Polo Match, San Diego Polo Club

[rpcrowe]

I had a wonderful time yesterday at the Polo Match. My photo club had reserved a bank of tables with umbrellas. These tables had a wonderful view of the action and my 300mm f/4L IS lens on my Canon 7D was a perfect combination. Ten or twenty years ago, I would have been wandering all over the field but, I was quite content to sit there in the comfortable shade and let the action come to me.

I shot in AV mode, using either ISO 400 or ISO 200. When I used ISO 400, I shot at f/5.6 but when I used ISO 200, I shot at f/4 to separate the subjects from the background.

This is the only image that I have played with. I wanted something to post. I will place the rest of the images in a smugmug gallery when I have the time but, my dogs' breakfast is calling and they just don't realize the importance of post processing...



This was a fun venue in which to shoot. Our tables were behind a fence but, if you wished, you could cross the fence and get closer to the action. There is a low barrier surrounding the limits of the playing field and you are not allowed to cross that barier. However, the barrier is designed only to keep the ball in play and the riders and horses will often ride over the barrier. The organization requested that crowds of people do not walk up to the barier but, it was O.K. if an individual photographer occasionally wandered up to the barrier to shoot. They warned us that if a cluster of horses were charging at you, not to move. We were assured that the riders could direct their mounts around an occasional person. I didn't take them up on that guarantee...

This is the only sport I know of in which females and males compete against each other. There were several females on the four person teams.

BTW: I could easily have done another gallery of the absolutely beautiful women dressed fit to kill who attended the match...

[Donald]

Richard - That is brilliant. A superb image. Ball in the shot. All 4 x hooves off the ground. Wonderful DoF blurring the background. Excellent exposure.

My compliments, sir. You hit the bullseye.

[Mike Buckley]

Add wonderful post-processing to everything that Donald mentioned. This image is so good that I am begging you to present it in a larger size.

[rpcrowe]

Not a lot of post processing involved. Just a bit of sharpening and switching this from a horizontal format to a vertical which allowed me to crop out some extraneous details in front of the horse. I love the large file sizes of the 7D which allow some pretty heavy cropping when necessary. Oh, I also cloned out a white vehicle at the rear of horse. Even though it was OOF, it still distracted from the horse and rider because it was the brightest part of the image...

You can see a larger image and more polo images at:

http://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/Other/San...3940&k=RCCDG77

I will post more polo shots on my smugmug gallery over the next several days as I get the time...

[Andrew1]

Lots of very good shots Richard. Well done.

[Donald]

http://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/Other/San-Diego-Polo-Club-Del-Mar/23635678_pTV3SX#!i=1912843940&k=RCCDG77

A very high quality gallery, Richard.

[Dave Humphries]

Good series Richard, glad you had fun, even if you didn't need that wider lens

[kdoc856]

Hey, Richard

When you recently mentioned your plans for a polo shoot, I was reminded that there is quite a bit of polo in my area that I have neglected (photographing, not riding the dangerous beasts), and resolved to find some area matches to shoot. But now you've set the bar so high, I cringe at any possible comparisons. These are REALLY GOOD. I'll still make a go of it for practice, but I'd be delighted to get even close to this quality.

Kevin

[rpcrowe]

Thank you for the compliments gentlemen. Every once in a while I find myself in a serendipitous position in which everything is going well. Such was Sunday afternon... Having a very comfortable seat at a shaded table (with waiter service if I desired) and with a restroom conveniently nearby was the start of a good day. Restrooms are very important photographic accessories for an old guy like me!

Finding that my 300mm lens was just about ideal for the shooting was another fortunate happening. I have viewed images from fellow club members who were shooting with shorter lenses and they just were not able to fill the frame or use selective focus which I could do with the 300mm f/4L IS.

My Canon 7D has turned out to be all it was advertised to be. The auto focus of moving subjects is phenomenal. The fast focus and Image Stabilization Mode-2 of the 300mm f/4L IS lens is also great, even though the IS of that lens is one of the earlier generations.

And, Dave, I could certainly have used a wider lens if I wanted to cover the excitement of the crowds at the event. The spectators were about evenly divided between the "visitors" such as I was and the rich and elegant folks strutting around in their finery. Its funny how beautiful and well dressed females an add to my enjoyment of any activity, even if I have a look but, don't touch rule!

My photo club is planning to attend the San Diego County Fair this Friday. We have free tickets to the event and are being allowed entrance an hour before the gates open to the general public. This should allow us to get some background shots of the Fair vendors and hucksters setting up for the day's activities, I have never seen the Fair without crowds of people milling around. It should be a fun and interesting shoot...

[tb72]

very nice picture

[rpcrowe]

Hey, Richard

When you recently mentioned your plans for a polo shoot, I was reminded that there is quite a bit of polo in my area that I have neglected (photographing, not riding the dangerous beasts), and resolved to find some area matches to shoot. But now you've set the bar so high, I cringe at any possible comparisons. These are REALLY GOOD. I'll still make a go of it for practice, but I'd be delighted to get even close to this quality.

Kevin

I learned something from a comment on another forum...

"If one team is dominating then be on the mallet side as they attack so you can see all the action. Especially when that is the sunny side."

Of course, I was too comfortable where I was and I really didn't notice any one team dominating...

[Maritimer1]

Richard, I just found this thread. WOW! Such brilliant shots. It feels like you are riding right along with the teams.

[NeiiilM]

The whole gallery was very good!

[rpcrowe]

Thanks for the compliments...

Here is an image someone sent me a little while ago. This is what my shooting position was like. I am the old guy in the first row center with the khacki photo vest and brown hat. The grass in front of the tables is the "No Man's Land" between the viewing area and the actual playing field...



This setup was ideal location for a senior citizen photographer!

[Kittelsaa]

You just got to love it when the location and your placement are spot on!

Love the photo too, even if I don't know anything about polo, horses, or other "posh" things

[rpcrowe]

Kristian,

The only thing that I know about polo is that there was a plethora of beautiful young posh women at the match showing off their latest fashions. Both the ponies and the women were beautiful...

I had a very fortunate placement for the event; one of the advantages of arriving early...