Horse portraits

[Stagecoach]

Not my normal subjects but chosen for their detail whilst testing a new lens.

I purposefully have placed the head central in the frame as I believe it emphasises the awareness between us.

No 1 - 1/2000s, f/2.8, 200mm


No 2 - 1/640s, f/2.8, 82mm


Any comments or suggestions are welcome as always.

Grahame

[royent]

why didn't you turn the camera into portrait, then you would have got the full head including ears ?
Roy

[Wavelength]

I think the compositions could have been better in both cases, especially the second

[Stagecoach]

why didn't you turn the camera into portrait, then you would have got the full head including ears ?
Roy

Good question Roy.

Because that would not have been the framing and orientation I wanted.

By doing that I would not have been able to include so much of the body in No 1 or the expanse of environment in No 2 and also the most interesting part of the head, snout to eyes, would have been reduced in the frame.

[Stagecoach]

I think the compositions could have been better in both cases, especially the second

In the second image Nandakumar the horse which had been at quite a distance decided to come straight towards me and I grabbed this at almost my minimal FL. Taking the shot earlier would have just included more of the horse/environment and I don't think would have emphasised the impending and eventual closeness of it.

How do you suggest the composition for that situation could have been better?

[FootLoose]

I like both shots. When I open them in lytebox they fill the entire screen, and there is a lot of sharp detail to see in the horses coats and whiskers. Oh, and all those flies...

[Stagecoach]

I like both shots. When I open them in lytebox they fill the entire screen, and there is a lot of sharp detail to see in the horses coats and whiskers. Oh, and all those flies...

Thank you Greg.

I had used the lens wide open on these subjects primarily to see its possible 'sharpness' at full screen size and am pleased with the results. As for the flies I have no problem with them assisting on this occasion

[Shadowman]

Nice set.

[JBW]

Not my normal subjects but chosen for their detail whilst testing a new lens.

I purposefully have placed the head central in the frame as I believe it emphasises the awareness between us.

No 1 - 1/2000s, f/2.8, 200mm


No 2 - 1/640s, f/2.8, 82mm


Any comments or suggestions are welcome as always.

Grahame

How about something like this:

[Stagecoach]

Nice set.

Thank you John.

[Stagecoach]

How about something like this:

Hi Brian,

Yes it's a possible crop, does it improve it, I have no idea. My preference is still the original 16:9 crop

[JBW]

fair enough

[Wavelength]

In the second image Nandakumar the horse which had been at quite a distance decided to come straight towards me and I grabbed this at almost my minimal FL. Taking the shot earlier would have just included more of the horse/environment and I don't think would have emphasised the impending and eventual closeness of it.

How do you suggest the composition for that situation could have been better?

Now I agree; you could manage at least this much

[skitterbug]

Hi Grahame - Interesting photos and true to nature - flies included! I don't have much by way of suggestions because I think you created these spot on with focus, etc.

I will add that I love horses and I would like to see their ears. It tells me whether they are happy, sad, excited, mad, etc. so I probably would have included them in my photos. But that's just me.

Did you get the chance to pet them once you were finished with the photography session!

[george013]

Grahame,

You tested your new lens. From the exif I read it's a 70-200 2.8. Is it a Nikon?
And how did you shoot these? On tripod or handheld? VR? I can't find this in the exif.

George

[Stagecoach]

Hi Grahame - Interesting photos and true to nature - flies included! I don't have much by way of suggestions because I think you created these spot on with focus, etc.

I will add that I love horses and I would like to see their ears. It tells me whether they are happy, sad, excited, mad, etc. so I probably would have included them in my photos. But that's just me.

Did you get the chance to pet them once you were finished with the photography session!

Thanks Sandy,

Next time I get a chance to photograph horses I'll try and incorporate the ears in more compositions

These horses which are ponies roam free in the New Forest in the UK which is a large National Park in Hampshire. Many are friendly and used to the thousands of visitors that wander the areas. The dark coloured one had come right up for petting, no doubt hoping for food whereas the brown one wandered off the second I moved in closer.

[Stagecoach]

Grahame,

You tested your new lens. From the exif I read it's a 70-200 2.8. Is it a Nikon?
And how did you shoot these? On tripod or handheld? VR? I can't find this in the exif.

George

It's the Nikon 70-200 AF-S ED 2.8G VR, the former to the latest version George.

These were shot with VR on and handheld.

On a recent trip back to the UK I visited a local nearby camera shop I know to purchase a camera roller bag. I could not make my mind up between two different models so decided instead to have a close look at this used lens. How could I resist an absolutely mint condition lens I had often thought of owning at a great price

[george013]

It's the Nikon 70-200 AF-S ED 2.8G VR, the former to the latest version George.

These were shot with VR on and handheld.

On a recent trip back to the UK I visited a local nearby camera shop I know to purchase a camera roller bag. I could not make my mind up between two different models so decided instead to have a close look at this used lens. How could I resist an absolutely mint condition lens I had often thought of owning at a great price

Looks good that lens. I'm jealous. I own the 80-200 2.8 af-s but no VR.
Did it fit in the camera roller bag?

George

[Stagecoach]

Looks good that lens. I'm jealous. I own the 80-200 2.8 af-s but no VR.
Did it fit in the camera roller bag?

George

Yes, it fitted in the roller bag in it's own case for extra protection along with the D800 body and a couple of smaller lenses. Due to the weight I sure was glad of that new bag with wheels traipsing through two major airports between flights.

On the final leg of my trip home across the island the plane was a twin prop dinky toy and on boarding from the tarmac the pilot asked that the bag was put into the hold due to limited storage space. On explaining that it contained expensive delicate camera gear it went inside with me