ParAgility, a photo from Bihor, West

Photographer's Note

Dog agility is a sport in which a handler directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy. In its simplest form, an agility course consists of a set of standard obstacles, laid out by an agility judge in a design of his own choosing.

ParAgility is in fact, agility for handlers with a disability. This means handlers can be in wheelchairs but still make a team with their dogs and run together in paragility competitions. (for more info please check this link)

Today, during the second National Agility and ParAgility Championship, dogs were tested for obedience and agility. Unfortunately paragility is not very popular just yet or not even very well known, so there weren't too many competitors. Even so the team pictured here had a very good evolution.

* please check WS for more colors :)

** inspired by galeota's wheelchair theme ... of course the technique and quality of the composition is hardly comparable to the photographs already posted in the theme ... still, i love this image - for the empathic communications between two friends: man and dog ... and for THAT look

gabrielpat, Clairedelune, scobert, ribeiroantonio, flory, bfly, isabela_sor, japiey, teutza, goodwill, nicol_g, jmcl, Brian, Irina75, Flavia, siolaw, bibiweb has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

gabrielpat (7163) 2007-05-20 19:15

hi Thea,
a nice complicity between the man and the dog.aa nice cropped shot.speaking.

Clairedelune (4923) 2007-05-20 19:48

You got something there, Teodora. No doubt. Who has ever had a good dog will remember well such a look in the eyes of their best friend. That is one reason why I like so much dogs. With your photo, we can feel the bond between the master and his dog, their understanding, their close relationship, and that is seen in the eyes of the dog, even though we cannot see the eyes of the man itself. I also like the blurred man in the background. Like another witness.
The black and white is good, though a little overexposure on the collar.
Claire

Dpbours (222) 2007-05-20 20:16

Hi Thea,

Nice to see this bond between dog and owner. The mutual trust. I'm wondering how the eyes of the owner look in this picture. Probably not that much different.
Back in university, I did a course on research methodologies. For that course, one had to do a small field study. I did an observation of dogs and their owners. We would first observe both and write down physical appearances etc. Then we would look up the personality of that particular type of dog and go to the owner and as him a few questions. The end result was that dogs and owners really look alike. The question remains if owners pick a certain dog on their own character or that the two characters develop towards each other over time. A good combination of both I guess.

I like how this picture is tightly cropped. Nice one!

Greetings, Dennis

cak (4931) 2007-05-20 22:21 [Comment]

Show Comment

ribeiroantonio (22730) 2007-05-20 22:25

It is a wonderful picture. It is hard to say anything else. The B&W is good and the DOF perfect. Thanks for the excellent note. Well done.
Antonio

Galeota (10352) 2007-05-21 0:45

Ah! How could I let this one go by? No way, because, as you already know, our fellows on wheels deserve the outmost respect for hitting the road each day even when their feet don't follow anymore. I love the interaction (if we can qualify it like this) between the dog and the man, the way they seem to listen each other carefully, waiting for a sign to react. Good choice of a square crop even though the frame seems a bit tight. Thank you for the reference, but mainly for this new pearl to the collection.

Luciano75 (0) 2007-05-21 1:12

Buna Dora

Frumos cadru,the man and his dog...i-ai surprins la momentul potrivit,cand au o discutie...man to man(or lady...:)).
Faina nota si tema.Felicitari.

O zi buna,
Lucian

flory (4848) 2007-05-21 1:39

neata Dora,
off,off..ma uitai la tema,superba.nu-ti fa griji,important e ce transmiti.iubesc ce ai surprins acilea.trebe sa invatam sa apreciem ce avem,iata ca sunt oameni cu dizabilitati care stiu sa se bucure de lucruri simple..dar nu sunt simple,sunt cele mai importante;hm..for that look;)nu prea zik io mersi la poze,da acum zik"mersi!"
ti pup,
flory

Chaps (2131) 2007-05-21 5:11

Hello Thea,

Tr鑚 jolie image pleine de tendresse, on sent l'amour de la b黎e pour son ma羡re. J'aime beaucoup aussi les photos couleur surtout que le chien est beau ! F駘icitations.
Pascal

isabela_sor (47748) 2007-05-21 6:50

Perfect prinsa conexiunea dintre ei.....felicitari pentru aceasta fotografie!Cel mai mult imi place privirea acestui prieten admirabil....cainele !si WS sunt super
O saptamana usoara

japiey (10163) 2007-05-21 8:02

Hi Teo..

Really a fascinating image..
See the eyes of the dog, and the sensitive face...
You have made that moment memorable...

