honorable mention
John Eaton Eaton united states
title
A Game of Buzkashi
Biography
Born and raised in England, but living in California since the late 1980’s, my photographic skills are self-taught through decades of patience and practice. The potential of black and white photography first enthralled and excited me as a teenager when my father lent me his Kodak fold-out camera to take on a school trip to Brussels and Paris . I bought my first camera in 1966 (a used twin-lens Yashica), followed by a succession of various 35mm and medium-format film cameras -- today I use digital rangefinder cameras.
I’m energized in exploring images of what I see around me, especially architecture and landscape (the interest in architecture comes from the rest of my family -- my father, brother and son are all architects). I’m fascinated by the form and function of buildings that men and women create and equally by the infinite forms that nature creates.
Ever since that first experience back in 1958, black and white photography has always been my first love -- the simplicity, elegance, drama, timeliness and richness that it can bring to an image for me drives a more visceral response. I’m excited by the emotional ‘punch’ that black and white images bring in this particular context – the contrasts between light and dark, areas of luminance and tonality, and the abstractions of shapes and forms -- that “special” quality that heightens the emotion and impact of the image.
www.johneatonphotography.com
www.englishmedievalcathedrals.com
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entry description
Buzkashi is a bit like rugby on horseback! Tajiks only play the game on special occasions, in this case to celebrate a local wedding with teams from the respective families. The rules are obtuse and vague to the casual observer, but basically involve a rider on horseback getting the carcass of a freshly-slaughtered ram (minus its head!), the 'ball', into a pit, the 'goal', at one or the other ends of the 'pitch' (an enormous, very ill-defined area of dry, dusty scrubland). The game is rough as other riders attempt to hem-in the rider who actually has the 'ball' and prevent him moving, and then attempt to tug and steal the 'ball' from him -- if he can break-away, he then gallops furiously toward the 'goal' at the other end of the 'pitch' to deposit the 'ball'. The rider who accomplishes this gets a prize from the sponsors of the game -- in this case, the families of the bride and groom. The venue is spectacular -- played on the Pamir plateau at about 10,000 feet, with the Karakoram range as a backdrop.about the photographer
JOHN EATON, ARPSBiography
Born and raised in England, but living in California since the late 1980’s, my photographic skills are self-taught through decades of patience and practice. The potential of black and white photography first enthralled and excited me as a teenager when my father lent me his Kodak fold-out camera to take on a school trip to Brussels and Paris . I bought my first camera in 1966 (a used twin-lens Yashica), followed by a succession of various 35mm and medium-format film cameras -- today I use digital rangefinder cameras.
I’m energized in exploring images of what I see around me, especially architecture and landscape (the interest in architecture comes from the rest of my family -- my father, brother and son are all architects). I’m fascinated by the form and function of buildings that men and women create and equally by the infinite forms that nature creates.
Ever since that first experience back in 1958, black and white photography has always been my first love -- the simplicity, elegance, drama, timeliness and richness that it can bring to an image for me drives a more visceral response. I’m excited by the emotional ‘punch’ that black and white images bring in this particular context – the contrasts between light and dark, areas of luminance and tonality, and the abstractions of shapes and forms -- that “special” quality that heightens the emotion and impact of the image.
www.johneatonphotography.com
www.englishmedievalcathedrals.com
back to gallery