ago — Senior critic

Valentin,

Thanks for sharing the photo with us. I won't venture an opinion on whether members' feeling about bull fighting will influence their votes in Curation. I think we all have subjects we like or don't like, but can still appreciate and vote positively for a well-crafted photo.

There's no EXIF for the image, but it seems telephoto-like, and you must have used a medium-small aperture to get the bull and the rider sharp and the audience reasonably sharp. The shutter was fast enough to freeze the horse and rider (rejoneador?) in motion.

I think the audience is the most interesting part of the photo. It's fascinating to zoom in on the faces and note the range of expressions and reactions to what is happening in the ring. To show that more clearly I used Topaz Sharpen for just the background. For this sample edit, the left, bottom, and top of the frame were darkened just a little, and the bull lightened with Photoshop's 'Image>Adjustments>Shadows/Highlights' tool.

A sepia-like tone can suggest nostalgia or give a vintage-photo look. That may be part of the theme you wanted - I don't know.

. . . . Steven, senior critic

Edited: 2 months ago by Steven T