The Fencers

 

Each week, I'll be featuring famous and not so famous photographs that in my opinion deserve to be seen by as many people as possible.  Some will be widely known shots that have been circulated repeatedly over the news and the Internet, while others will be unknown to most, but exceed the prerequisites that this blog is about: good photography.

For this week, I'm featuring one of my favorite photographs that I discovered last year. This is a picture of two fencers from the Baltimore Fencing Center captured by David Hobby. I believe this is part of Mr. Hobby's series of pictures documenting the people and places of importance in his county and the surrounding areas.

Simply put, this is a fantastic shot! The low angle and the black lines lead up precisely to the skirmish between the two fencers at the exact moment of victory (and defeat). It's very simply lighted (or it may seem that way; Mr. Hobby has a knack for great lighting), and the plain background and neutral colors contrast perfectly with the dynamic duelists. The two white figures also pop out of the dark foreground as if this were live video instead of a still shot.

This is a great photo to start off what is hopefully to be a series of good photographs I find over the Internet. You can find the original, as well as more of Mr. Hobby's photographs here.