ST MORITZ WHITE TURF HORSE RACE
Into the white turf: images from worldwide famous Skijoring's competition
by Marco Trezzini
It's the first of March 1906: thirteen men are ready to race from St. Moritz to Chamfèr, on a 9,950 m stretch, pulled along on skis by their horses. The first White Turf has just begun and the discipline of skijoring too. The year after, the competition moves to the frozen lake, with the addition of trotting races with sleds. The St. Moritz Racing Association - founded by the initiators - programs six competitions. Spectators are more than happy to have the chance to bet at the tote. In 1911 flat racing is added to the program and in 1922 steeplechasing is too. With 2WW there is an interruption to the races, which are relaunched in 1952 and - by the beginning of the Nineties - the meeting becomes a modern day happening, a sporting event that's worldwide famous, attracting competitors and public from all around the world, for three unforgettable and exclusive days, that even stage a race which boasts the highest prize money for a race in Switzerland: 111,111 CHF.  Photographer: Werner Weber of Web-Connection.ch .Where: St. Moritz on the frozen lake at -18 °C.
When: White Turf 2006, Sunday's first race.
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Why: As Werner says, "those powerpacks gallop so fast without any noise...I considered it to be a reason sufficient enough to wish to freeze it in a pano".How/Technical details: D200, 1/1500sek., Sigma 8mm, Blende 4.0, Photoshop CS2 + PanoTool Plug-in.Werner shot first the panorama without the horses. As soon as the race began, he took shots of the contenders, so that he could insert them later in the panorama. This was the first event for which he utilized his D200, at a freezing cold temperature of -18°C. The pictures were taken in JPG format, since Werner was fearing that the camera would not have enough speed to save all the shots in a RAW format. Werner stated that "My efforts have been rewarded, but it's a chance that the pano came out so well". Werner Weber runs Panoramajournal.ch. With the great love for 360 panoramas he started quickly to desire creating them himself. He's particularly passionate about freezing moving scenes.
The next step was to create a place where he could display his panoramas, so he published an online magazine where all articles are supported by interactive panoramas: Panoramajournal. A few years down the road, the magazine is well known to a large public in Switzerland and internationally. He's still amazed on how many visitors didn't know about 360 panoramas, and are consequently amazed in discovering them. Werner told VRMAG that until his passion will last, he will be publishing new articles in Panoramajournal. Links:
Web-Connection.ch
Panoramajournal.ch
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