Cheers to you..

jean paul

faubry (35447) 2007-05-21 9:57

super occhii din cine aici ptr maitre...bun moment natural, imi place alb si negru poze, bravo
pa
francine

teutza (10590) 2007-05-21 10:48

Buna Theeea,
mai imi place tare mult poza asta!!!e f artistica..bine gandit alb negru..si-mi place si cainele ala cum se uita in ochii stapanului..
te pup
teo

goodwill (4274) 2007-05-21 16:12

The interaction between the dog and a human being is like a interaction between a blind and his stick. A blind can't see, his stick finds the way, but see,, here you have depicted an altogether image.
Eye Contact
Superb form of communication. The eyes deliver the message and it needs to be obeyed.
Wonderful.
Rajeev

nicol_g (859) 2007-05-21 16:55

Buna Dora,
E pentru prima data cand aud despre astfel de competitii organizate la noi. Extraordinar! Multumesc pentru prezentare!
Buna imaginea, transmite... bine surprinsa comunicarea dintre cei doi competitori/ parteneri: par sa se inteleaga numai din priviri.
Si eu simt crop-ul putin cam 'strans', dar per ansamblu o prezentare foarte buna. Continua :)
Toate cele bune.

ines8 (6128) 2007-05-21 17:13

Foarte emotionanta poza, intelegerea si iubirea pe care si-o acorda reciproc cei doi prieteni...La privirea cainelui nici nu ma pot uita, te sperii de ce poti citi acolo ,pai cit suflet este in ea ca restul dispare...Toata poza se aduna parca in ochii aceia de ciine...

jmcl (14535) 2007-05-22 1:35

Hi Dora,

Wonderful .. you have every fiber of that dog .. the intensity, eager joy .. I could go on and on .. such a moment of communication .. just wonderfully done in what had to be a brief moment.

take care,

John

Furachan (0) 2007-05-22 3:59

Nice tight crop here, Thea, nothing extraneous, no "fat" at all. A strong, remarkably positive picture, well rendered.
Good work,
Francis

Irina75 (1502) 2007-05-24 3:47

Hi Teodora,
Nice capture, very expressive photo!
TFS,
Kind regards,
Irina

AiresSantos (56155) 2007-05-25 2:03

Hi Dora,
Funny scene with the man and dog. Very well chosen the black and white format. Excellent note
TFS and greetings
Aires

I'll be back

jinju (14265) 2007-05-25 4:41

Hi Teodorea,

even without the dog this is a great frame. Tight, tpo the point. The dog though gives it mAGIC, an emotional charge that wouldnt be there otherwise. Well framed compo.

Flavia (10352) 2007-05-25 12:43

Hi Teodora,

Excellent subject, very well framed and focused to get the attention on the relationshipe bettween the dog and its master. B&w here was a wise choice. I like the grain even thought I find that just a little less grain would improve the shot, but still a great catch.

Regards,

Flavia

polter (7239) 2007-05-25 12:58

What a scene and what a composition - great both. But the dog's eyes, the evident strong relation between the man and his animal-friend... Wonderful, deeply human shot. Greetings T.

siolaw (38294) 2007-05-26 8:14

Hi Teodora,
Nice tight framing concentrating the view on the action... the dog and his incredibly expressive face... the master seemingly telling him what to do... and with this nice DOF the blurred man watching from the public... very well composed
Laurent

maciekda (19895) 2007-05-31 14:49

nice, very nice photo, there is a story in this picture, good composition, everything seems to work here, good stuff

bibiweb (8) 2007-06-02 1:53

Hi Teo,
I really like your crop that focuses on the communication between this man and his dog. The B&W is a good choice here though perhaps it is a bit too grainy. The two photos in the WS are a good add-on to give us a better understanding of this event.
Have a nice week-end.
Brigitte

scobert (5355) 2007-06-30 18:53

Hello Teodora,
I think that your photograph and your commentary is marvelous! Your photo is a superb PJ photo and it has a wonderful expression from the dog looking for directions from his trainer. You can tell that the judge in the background is paying attention to every movement and detail of the competition. You have educated me about this event and I will look for it as it gains in popularity.
Superb!
Stan

anducina (8407) 2007-07-27 8:42

Fenomenala captura (acum am vazut-o !), intr-adevar se pare ca poza gen reportaj e genul tau. Postura personajului, privirea companionului canin, incadrarea-absolut remarcabile.

TFS,

Andreea

Homerhomer (4080) 2008-10-14 20:48

fantastic image, you must be very humble person since you are saying that the image is not up to par with others posted in the theme, I believe this image is right up there with the best.

What a portrait of humanity and human animal bond. As mentioned by Gal, those poeple deserve so much respect for wheeling it out every single day, overcoming obstacles which us, able bodies don't even know exist, and having strenght to go out there and enjoy life with their animals, is just inspiring. The bond shown in this photo is just superb, having just put to sleep my best friend couple of weeks ago, this one brings a tear to my eye.

From the storyline point of view you don't need nothing more or nothing less, at least for because I have been a part of some dog competition I could clearly see what's going on, the poeple look like judges, dog food advertising is another indication, it all simply plays a supporting role to the story told by this couple. Composition is quite strong as well.

Technically speaking the photo isn't the strongest, the noise, especially on the dog isn't overly attractive, but really who cares, the photo is superb.