C&C on my newest friend

[ScoutR]

This was one of my better canter shots of Steph and Nugget.

Very nice Peter. Looks like quite an accomplished team. It's too bad about the tree coming out of Nugget's head and the bar from just above his nose, but trust me I know the frustrations. I'm at work and don't have an exif viewer, but I'm wondering if shallower DOF might have benifited in this case.

As far as the horse and rider, great shot. Nugget looks relaxed and attentive and Steph is obviously a considerate rider.

Wendy

[ScoutR]

Oh good, that confirms my experience
I obviously don't shoot horses often enough though, it looks like this is (almost) my most recent (in 2008 ) I chose a non jumping shot for comparison.



Making excuses; the camera was a Fuji Finepix 6MP and PP by Picasa (and I knew a lot less then).

Cheers,

Very nice Dave, we have lots of horse people here. I like that.
I was going to ask if you did LCE on the horses and riders, but then I read your comment about the camera and PP. It looks like something has been done to the horses and riders, they look a little crisp, but I'm at work, I'll have another look at home. I know what to expect from my monitor.

I really like the shot though, it brings back memories. The horse and rider on the left looks so placid and easy going whereas the team on the right, look like they are not in agreement about what they want to do.

Wendy

Edit: Oh - and nice legs too. I should pay more attention when I'm reading these posts sometimes. :/ And it does look much better at home.

[Peter Ryan]

Very nice Peter. Looks like quite an accomplished team. It's too bad about the tree coming out of Nugget's head and the bar from just above his nose, but trust me I know the frustrations. I'm at work and don't have an exif viewer, but I'm wondering if shallower DOF might have benifited in this case.

As far as the horse and rider, great shot. Nugget looks relaxed and attentive and Steph is obviously a considerate rider.

Wendy

Hi Wendy,

This was shot with my 70 - 300mm lens @ 220mm, f5.6 @1000/sec. I could clean it up but it was just a grab shot for personal use so left it as it was but when horse are working on a circle they are easier frame and thier confirmation looks better.

[Shadowman]

I'd like some C&C on these please. Firstly which one do you like best and why, and secondly are they just snaps of a horse, to eyes other than my own. What do you think of when you look at this guy?
#1


#2


All comments appreciated
Thanks
Wendy

For some reason I find myself looking not at your technique but at the personality of the horse. My first thoughts, especially with the muddy looking hooves, is that this is a work horse or one used for rides around the farm. The horses color leaves very little for the viewer to judge as far as the health of the horse so we are left just seeing a magnificent animal enjoying their time in a meadow. I think this photo is about imagery more than the photographers technical abilities and that makes viewing the photo more enjoyable.

[ScoutR]

Hi Wendy,

This was shot with my 70 - 300mm lens @ 220mm, f5.6 @1000/sec. I could clean it up but it was just a grab shot for personal use so left it as it was but when horse are working on a circle they are easier frame and thier confirmation looks better.

At the beginnng of the summer my plan was to look up some Dressage and Show Jumping events in the area and take the camera along. I doubt that I will get around to that, but I have noticed many new stables in my jaunts out to the countryside. I will keep your tips in mind if I stop in some day to see if I can take some shots. I can definitley see how I could have improved many of my snaps from years ago. A lot of them were taken on the strait and from the side.

Wendy

[Peter Ryan]

At the beginnng of the summer my plan was to look up some Dressage and Show Jumping events in the area and take the camera along. I doubt that I will get around to that, but I have noticed many new stables in my jaunts out to the countryside. I will keep your tips in mind if I stop in some day to see if I can take some shots. I can definitley see how I could have improved many of my snaps from years ago. A lot of them were taken on the strait and from the side.

Wendy

With show jumping try focusing manually on the jumping rail and get your framing right so you only have to click when they pop (sorry Pops) over, or under, the rail (as the case may be).

[ScoutR]

For some reason I find myself looking not at your technique but at the personality of the horse. My first thoughts, especially with the muddy looking hooves, is that this is a work horse or one used for rides around the farm. The horses color leaves very little for the viewer to judge as far as the health of the horse so we are left just seeing a magnificent animal enjoying their time in a meadow. I think this photo is about imagery more than the photographers technical abilities and that makes viewing the photo more enjoyable.

Thanks John: The personality of the horse is really what I was going for. This guy and the other 3 were walking down from the barn when I came across them. The muddy hooves, traces of harness marks and hangdog posture and expression made me think this one in particular had had a rough day which is what I wanted to capture. I think I did that but the context and composition is wrong so the point does not get across.

