<i>Seabiscuit</i>: A Fantastic Film for Any Type of Movie Viewer

Seabiscuit is an inspirational film that stars Tobey McGuire in an even better acting job in my opinion that Spiderman. The film is great in the setup because it really tells about the history in the time which the film was meant to be set in. When the film describes the Great Depression Era that ordinary citizens had to suffer through, the film uses black and white picture with a background voice instead of using the actors' voice. 

The film starts off with the story of Tobey McGuire who plays the role of horse racing jockey Red Pollard. He started off by betting on horse racing and win. He then became a jockey. He has to work very hard to make ends meet as he races horses as has very little success initially. When he looses a race by the nose of a horse, he is beaten by the horse's owner and loses his job. 

The other ongoing story is that of Jeff Bridges, a wealthy man who starts off making his fortune in the car business. He is able to perfect the parts of a car and make it run better using the Model T engine. He is liked by the public and has a loving family. However, tragedy strikes when his son drives one of the cars and is killed by he runs into a ditch. Bridges' wife also passes away, causing him great sadness and grief. 

He closes his car business. His fortunes change when he meets a woman at a horse racing track and falls in love with her. On one night, he also meets a trainer in the woods, played by actor Chris Cooper. Cooper cares deeply about animals and knows how to take care of horses. He and Bridges' character, Charles Howard become good friends and Cooper helps Howard pick out a horse to buy. He settles on a horse named Seabiscuit who is a wild horse who a lot of attitude but has been unable to win any track races. 

Seabiscuits history is told by the film as a horse that was used as a training horse, to build up the self esteem of other horses by losing races on purpose by being held back on the track. When Cooper and Howard go looking for a jockey, Cooper finds Red Pollard who has attitude issues of his own after he has to walk a horse in order to get paid. 

Cooper immediately likes Pollard's attitude despite the fact that Pollard is a little too big to be a horse jackey.  Cooper is able to train Seabiscuit by having him roam free to see how long and how far he can go which amazes Cooper. Seabiscuit and Red Pollard are able to have some initial success. However, when Pollard looses a race by a close margin, Cooper finds out that Tobey McGuire is blind in one eye from his days as a fighter to earn money. 

Instead of getting a new jockey, Mr. Howard sticks with Pollard and makes him part of his family. Pretty soon Seabiscuit is winning races again and Mr. Howard is back in the public eye. To stir up some drama, Mr. Howard creates talk of a match race which is a one on one horse race. Mr. Howard wants Seabiscuit to face War Emblem, a horse that has won a triple crown. 

War Emblem's owner from New York feels that his horse is in an entirely different class than Seabiscuit and his horse is far superior. He denies all of Mr. Howard's requests for a match race even after Howard calls him out in the newspaper and radio. 

Mr. Howard enters Seabiscuit in all of the races that War Embled is on to try and get the two horses to race each other but War Emblem dropped out of all the races. Finally, the owner of War Emblem agrees to a match race. The horse racing track is to be opened to the public to accomodate the mass amounts of people who are anxious to see this show down. 

To prepare for the race, Cooper decides to retrain Seabiscuit from being a horse that would make a late surge towards the end of the race to being a horse that gets out of the gate quickly and gets a lead early in the race. They practice this at night with a fire engine bell so that the media doesn't notice their strategy for the big race. 

Days before the race, Red Pollard is approached by a friend of his asking if he could just ride his horse to get media attention since he is in desperate need of money. Pollard agrees but when he rides the horse, a car engine backfires, scaring the horse and causes Red Pollard to fall off the horse and break several bones. 

This makes him unable to ride Seabiscuit in the big race. Red Pollard's friend who is a fellow jockey is brought in to race Seabiscuit. On the big day of the race, the horse race is initially close. However, towards the end, Seabiscuit pulls ahead and wins by many strides. Seabiscuit goes on to win another race or two before the horse breaks a bone in its leg and is unable to race. 

Inspiration is gathered from Seabiscuit and Red Pollard as they learn to heal from their injuries and slowly return to racing form after everyone says that their racing careers are over. Seabiscuit and Red Pollard ride into the race with joy upon Tobey McGuire's face.

Seabiscuit is an inspirational film about overcoming the odds and challenges that life presents to you. It deals with the Great Depression and how it affected everyone in poverty. And it also deals with horse racing and how it is more than just a game where betting takes place. I loved this film and recommend it to any movie viewer.

Wildlife Photography: Tips to Learn the Basics of Wildlife Photography

If you really want to learn the art of wildlife photography, then you should be aware of the basics of wildlife photography. It is rightly said that wildlife photography is one of the most challenging but rewarding hobby or career. It takes honest practice, persistence and hard work to master the real art of wildlife photography.

For mastering wildlife photography you have to have the basic knowledge of camera handling. As majority of the photos you take will be captured with the help of telephoto lens. This will test your patience and dedication as you have to wait a much longer time for the animal to come in the range and taking right pictures through right angles before that wild animal leaves from the site. Many of the times the animals you want to shoot will be yards away from you so that you have to take your pictures with more precision and care with zoom lenses.

