Au Cochonnet Marin

Where do I start? I just finished processing over 500 pictures, and I am a little bit drowsy, but this is what I witnessed yesterday in Sonoma.

As you probably already know, there were 50 teams (100 players) participating in the 2023 Wine Country Open. I understand that some participants came from far away to compete for the title but ultimately the big prize remained on our own turf in California.

The event started on Saturday and ended Sunday evening after an excellent final game.

I am not going to talk about everything that transpired that day, but basically, there were 4 categories: Concours A, Concours B, Consolante A, and Consolante B.

Sunday, starting around 11:00 am, I took pictures of everything in sight without really knowing what was taking place. The only thing I know for sure (and witnessed from beginning to end), was Concours A finals.

It was a game opposing Paul Moua and By Wang to PJ Malette and Christophe Sarafian. It proved to be a great finish for this 2-day event, and a lot of people stayed late to watch that game. The 2 teams were evenly matched, with good pointers and good shooters on both sides.

Both teams played very well and took the lead back and forth until 6:24 pm when both squads reached a score of 10-10. At this point, any team could have won, but By Wang’s awesome shooting (despite a desperate attempt by PJ to drown the jack) made the difference. On the last “mène” he scored 3 points and closed the deal.

Paul Moua and By Wang won the event with a final score of 13/10.

This is all I will say. I will let the pictures do the rest.

Alain

PS: the pictures are shown in 2 albums Part One and Part Two (featuring Concours A finals). Enjoy.

Just received from Joe LaTorre:

Concours A
1st.       Paul Moua / By Vang
        2nd       PJ Mallette / Christophe Sarafian
        3rd        Jean-Michel Poulnot / Pascal Tisseur
        4th        Kham Chounlamany / Tim Peppel

Concours B
1st          Will Poire / Lizzie Poire
        2nd        Dave Lanter / Chan Xiong
        3rd        Peter Mathis / Carlos Pez
        4th        Lisa Skerl / Barbara Hall

Consolante A
1st           Adair Hastings / Ashlee Dencklau
        2nd        Maggie Lane / Ernesto Santos
        3rd/4th     Ed Porto / Antoine Lofaro, Philippe Arnaud / Paulo Custred (prizes split)

Consolante B
1st          Hendrik Idzerda / Peter Taylor
        2nd        Phillipe Guerit / Serge Hanne
        3rd         Joe Danielson / Sara Danielson

 

No matter how much you scratch…

I think that I really got into photography when I first did my stint in the French Army. I was sent overseas, and I found it difficult to describe what my fellow grunts and I went through during that time. Fortunately, I had the foresight to purchase a small camera before my departure, and the few snapshots I managed to take while in North Africa, better described how we pulled through during that year.

It was a small, unsophisticated point-and-click camera, but it was just perfect for its purpose. Most of the time I would not have the luxury to make any adjustments (and there were none) before taking a picture. I quickly grabbed the camera from under my fatigues, snapped a rapid shot, put the camera back under my jacket, and kept going.

The bug that I caught during that period changed my life forever.
Today, six decades after this period, I am still madly photographing everything everywhere. With a better camera of course, but still driven by that uncurable bug.

I am not a professional photographer and I know very little about the technical aspect of that art.

“Photography is the simplest thing in the world, but it is incredibly complicated to make it really work.” – Martin Parr

It is for that reason that recently, I bought a compact, extremely sophisticated camera. The Lumix DC-ZS200D is a little marvel that can do almost anything… providing that you set it properly. But again, when I take “candid” shots I don’t have the time (or the knowledge) to instruct my camera on what to do. It is for that reason that I mainly shoot in “Intelligent” mode. When taking a shot, I let the camera decide what’s best and I am pretty sure that most of the time it knows exactly what to do.

This does not mean that I did not bother at all with the instruction manual. I went through its 307 pages, probably without understanding half of them. My philosophy is “learn as you go”. I will go back to the manual each time I have a question.

“It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera… they are made with the eye, heart, and head.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson

 Exactly, thank you, Henri. Eye, heart, and head. A good shot has an extremely brief lifetime. It lasts a fraction of a second, and you must be ready and quick to pull the trigger if you want to capture it. The camera is important, but above all, you are the boss. It is your eyes and your quick reaction that makes a good picture. Let technology do the rest.

Alain

I always dreamed of having a sister… For I often heard that “sisters make the best friends in the world.” Regardless of one’s marital status, everybody needs a bestie, a confidant with whom you could share secrets, confidences, gossip…

Life is notoriously unfair. You seldom get what you wish for… and there is very little that you can do about it… But wait a minute… «Impossible n’est pas français,» Napoleon said it, and I have to believe it.

A few decades ago, a lonely soul looking for a mate, decided to do something about his/her predicament and started an Online Dating Site. It was much pooh-poohed at the outset, but today it is used by every Tom, Dick, and Harriet. Never laugh at impossible things because today everything is possible. Who would have ever thought that man could fly?

Why then not start an outfit that would cater to people looking for family substitutes? A brother, a sister, an uncle, an aunt, or grandparents? It would benefit everybody… And I am even willing to bet that these substitutes would often work better than the originals. No hurt feelings, no jealousies, no inheritance problems…

Husbands come and go; children come and eventually, they go. Friends grow up and move away. But the one thing that’s never lost is your sister.” Gail Sheeny

Yes, I could definitely use (or be used) by an artificial sister.

Today, nothing is impossible. You have to believe it. Presently you can get a new nose, new boobs, a sex change… with nobody none the wiser. Even absurd ideas can come true. Who would ever have thought that a “pet rock”, “bikinis” or a Trump candidacy could be successful ventures?

So how would it work? Elementary, my dear Watson! It would operate like a dating site. You would meticulously specify what you are looking for, and Artificial Intelligence would deliver the perfect candidate for the job.

Now, it is understood that there would never be any hanky-panky. Everybody would comprehend his/her role and play strictly by the rules. This new partner would be your “consigliere”, a friend who would serve as a confidential advisor to resolve family problems.

How does that sound? Far-fetched? Implausible? Ridiculous? “Do not judge, and you will not be judged, and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon and you will be pardoned.”

If you think that you are sister material, please let me know and apply for the job.

Thank you for your attention.

Alain