Just a few more (Red Bull World Series Air Race)

Yes, I know I promised them all, but it's so late here... zzzZzzz... selecting photographs is an NP-complete problem, for those who know what that is, so they will understand me :-) Anyway, a selected few just from the beginning:

Let's look at the air race trailer!

Today was a crazy day... I was with at the media center for the Red Bull Oporto Air Race 2008 all afternoon, in the sun, taking pictures of crazy pilots doing absolutely stunning moves! This is just a preview... More to follow :-)

The good, the bad, and the ugly (Horseball Part II)

There are some moments in Horseball where the adrenaline rush is so much that you can't figure out who gets more into the game... the riders or the horses!


Just look at the eye on the horse to the right... He's in a complete "I'm going to get you" mode!


Protecting the ball at all cost!


Just let go of me ;-)

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

On to the movie - Opening credits (Horseball, Part 1)

I finally got some time to select some Horseball photos! I'll be posting them for the following days...


A girl in the heating up phase...


... discussing the game strategy...


Goall!!!!

... and a characteristic photo of the players after they have scored, or tried to score... everyone looking up!
I actually got so into photographing the game that I didn't notice what was right in front of me... this is not the only shot in which the gray horse appears to have a left blind eye. It's amazing that he is out in the field giving everything with the others!!!

And a "ramassage" moment. I have to try this sometime :-)

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

Let's look at the trailer

Well, I've had some requests for Horseball pictures from some people who are just plain curious to see them, so here's a small preview! I'm sorry, just can't find the time lately... I hope they're worth the wait ;-) For those who aren't familiar with the sport, it's a sort of basketball played on horses! Of course, you don't dribble, and if the ball falls, you're supposed to pick it up while you're on the horse - that's called the "ramassage" (shown in this photo).

Many technical words in Horseball come from French, because the sport was invented in France. Here are the rules of Horseball summarized in a simple manner.

It's a very exciting sport to shoot because it's very fast - and dusty, sometimes :-), and the possibilities are endless! Stamina, adrenaline, everything!!

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

I'm a Lusitano...

These photos were taken, again, in Ponte de Lima, in the Working Equitation ("Equitação de trabalho", in Portuguese) shows.
For those who aren't familiar with this Riding discipline, it is made of 3 or 4 parts, according to the country of origin (? - correct me if I'm wrong). There is a "maneability" test, meant to test the willingness, elasticity and courage of the horse (and rider :-) ), a "velocity" test, which features more or less the same obstacles but is meant to be done at the greatest speed possible, a Dressage test and a cattle test which is optional (at least here in Portugal). The Lusitano horse excels in this Discipline, for its character and strength.
This used to be the Equestrian Discipline I photographed the most, since I spent more than 6 years riding Lusitanos that did precisely this at my old riding center. Nowadays I'm finding more challenges in photographing other disciplines. Managing to anticipate a horse's move is not always trivial - and even when it appears trivial (such as the trot extensions in Dressage), it's not at all easy to capture the perfect moment. It requires not only a trained eye, but that "horse sensibility", or is it "horse sense", the one everyone talks about?
Anyway, what was kind of funny for me is that after spending some time now in a Riding Center where most people are show jumpers, I have a bit more of feeling for the "jumping anticipation". And I could tell that some people (and horses) face the bull with no problem, they open gates, close gates, do flying changes with no problem at all, and then... the jump (which is the height of a hay bale) was their bigger problem. :-) I'm not meaning to offend anyone, I didn't jump for 9 years or so, and always took it as trivial. Guess what... Made a fool out of myself with my own horse at my brand new riding center. It was fun. :-) Oh well, on to what really matters.
I sincerely admire those who could manage to be in the traditional Portuguese riding costume (called "traje") in that sun and heat... The clothing is REALLY warm, only those who have tried it know what I'm talking about! Oh, by the way, the rubber band on the hat isn't part of the Portuguese costume, as someone told me in the past, it's part of the Spanish riding costume. We Portuguese like to pick our hats from the ground when they fly away... :-D On to the photos!






(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

Horses and wheels...

... no, not cars! Today is Driving day after all... There were so many Horseball pictures that I just didn't have enough time to make a selection! A photographer's life is tough... :-) And no, they weren't "monkey" pictures, I just experimented so much with angles and subjects that I now have to make a decision ;-)

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

All the beautiful people, all the beautiful horses...

Dressage horses are always so shiny, powerful, beautiful. And when they move...

Today is Dressage day, tomorrow will be Horseball day!

These photos were taken at "Feira do Cavalo" in Ponte de Lima, a small and beautiful village in Northern Portugal. The conditions were amazing: 2 very large paddocks for competitions and training, subdivided in dressage carrières that were later removed for the Horseball games.

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal) 

Dressage, dance and harmony

It was a pleasure to enjoy the performance of our Olympic rider, Miguel Ralão Duarte, with Oxális da Meia Lua, in the Final of the Portuguese Dressage Cup, in Ponte de Lima, Portugal, even though the weather was very very hot (around 36ºC or 97ºF) and the light was very harsh, every photographer's nightmare. 

(Ponte de Lima, Portugal)

Academic tradition in Portugal

It has been a while since I finished undergrad, but I can still remember the sense of union that our academic traditions give us. Some of these traditions, present in most Universities in Portugal, started in Coimbra and have its origins in the 17th century. Back then, everyone used the same academic outfit - it was meant to be humble and warm, so that there were no visible differences among the student's social conditions. Things evolved so that eventually there was a distinction in the clothing - and the way of behaving - among different majors, years in school, etc. Nowadays, most of the tradition is still respected: university students still wear this uniform, called "traje académico", freshmen have to respect their elders and join in the praxe, and there are several academic groups. When their main activities are traditional folklore, "fado" and dances, they are called "tunas". These photos are from a performance of the "Tuna Feminina da Faculdade de Engenharia do Porto", in the ITW'08 conference, at the Palácio da Bolsa, in Porto.

(Porto, Portugal)