From Digital Pixels to Brush Strokes

Touched up some of my favourites with Paint.net, a free software yet sufficiently powerful for such applications.

Grandeur

Confrontation

Reflection

Immersion

Vision
(Vision was redone with PS)

Compromise

Blood Sport

Warning : Blood is shown in the following photos.

This complements the previous posts on bullfighting. This shows the matadors in close proximities to the bulls. The white sticks seen on the back of the bulls are razor sharp barbed sticks called banderillas, planted during the second third of the performance. The white portions were tainted red as the fight progresses.

Click on the links for some photos of the close-up actions.

Enrique Ponce attracts the bull with the muleta (red cape), with the bull responding with an upward gore.

Jose Maria Manzanares taunting the bull with cries of 'Toro, toro!'

Enrique Ponce performing a pass, avoiding the fast charging bull.

Corrida de Toros

Link to YouTube Video used.Use arrow keys for volume control.

Bullfighting, is one of the many controversial performances currently still available, but greatly limited to certain locations and timings.
I was given the rare chance of witnessing a bullfight in Spain. Curiosity took over the bigger part of me and I decided to go for it, albeit various opinions from both extremities (die-hard supporters and hardcore critics). I had to decide for myself and hopefully be able to share with others on what I had experienced.

Plaza de Toro is the place where the fight took place. This was a smaller one as compared to those in bigger cities. Most of the crowds were from the older generations rather from those younger ones.

As the trumpet blew, the entourage entered the ring. Wikipedia site gives a pretty detailed and accurate explanation regarding this highly ritualized performance.

The bull was massive, weighing nearly 450kg. These bulls lived free until this event, and they were bred for this sole purpose. The crowd cheer as the bull, angered and charging at almost any moving objects, entered the ring.

The performance was divided into three parts, each beginning signalized by the blowing of the trumpet, each third angering the bull even more as it progressed to the final part where the matador delivers the killing strike.

The crowd gave a standing ovation in honour to the spectacular performance of one of the matador who managed to strike the bull directly at the heart. This gave the bull a swifter death as compared to ones which were not delivered as skilfully.

Such performances were to showcase the mastery of the matador over the bull, manipulating the bull to perform charges, anticipating its deadly goring strikes, while constantly showing an air of superiority over the bull. Being much bigger than the human opponent, the bull can be a fatal threat if taken lightly. Therefore the skill of the matador and the entourage should as well be noted. Throughout the whole performance, my heart was thumping both with fears for the matador and sympathy for the bull.

For me, I will not go for another bullfight, one turned out to be too much.