Thanks for looking and taking the time to comment. You are correct this is a work horse on a farm where the horses are still used for working in the fields. These guys look like they are well fed and cared for, but they do work hard

Wendy

[Donald]

You are correct this is a work horse on a farm where the horses are still used for working in the fields. These guys look like they are well fed and cared for, but they do work hard

I'm looking back at my original comment above and noting how interesting 'context' is when we're forming views.

Because we're not used to the notion of horses being working farm animals any more, we (I) think about horses as the things that people have/use for pleasure - where everyone is clean, tidy and shining and it's all about nice days out. So, I expect to see the upright, alert, well-groomed horses. If I see something like you posted then I think 'neglect', 'abuse'.

But in the case of the animal photographed by you, this is not about pets. This is about hard graft, day in - day out.

And you're right, the image didn't set the horse in that context. We needed more around it - a farm building, the machinery that it pulls, etc - to help tell the story. Because now that we understand the story from your words, the images you originally posted make a lot more sense and we can start seeing them in the way that you intended.

[Shadowman]

Thanks John: The personality of the horse is really what I was going for. This guy and the other 3 were walking down from the barn when I came across them. The muddy hooves, traces of harness marks and hangdog posture and expression made me think this one in particular had had a rough day which is what I wanted to capture. I think I did that but the context and composition is wrong so the point does not get across.

Thanks for looking and taking the time to comment. You are correct this is a work horse on a farm where the horses are still used for working in the fields. These guys look like they are well fed and cared for, but they do work hard

Wendy

You're very welcome, Wendy! Looking forward to seeing more of these magnificent creatures. My only experiences with horses and riding have been on farms where tourists get a chance to take short rides. My most memorable experience was in Jamaica where our group took the horses out into the ocean. It was a bit frightening at first, not being a very good swimmer, but once you become comfortable with the horse's abilities the ride was amazing.

[ScoutR]

You are absolutely right Donald and I can see that now. Personally I like the shots (aside from the techinial issues), because I know the context, but when I posted I wanted to find out if others saw the tired hard working animal. I did because I am from this area, and although it is getting less common to see horses working the fields, I would naturally recognize this as a work horse. On a working farm, good care consists of being well fed and having medical issues attended to. Grooming and cosmetics are a luxury. I notice the young men's carriage horses are sometimes quite spiffy looking though.

I'm really hoping the owners will let me on the property so I can get some self explainitory context shots. I want people to see a big hard working gentle beastie - not a possibly abused homely animal that makes one feel like calling the humane society.

All the feedback was very helpful.

Thanks
Wendy

[ScoutR]

My most memorable experience was in Jamaica where our group took the horses out into the ocean. It was a bit frightening at first, not being a very good swimmer, but once you become comfortable with the horse's abilities the ride was amazing.

Whoa (pun intended,but not sure if I spelled it right) now that's something I've never done. I guess you didn't have the camera, for fear of water damage, but did anyone get any shots? If so you must post them for us

Wendy

[Peter Ryan]

The best part about this discussion is that sometimes images do not have to have a technical quality to be important images to the taker and the viewer.

I feel this is an important thing we should remember and encourage.

[Shadowman]

Whoa (pun intended,but not sure if I spelled it right) now that's something I've never done. I guess you didn't have the camera, for fear of water damage, but did anyone get any shots? If so you must post them for us

Wendy

The ride down to the shore was recorded on VHS (this happened in 1998) and I transferred the tape to DVD so the quality won't be that great. I will have to do a vidcapture and see how it looks.

[Shadowman]

Whoa (pun intended,but not sure if I spelled it right) now that's something I've never done. I guess you didn't have the camera, for fear of water damage, but did anyone get any shots? If so you must post them for us

Wendy

Wendy,

As I said, this was transferred from a VHS tape to DVD and then captured with software as a bitmap. Then I converted it to a jpeg after trying to clean it up with photoshop elements.

[ScoutR]

Thanks John, that is so cool, thanks for taking the time to work it up. The image quality is good enough to get the feeling and I can see why you were a bit nervous especially when you can't swim. It looks like the lead horse is swimming and the rest are about to hit the deep end of the pool.

I've crossed a lot of rivers on horseback, but only once to the point where the horse had to swim, and I won't ever do it again. I didn't like it at all. I was more worried about the horse hurting himself though, but this looks like it could be fun.

Thanks for posting.
Wendy