Au Cochonnet Marin

My champion wife (soon to be featured on a box of Wheaties) opted out of yesterday’s tournament and offered to take some pictures while I was battling the enemy on the frontier. So, about the first 30 photos of this album were taken by her.
I cannot guaranty her work and there will be absolutely no refunds.

Now about yesterday’s affair. There was not a large number of players, but this detail was compensated by the fact that instead of quantity (28 players) we got quality.

Most of the players were what we call in France “des durs à cuire” (hard to cook). In other words, tough cookies. There were quite a few people that I never saw before and there were no easy wins.

For this tournament, I enticed Antoine Lofaro to play with me and I assured him that as his wingman I would stake my life to guard his flanks. Antoine, as everybody knows, is a versatile, outstanding player and I felt honored to play with him. In the morning, mainly thanks to Antoine,  we won 2 out of our 3 games and were inducted in the Concours.

In the afternoon we faced “unheard of” Toy and Cindy Vorachak. Antoine opted to play in a sandy area, and this proved to be my undoing. Hampered by the sand trap, I could not point accurately enough and each time I succeeded, I was blown off by Toy’s murderous shooting accuracy. Cindy also proved to be a very good player in her own right and these “unknowns” kicked us off unceremoniously from the Concours.

This was not a neophyte’s tournament. It was stuffed with outstanding players and you ventured on the field at your own risk.
Among the certified “shooters” there was Antoine Lofaro, Max Lofaro (Antoine’s son), Manu Le Bihan, Nicolas Humbert, Wolfie Kurz, Ed Porto, and Toy Vorachak. All tough competitors… and as stated before, des durs a cuire!

I mentioned young Frenchman Nicolas Humbert who, with his sidekick Maxime Kehon, were unknown to me and just about anybody else. They proved to be terrific competitors who, ultimately defeated Wolfie and Holly to win La Consolante 13/12.

In the Concours finales, Manu Le Bihan and George Bedrossian were pitted against Ed Porto and Brian Williams (never saw or heard of this guy before). He proved to be a fantastic pointer and of great help to Ed Porto.

I have a theory by the way, about A players. Unknown to lowly rated competitors, there exists a secret network that will provide “callgirls” on demand. Before a tournament, an A player calls a confidential number and ask the organization to send him a good partner. The quality of the player, of course, depends on the fee disbursed.

Ed and Brian proved to be an unbeatable winning combination. With Brian pointing extremely well and Ed blowing everything in his path, they could not be beat. Despite fierce resistance by Manu and George, the Dynamic Duo could not be stopped.
They won the tournament 13/7.

Concours
1^stplace: Ed Porto and Brian Williams
2^ndplace: Manu le Bihan and George Bedrossian
3^rdplace: Max Lofaro and Jacques Gautier

Consolante
1^stplace: Nicolas Humbert and Maxime Kehon
2^ndplace: Wolfie Kurz and Holly Sammons

Alain

Be sure to watch the pictures by clicking on “My photos”.

The most dangerous animal in the world is a silent smiling woman… holding pétanque boules.

There was a time (not too long ago) when the pétanque field was ruled by misogynistic old fuddy-duddies. Segregation was strictly enforced and women were not allowed to play with the men. These Cerberus were the keepers of the Faith, the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice of the sacred game of pétanque.

Thankfully, times have changed. Most of the grumpy old men are now playing pétanque in the sky (without women) and dames all over the country are now competing with men.
And there are many reasons for that.

First of all, women can do anything men can do… sometimes better. Then, women all over the world have been seeking parity for a long time; they wanted to have the power to choose and they got it (except in Iran I am told).
Pétanque by the way, is not a contact sport; you don’t have to weigh two hundred pounds to qualify. If it was so, few women would meet these requirements.

And finally, “Chicks were born to give you fever…” Men and women obey the laws of physics; their different polarity attracts each other. Wherever you see men, you will find women, and vice-versa. And yes, relationships were and are born on the pétanque field!
I don’t know about you, but I would rather play with attractive women than grumpy old men.

Whenever you see a club in decline, I surmise that it is often caused by a lack of female players. Women bring to the field a certain « je ne sais quoi” that make games more entertaining. When playing with the opposite sex, players are more attentive and when women are absent, games can lack spices.

To paraphrase James Laver, “When women take off their corsets and heighten their skirts, you better watch out.”

I have dug in my vast collection of photographs and chosen the most recent snapshots of young ladies who have performed on our local fields. As usual, I try to pick pictures showing the best form. To me, form is primordial and as a shutterbug, I don’t care if you hit the target or not. As a matter of fact, when I snap a picture, I seldom know what the result of the pitch is.

Your style is what I am interested in. I focus on your throw, on the second the boule leaves tour hand. I want to see your facial expression, and the boule suspended in the air in front of you.
That’s why I like taking pictures of Hans K. so much. There is style and emotion in his game, and for me, that’s what counts.

And don’t believe for a second that pétanque is not a real sport. When you play a tournament and reach the semi-finals or the finals, you have at least 5 or 6 games under your belt and your body is starting to balk. On the average, during a tournament, you spend at least 6 hours on the field and this pastime is not for wimps.
This sport keeps you in shape and is great therapy for many ailments.

Keep on pitching ladies, I am a fan!

Alain

PS: Be sure to watch the pictures!

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” Dr. Seuss

 Absolutely. Right on the money.

As a photographer, I have likes and dislikes and when I take pictures, I focus mainly on what I like. Some people enjoy photographing historical ruins or old buildings, but not me.
I am mainly interested in living creatures, people or animals. I like photographing animals because they are candid. You get what you see. No pretenses there.

People are different. Many try to project an image which is not even close to what they really are. Politicians are famous for that. Many have heard of Tim Murphy, a staunch pro-life Pennsylvania Republicanwho secretly urged his pregnant mistress to have an abortion. Rampant hypocrisy at its best.

As a photographer, I like to shoot what is raw, candid, real. And people are real when they are under pressure. No matter what you want to project, your true personality pops through the mask when you are incapable of pretending.

When you play pétanque, you are under pressure to perform and that’s when I like to catch you. A unique moment in time. I call my camera “Sneaky Pete” because even though it is unobtrusive, it has a respectable zoom and I can catch you from a distance without your knowledge.

My tastes are simple but eclectic.
I like to bag raw emotions, fleeting action shots, elegant playing forms, unusual outfits, and attractive women. Who would not?
Everybody should know (and you learn this fast enough) that life is not fair. If you are tall or good looking your chances of success are much better than if you are short and unappealing.

The lens is irresistibly attracted by curvaceous women and good-looking dudes. If nature was not kind to you, you need to find other ways to be noticed and entice the photographer to look at you.

That’s probably why some people kill or instigate political coups. No matter what a bastard or ugly you are, lenses worldwide will focus on you.

On the pétanque field, if you are not a bombshell and you want to be noticed, you need to perform. I have seen some fairly ugly people who are fantastic shooters. If it is the case, lenses will zoom on you as if you were Lazarus.

So yes, as a photographer I am probably partial and some people get better treatment than some others. If you want to be featured, take intensive private pétanque lessons or get cosmetic surgery.

One of these two ways will probably get you what you want.

Alain

PS: I just posted “the June 4^thmissing pictures” that were in my stray camera. Have a look.