While shooting wildlife you always have to watch out for minute movements happening around you. And for that purpose you have to be attentive for the longer time. The sunlight also plays a very important role in taking these wildlife pictures. For this purpose your camera should have the proper adjustments according to the various angles of sunlight so that pictures will be much clearer without any fuzz.

Also wildlife photography is all about capturing a particular moment of the wildlife. It makes or breaks your photography style. Many of the best wildlife photographers out there are really skillful in shooting the exact speed and momentum of the particular animal they are watching. But to be the best wildlife photographer out there you should first master the basics and you can begin this process by starting to shoot your own home pets. If you learn to shoot their natural movements and habits in their natural style then you can say that you are ready for outdoor wildlife photography.

There are no shortcuts to learn the basics of wildlife photography. Rather you have to practice it religiously and with full devotion. You should have to pay a special attention to your cameras. You have to take care that your camera has a quick shutter speed which is very necessary to take more than one shot as you roam around the wildlife to take pictures. In this type of photography most of the times you have to follow your subject to shoot many pictures at a time in one shot. This process is mainly known as "panning" which consists of taking faster pictures in one snap as you mover closer to a particular animal you want to shoot.

Thus wildlife photography is all about your patience, persistence and shooting skill where you need to wait a longer time to take the perfect picture. But at the end of the day it is also the most satisfying art where you get the really thrilling and enjoyable experience to cherish for.

Inexpensive Art for Your Home

here

Your homes can be your refuge from the world. You want it to be comfortable yet stylish no matter what your home décor budget. If you watch home make-over shows or talk to an interior designer they might tell you that one great piece of art can be the focal point for the entire room.

The problem with great art is that it is usually not inexpensive. If this has stopped you from hanging anything in your home you may be surprised that beautiful paintings don’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. There are great places to look for inexpensive art and even ways to make your own.

Friends and Family

Do you have an artist in your family? Do you have any friends who paint? Ask them if they’d paint something for your home. They may do it for little money or even for free. My dad is an artist and almost all of the paintings in my home are his work. You could offer to buy the canvas and some supplies in trade.

Friends and family may have art they don’t have up and would be happy to let you use it. You might be surprised what you can find in your parent’s attic. Have a look around in storage areas for forgotten items. If you find something they most likely have forgotten they even own it.

Thrift Stores

Once in a while I like to go around to the thrift stores in my area and have a look at what inexpensive art they have. I often find unique items that can be restored or used as-is for home décor. I have a painting in my living room I found at a thrift store. It looks like an unfinished water scene and I fell in love with it when I found it. It cost me one dollar!

Neighborhood Sales

Don’t forget to check out the rummage and garage sales in your area for inexpensive art. People’s taste in art varies tremendously. People may be trying to get rid of a painting they don’t like but that doesn’t mean you won’t love it. Even if you don’t find a great work of art you may find a beautiful frame you can use later when you do find something you like. Don’t stress out thinking, “What do I like?” You’ll know when you see it. When your eye falls upon something you will either want to grab it and take it home or you barely give it a second glance.

Poster Prints

There are companies that make poster prints of famous paintings. These posters cost the same as any other poster you may have hung in your room as a teenager. I have a great print of a Picasso called “Old Man With Guitar” hanging above my couch. You can go to any retailer that carries frames and find a poster-sized frame. It’s not the same thing as a painting but if you love the picture you’ll feel great every time you look at it.

Along the same lines you can find art on the Internet and print it out. How good they will look will greatly depend on your printer and the quality of the picture you find. I have two prints of my dad’s paintings framed in 8 X 10 frames hanging in my home. You can see the brush strokes and they both look great! Remember when you are searching online to be aware of copyright issues. In most cases if you are printing something out just to hang in your home you are fine. Never reproduce and sell someone else’s artwork without their permission.

Make Your Own

This is something you can do even if you think you don’t have an artistic bone in your body. You may not be able to create a breathtaking landscape but you will be able to produce something pleasing to hang in your home.

Any craft store carries canvas and paint supplies. Decide what colors you want and go get your supplies. You can use brushes or your own fingers if you’d like. When choosing colors choose five or six that you find appealing and that go well together. Look around on the Internet or in magazines for inspiration and have a go at it. Perhaps the hardest part of making your own art is knowing when to stop. If it looks good stop! Over doing it can ruin a great look. Frame it, hang it and enjoy.

You can also leave the artwork up to your young ones. You could make it a fun family project. Spread out an old sheet to protect the floors and have everyone paint with their hands or even their feet. If that doesn’t appeal to you there are other alternatives. Cut potatoes in half and carve a design in them and allow your child to stamp the paint and designs onto the canvas. You can dip strings into the paint and hit the canvas with the wet string. You may end up with a fantastic piece of art as well as a memory to hang on your wall.

You may already own great art that is just waiting to be framed. My daughter loves to finger paint and I have a stack of paintings that is at least six inches thick. I am often surprised to find out how beautiful some of them turned out. You can pick out some of your child’s work and frame them singly or as a collage.