Two day eventing

SammyC

SammyC

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Well I've been away recently which is why I've been a bit quiet but just before I left I managed to take some photos at a two day event near Bridgewater in the south west.

These are of my g/fs instructor (Tracey) who was competing:

Mid steeple chase:
F1_IMG_6462-01_filtered-sm.jpg



The water jump:
F1_IMG_6486-01_filtered-sm.jpg



The final gate:
F1_IMG_6489-02_filtered-sm.jpg



Very good fun, never thought I'd actually enjoy a horsey day out but I did! I had a bit of a sprint between the various stages (not sure if that is the correct term) to keep up with Tracey. But I'm pleased with them.

Hope peeps like them.
:)
 
nice pictures sammy, although 1 & 2 seem a tad over-exposed on my screen.
 
They are rather bright aren't they! :D

They've been done that way because they're being submitted for printing and I've found that they tend to look just that little bit dark when they come back.
... and I'm too lazy to reprocess them for the web ...
 
Caught the high spots of the action well there Sammy! (y)
 
Cheers mate! :)

Borrowed a mates EF 70-300 USM IS lens for the day (actually I've still got it now!) and the IS made a hell of a difference. Never even seen an IS lens before and it's really spooky when it switches on! :D

Also, used the CF4 option where it moved focus to the AE lock button. Very niffty I must say!
 
SammyC said:
Very good fun, never thought I'd actually enjoy a horsey day out but I did! I had a bit of a sprint between the various stages (not sure if that is the correct term) to keep up with Tracey. But I'm pleased with them.

Hope peeps like them.
:)
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Like em :)

No1 seems slightly overexposed, look at the highlights on the horses flank. Also be slightly better if you could see the riders face.

NO2's great, a bit of action and shows some of the environment as well. I tend to go for portrait format on these and try to crop in tighter but it's not always the best approach.

No3 is a good shot, horse is showing decent lines and you've caught it at just exactly the right time.

Good set (y)
 
dod said:
Like em :)

No1 seems slightly overexposed, look at the highlights on the horses flank. Also be slightly better if you could see the riders face.

NO2's great, a bit of action and shows some of the environment as well. I tend to go for portrait format on these and try to crop in tighter but it's not always the best approach.

No3 is a good shot, horse is showing decent lines and you've caught it at just exactly the right time.

Good set (y)
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Re: No. 1. Best of a bad position I'm afraid. I think the strong sunlight and the horse being a grey made things difficult. I'll go back and check the RAW to see what's there.

Re: No. 2. I was concious of giving the horse somewhere to go in the photo with this one. It is actually portrait photo that has been cropped because there was too much space around it.

Re: No. 3. This is my fave, very proud of this one. I just hope Tracey likes it!

I think next time I have a go I'll be looking at my position relative to where they will be coming from much more closely. It does seem that the more time you spend to walk the course and work out where to stand the better.

Thanks mate. :)
 
SammyC said:
I just hope Tracey likes it!
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Remember that what you're looking for in a photograph and what the rider is looking for are two different things. While we're looking for composition, sharpness, impact etc they're looking for the shape of the horse, are they smiling, are the ears positioned properly etc.

I've even seen my wife being happier with a slightly out of focus shot than another which is technically good from my point of view :wacky:

It does help if you know the course and make sure if the jump has a couple of entry/exit options you're in a position to cover both if at all possible. not always easy if you don't have the luxury of official/press access :annoyed:
 
dod said:
It does help if you know the course and make sure if the jump has a couple of entry/exit options you're in a position to cover both if at all possible. not always easy if you don't have the luxury of official/press access :annoyed:
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This is what surprised me for this event, there was absolutely no restriction of access to the course. I was stood in the field for the first photo and for the second two was only 10 meters away from the jumps with nothing in between. I guess most people attending an event like this have enough healthy respect for the animals, and that they ARE animals, to keep their distance.

It was certainly refreshing not to have to deal with crap vantage points etc. :)
 
#3 is excellent, did you have a poloriser at your disposal at all?
 
I did Matty and I should have put it on as it was such strong sunlight. My thinking at the time was that it would slow the shutter speed such that I wouldn't be able to freeze the image enough.

I think I will try it next time. But that depends on me being allowed to borrow the IS lens again! :D
 
Ally said:
Number 2 is the one for me, great sction shot.

Had a look at the gallery aswell, really nice shots.
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Thanks mate, much appreciated. :)
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
Lovely shots Sammy, Number two for me, loads of power and concentration, that horse is loving every second.

:)
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Funny thing is that he's a teaching horse i.e. not trained for competition so Tracey thought he'd struggle with fitness. Turns out that spending 4 hours a day teaching makes you quite a fit horse as he really didn't ever look tired. Not like some horses out there!

:)
 
Really, a trainer you say, I can certainly see his confidence in all your shots, I bet he didn't flinch once eh, possibly quite an easy ride... don’t tell her I said that. ;)

lol. Un-exercised horse owners should be hung, drawn and quartered by their own animals I recon.... and it would make the spectacle last longer too. (y)
 
:D Heh, he's a good lad he is, pretty even tempered not like some of Tracey's other horses!
 
#3 is an outstanding shot! I also like #2, a good capture with plenty of dynamic energy and expression, shame it's just a bit blown out.

My wife also has a grey horse and they definitely don't mix with bright sunlight. :bang:
 
Thanks mate, so much to learn in this area! :)

BTW, the mono photo on your homepage is my all time favourite horse photo. I plan to rob the idea shamelessly at some point! :D
 
Thank you! It's also one of my favourites and I've had it printed 30" wide. It sparked an idea which I'm itching to try and that is to position the camera with a wide angle lens by the jump wings pointing up, obviously I'd have to rig up some sort of remote firing sequence but if it goes well it should be quite dramatic.
 
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