Three sailors
by Jonniboy

Comment by albright1:
Any dolphins in that wake? I like how the hats mirror the deck, and the posture of the little sailor really implies the acceleration of the craft. It looks like it was a fun journey!

Boules at the beach
by Jonniboy

Comment by jonathans:
also, i love that game.

Boules at the beach
by Jonniboy

Comment by jonathans:
its commonly know in the states as bocce (bot-chee, botch-ee). and this photo ruled. i thought you'd win.

Boules at the beach
by Jonniboy

Comment by Jonniboy:
OK - looks like this game isn't quite as internationally known as I thought and some explanation is required. The game is Boules or Petanque which is a French game involving throwing shiny metal balls with the aim of getting as close as possible to a small wooden ball. If you want to know more then you can find all the details at //www.scottishpetanque.org/
This is a miniature set so the balls are about 2 inches across (full size would be about 3) and weigh about a pound. I've seen (or imagined) some great pictures of old Frenchmen smoking Gauloise and playing boules on a dirt road - long shadows, sidelighting, very atmospheric. Given time and space (and a couple of Frenchmen) that's the shot I wanted to take but instead (since it was just me in the garden) focussed in on the action. After a couple of attempts I decided to use a long focal length to (a) compress the action into a small space and (b) minimise the chance of smashing my camera.
I set up, prefocussed, set the aperture so that the whole tray of sand was in focus and tripped the shutter via a remote release as the ball landed. In the shot shown the ball on the left had just landed behind the ball on the right, thrown up the sand and then bounced forward in the frame.
I tried the picture in B&W but in the end preferred the warm colour of the sun on the sand.
Thanks for all the feedback.

Boules at the beach
by Jonniboy

Comment by cthenk:
VERY suprised this didn't rank better. I thought it was awesome. Great job.

Boules at the beach
by Jonniboy

Comment by parlori:
nice action shot.
particularly like the reflection.

Boules at the beach
by Jonniboy

Comment by wolfjack:
very powerful shot, a lot of impact, very nicely done.

Boules at the beach
by Jonniboy

Comment by GeneralE:
I've never seen this game -- can you post details after challenge closes?
If your image shows in the reflection, check out the MirrorProject at
//www.mirrorproject.com/ -- you might want to submit a version there too.

Boules at the beach
by Jonniboy

Comment by vin rigby:
well caught action!- spot on exposure

Boules at the beach
by Jonniboy

Comment by hokie:
Nice shot taking the games element, adding some action and making more of the photo in the process.