The Cowgirl

[KimC]

Thanks for commenting Larry. I hope so too, but next time it will be in a more controlled setting. This was taken at a meet - things move fast and you are not allowed to communicate with the women while the meet is going on. Yes, ideally, I would have liked to get rid of the roof; my only option however, was to minimize it while shooting as missing this shot was not an option. My goal was never to have the whole horse in the shot, so I do agree the cropped version is the preferred version for me as well. I did try converting it to B&W; however, her attire became too prominent for what I was personally looking for.

You can only work on an image so much and then one can lose the immediate connection one had when taking the picture. Personally, I would hope you do get to connect with her again. There is nothing like working the scene, having a chance to delve into a subject and take many images from different angles and perspectives. Here, I don't think anyone has mentioned the green roof of the building in the background. I would try to find a background without such distractions. In the original, her foot seems to be cropped. I might have tried a landscape orientation to get all of her and the horse. I would go either way: all of the horse for a full and relaxed composition or a tight closeup like your last edit. One reason I like the closeup is the way her body lines echo the frame and she is placed more dynamically on the side with her arms and legs forming clear diagonals. My eyes go more to her face and then down and the roof is less prominent in my viewing becoming more of a colored shape and less a distracting object. The more contrasty take that many prefer is an artistic choice. Given cloudy conditions, lack of contrast can be a natural component of such a shot and can be added to taste in pp. If you really want to emphasize the lines in the shot, consider a black and white conversion. A high key black and white can be a natural way to work with cloudy conditions. In this image, there is not much to the colors except for her skin tones and the little red part of her pony tail band and the conversion would eliminate the greens.

[William W]

. . . This was taken at a meet - things move fast and you are not allowed to communicate with the women while the meet is going on. .

That means a Portrait which is considered exceptionally good, is actually excellent.

BTW the timing for the Hands and the Head (Hands especially), is excellent.

WW

[KimC]

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment Bill. My K9 friends have really helped my timing (since it's so fast) and "seeing" the shot I want. I'm proud to say, I never use the burst feature on my camera, when I'm with the dogs or horses, as I want to train my brain to get the shot I want.

That means a Portrait which is considered exceptionally good, is actually excellent.

BTW the timing for the Hands and the Head (Hands especially), is excellent.

WW