Whether you view it as the height of Iberian culture or as a cruel, demeaning blood sport there is no doubt that bullfighting produces some very dramatic pictures.
The formal structure of the bullfight with its posturing toreadors, bright traditional costumes, choreographed moves and ritualised violence is a visual feast and the resultant images can be very beautiful in spite of the bood and gore, or perhaps because of it.
It goes without saying that the bull usually gets the worst of the encounter but it is not unusual for matadors to be hurt and modern camera equipment puts the viewer right at the heart of the action.
The crucial difference is that unlike most “sports” action pictures, the lives of the subjects are in the balance.
Playing with your food can be lethal.
(Photographs by Marcelo del Pozo, Javier Barbancho, Marcelo del Pozo, Jose Manuel Ribeiro, Javier Barbancho and Susana Vera respectively).
Trackback
4 comments so far
Very nice but risky photos as well…i mean they were taken at very uniquue angles…
- Posted by echwaluAlthough the images are quite impressive, I’ve recently found myself wondering if it’s really fit that the “Editor’s Choice” photos on this site should almost always contain a number of bullfighting photos.
While it’s arguable that these photos are worth displaying from an artistic perspective, I wonder if they’re consistently the best photos of newsworthy content.
- Posted by Skyler ReidHi Skyler, thanks for your feedback. Newsworthiness is an important consideration in the selection of the images for Editors Choice, but as a representative sample of the best of what has moved in the previous 24 hours their success as images shot in competitive circumstances, ability to inform or provoke, visual impact, rarity, artisitic merit, novelty and in some cases amusement value are all, within reason, considerations too. Bullfighting is something our photographers do rather well, I’m not an aficionado myself but fortunately it has a limited season.
- Posted by David Viggers@David
Thank you for that clarification. I do find myself wondering a lot of the time how the decision making process works for choosing those photos, and this is a wonderful clarification.
The images are all, indeed, stunning, and as you say the emotional response they’re capable of inspiring is enchanting. I work as photo editor at a student run paper, so you’ll understand my interest in what the “real world” (as we so regularly call it) editors look for.
It seems like something that would just be fun to shoot, also . . .
- Posted by Skyler Reid