Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/12/04
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi Ted, Thanks for your thoughtful comments. Of the photos from this particular session, this one had the best combination of light, background and rider technique. I reviewed the chromes with the boof and there were a few she rejected because of poor technique on her part, and a few I rejected due to similar boo-boos on my part. I was looking for the right light zone and positioned myself to take advantage of it, but in hindsight there was nothing keeping me from standing *inside* the arena to make even better use of the light. Next time, for sure. Backgrounds are another matter. The arena is in a public park with lots of different backgrounds, most of which are busy and cluttered with lots of bright distracting stuff. The forest background in this photo is probably the easiest to work with. I'm certainly not done with this subject. The boof (entering high school next fall) intends to go to college at nearby UC Davis so she can live at home with her horse :) Doug Herr Bird(Horse?)man of Sacramento http://www.wildlightphoto.com On Mon, 03 December 2001, Ted Grant wrote: > > Hi Doug, > Given one of my favourite sport's to cover at the Olympics has always been > equestrian it's not an easy shoot anytime, whether at that level or with > your daughter. So unless you've done a fair amount of it be prepared for a > number of blown images. And even with experience, one can go through a ton > of film to get just the right image. > > Like you, we had a teen age daughter who went horse crazy and there wasn't > any holding her until we bought a horse along with the attendant expenses! > :-( > > It was all well worth it, as I'd shoot her with the SLMOT & SL2mot as she > cleared jumps as one in unison with the horse. It was like having your own > equestrian member to practice on in preparation for the next Olympics. :-) > > Your shot is very well done given it's not an easy shoot, actually > photographing horses in action is a hell of a lot harder than most > photographers imagine. It isn't just stopping the action and having > everything sharp, it's capturing the moment when the "horse is showing it's > best side!" > > And for those of you with no horse image savvy, trust me the horse counts > more than the rider! :-) > > The best way to find out whether you are doing it right or not, is show your > pictures to "horse people!" And unless you've experience with the "horse > set" be prepared to find out very quickly that, "you don't know much about > horses do you!" Sometimes in a tone of voice that is withering! :-) > > However! Get them right, why they can't praise you enough about your > brilliance as a photographer. ;-) > > The first thing I do is look for the angle of the light to where they are > going to ride, then select my photo position for the best light to accenting > the rider and animal. Then I pretty well stay there letting them ride > through the best shoot / light zone. > > If you do that first, rather than shooting from any old position, then the > light becomes an accent rather than creating black shadows if it's a sunny > day. The right light location will enhance the shape of the horse which is > important to horse lovers. It also allows time to watch horse and rider > movements learning just the best moment for exposure. > > I hope I'm not "beating a dead horse" :-) by telling you something you've > been doing for years. If so, please accept my apologizes. However, maybe > it'll be of use for some of the others. > > Best of luck with it as you'll have your daughter loving you a thousand fold > more when you show her like a champion rider on a good looking horse! :-) > ted > > Ted Grant Photography Limited > www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant > > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html ___________________________________________________ The ALL NEW CS2000 from CompuServe Better! Faster! More Powerful! 250 FREE hours! Sign-on Now! http://www.compuserve.com/trycsrv/cs2000/webmail/ - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html