horse jumping

[allenlennon]

I went along to the Bathurst show today with my sister and her horse training teacher who was entering into horse jumping. So i spent the day with her and her horses. And out of all the photos(between 150-200) only two was pretty alright. The others where either to far away, not sharp enough, or having other people with horses walk in front of the lens as i was pressing the shutter. It is something i am not use to, but did my best. The photo i will be showing you is the best one. And i love it in B&W. I was using Av mode, iso 100 getting an average speed of 1/500th and was mainly between 8-10 f-stop, this one is 8 f-stop i believe. What do you people think??


IMG_5842 by AllenLennon, on Flickr

[RustBeltRaw]

As you said, nice and sharp, and I like the B&W treatment. But f8 strikes me as rather narrow for this application. Going wider would have let you nudge up the shutter speed (even more sharpness), and would have concentrated the viewer's attention on the horse and rider. Going wider will decrease depth of field, giving you a narrower margin for focus error (not many people mention that in action work, but I think it's an important point), but with the considerable advantage of concentrating focus. Some people worry about not having enough DoF, but I think more photos are ruined by too much than too little. Personally, I shoot roller derby all day at f2.0-2.8, and get pretty decent results. Try going wider next time and see if you like it!

The one thing I'm not sure about is the square crop. The subjects are framed nicely, but it doesn't really grab me. Try going with a portrait 2:3 crop covering from in front of the horse's face at right, to just left of the saddle. Going closer might emphasize the connection between horse and rider, and could be a more powerful image.

...or having other people with horses walk in front of the lens as i was pressing the shutter.

I've probably taken more than 1,000 shots of referee butts in my time as a derby photographer. Nature of the beast.

[Geoff F]

I would say, Allen, that 1/500 is on the border line for a moving horse, and would be happier using something slightly faster; even if that meant a fraction wider aperture or faster Iso.

But this sort of event is never easy and you always need a bit of luck as well as skill.

[Harpo]

I've probably taken more than 1,000 shots of referee butts in my time as a derby photographer. Nature of the beast.

Lex- And you didn't publish a coffee table book of referee butt shots to sell at the rink?

Allen- Lex has a point above about depth of field. I would also (don't know if you had much of a choice) try to find a better looking / less distracting background. The two people at the rear as well as another horses head on the other side takes away from the picture. I like the B&W though. I think you have a great opportunity being able to take pictures there. Trying something new photographically usually takes time. I didn't do too well recently trying my hand at antique car photos for the first time.

[RustBeltRaw]

Lex- And you didn't publish a coffee table book of referee butt shots to sell at the rink?

I keep threatening to put up a huge Facebook album.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Allen,

To add to the other excellent advice, I would, if this were my capture;

straighten it (both jump and pole are leaning to left and although either might not be vertical, both with same error suggests the shot isn't straight)
clone out some distractions; the pole and the cables are prime candidates

Here's one I shot, it was a dull day, so 800 iso to get 1/1500s and f/8 with a Nikon D5000 at 82mm (I must have been fairly close) - just a shame we cannot see more of the rider's face - and perhaps I am a little 'late' on the ideal timing.

Hope that helps,