“Of course, there will always be those who look only at technique, who ask ‘how’, while others of a more curious nature will ask ‘why’. Personally, I have always preferred inspiration to information”. 
                                                                                                      Man Ray

Bullring Images                                                                                                                                                  

I don’t include this section to either condemn or promote bullfighting, this is a pinhole photography site and they are images I saw and captured when visiting several well-known bullrings in Spain. I also photographed the Colosseum in Rome but don’t support or condemn the savagery of fights to the death for entertainment. The images are also inspired by the work of other artists. The traditional bullfight—the “dance with death” which has been called “indefensible but irresistible”—has long captured the attention and imagination of painters, novelists, poets, photographers, sculptors, and cinematographers. Influences on my work include Ernest Hemingway’s writings and the art of Goya. Not a bad starting point in my opinion, and I really hope you like some of the images.

 Mijas                                                                                                                               I usually visited the bullrings alone and in some ways having the time to just wander around at my own pace I felt the empty arenas were even more impressive and I found many inspirational images as a result. The small ring in Mijas Pueblo opens its doors to visitors when not hosting a Corrida, and on my visit I was able to walk around every area in the footsteps of the bullfighters and indeed the bulls. It isn’t as grand as the rings in Barcelona or Madrid, but has a real charm of its own.

 Goya                                                                                                                             Looking at the tops of the empty rows of seating I was reminded of this image by Francisco de Goya, from his La Tauromaquia series of etchings which he produced between 1815 and 1816. This particular plate, Unfortunate Events, is number 21 in the series of 35 etchings and depicts an event from 15 June 1801 when a bull broke through barriers at a bullfight in Madrid, killing two people including the mayor of Torrejón de Ardoz, and injuring a number of other spectators. The lifeless body of the mayor is seen impaled and hanging from the triumphant-looking animal's horns, while the second dead man is shown beneath the barrier in the middle-ground, mourned by a woman in white. Throughout his life, Goya was a keen follower of bullfighting and boasted that he had taken on a bull in his youth.

Chiquero                                                                                                                    This image is really quite stark and shows where the bulls enter the ring from the Chiquero – or stall on the left of the entrance, and later leave the ring to be butchered. The contrast of the hooks against the whitewashed walls is particularly powerful.