1st attempt at polo

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Len
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Hi all, a freind and myself were lucky enough to be able to take pics at a local charity polo event at Fonmon castle in South Wales at the end of last month. This was my first attempt at this sport and was quite surprised at the speed of it!
The weather wasn't the best, drizzle right through till the end of the match, typical. They were taken on my 20D with 120-300 f2.8 attached, on shutter priority 200/400 ISO.
Anyway heres a selection. Please excuse the backgrounds on a few, we were on the opposite side to the posh side:naughty:
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8


C+C welcome.
A few more to follow
 
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It seems to go that way - either raining or the pitch is too hard to play on.

Good set for a first time, my favourite action shots are Nos 2 (inspite of all those people behind) and 5. No. 7 was just edge out by losing the mallet - they carry them so high it is difficult to get horse, rider, ball and mallet in in landscape shots so sometimes you have to go portrait and loose the ball :D
 
Kerioak said:
It seems to go that way - either raining or the pitch is too hard to play on.

Good set for a first time, my favourite action shots are Nos 2 (inspite of all those people behind) and 5. No. 7 was just edge out by losing the mallet - they carry them so high it is difficult to get horse, rider, ball and mallet in in landscape shots so sometimes you have to go portrait and loose the ball :D
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Thanks for the comments Kerioak, it was difficult to get all 4 components in the shot. My timing was out on a lot of the shots i took, no ball in frame. But it gave me a great insight into shooting this sport. Can't wait for the next match, even though it might not happen till next year.
As far as the backgrounds go, i'm afraid we had no choice when we were shooting across field, better when we were shooting up/down field. Maybe should have sat at one of the ends and waiting for the action to come to us.
Thanks again.
 
It is a tricky sport to photograph. You've got some nice shots there but they need a bit more contact with the subject. In several of them the people are looking away from the camera so you wonder what it is that they are looking at, and lose the "purpose" of the photo as a result.

The best "stock" polo shot is the rideoff where a pair of riders are hurtling towards the goal bashing each other out of the way, with the ball in shot of course. The best place to be therefore is behind and slightly to the side of the goal. Always try and pick the end which will give you the best background, and pick the best angle then from that end.

You need to be patient as well and wait for the play to come to you.

Another very nice shot to do is a panned slow shutter speed shot - say 1/40th or thereabouts. It gives a very nice impression of speed but is very tricky to execute as the riders & horses go up & down as well as across the frame. Best done from the side.

I'll post some pics up a bit later from yesterday's Cartier bash at Guards polo club later on and you can see if I did any good :)

Tobers
 
ColinB147 said:
Nice set. I really like #6. It sounds a really tricky sport to photograph.
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Thank you Colin, i was hoping someone would comment on #6. I think it may be the symmetry of the subjects, i was drawn to it when i did the processing.

Tobers said:
It is a tricky sport to photograph. You've got some nice shots there but they need a bit more contact with the subject. In several of them the people are looking away from the camera so you wonder what it is that they are looking at, and lose the "purpose" of the photo as a result.

The best "stock" polo shot is the rideoff where a pair of riders are hurtling towards the goal bashing each other out of the way, with the ball in shot of course. The best place to be therefore is behind and slightly to the side of the goal. Always try and pick the end which will give you the best background, and pick the best angle then from that end.

You need to be patient as well and wait for the play to come to you.

Another very nice shot to do is a panned slow shutter speed shot - say 1/40th or thereabouts. It gives a very nice impression of speed but is very tricky to execute as the riders & horses go up & down as well as across the frame. Best done from the side.

I'll post some pics up a bit later from yesterday's Cartier bash at Guards polo club later on and you can see if I did any good :)

Tobers
Click to expand...
Thanks Tobers for the constructive comments and advice, will take them on board for next time.(y)
Look forward to seeing your photos.
 
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