Back to the Jumps! CnC if you please

Overread · Feb 9, 2015

Made it back to the showjumping which thankfully had some better lighting this time! Though the backgrounds are still a nightmare. Sadly if I want to shoot low with horses coming at me its nearly impossible to get a good angle without a distracting background (might try getting out into the ring next time - there is a chance that might work - but depends on the positions on offer). The balcony still offers the better angles for potentially less distractions; but at the same time its an above angle shot I'm not really after.

That aside things went better; I suspect the light helping the AF along as well. Got more well timed shots; still not 100% on the mark for the "moment" but getting a lot more sharper shots in-focus than before.

Cropping and composition is still a pain, I feel like I'm cropping too much, yet when shooting I feel like I've really not got the room to spare in the frame, coupled with the AF points being nearer the middle of the viewfinder. I also find because a horse is so long if I try to use an AF point so that the head of the horse is "over" the middle and advancing into the corner the shot feels wrong; whilst if I compose with the horses head closer to the middle AF point (up one though not dead centre) then it leaves me more moving room but less horse.

So technically doing ok - compositionally and background wise need improvement (though I accept that backgrounds are a pain here indoors to some extent).

Any comments/crits/advice always welcome.

All taken on a Canon 7D and Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS L MII

Note part way through I changed the sensitivity of the resampling on the AF to a higher level of sensitivity. My thinking is if the horse is coming right at me I need the camera resampling and detecting every single change to keep up. I've not really focused on checking if I got improved results (and honestly it wouldn't be a very scientific test); but to my thinking it should help

pixmedic · Feb 9, 2015

CnC per Request!

TITAN Stone Centers - Park Industries

Designer · Feb 9, 2015

Oh, these are fantastic!

You might think the backgrounds are distracting, but for me, who does not witness such venues, it is interesting to see what all is there.

runnah · Feb 9, 2015

What fstop?

Rick58 · Feb 9, 2015

All are fantastic. Love the first one

baturn · Feb 9, 2015

I agree with rick that all are pretty amazing , but the head on shots aren't as great as #2 and #3. IMO.
Also in #3 I'd crop to lose the tractor or whatever it is on the right.

gsgary · Feb 10, 2015

When I was shooting horse events every weekend I never used auto focus for jump shots you get almost 100% keepers using manual focus

Overread · Feb 10, 2015

Many thanks for the compliments all !

pixmedic said:
CnC per Request!

TITAN Stone Centers - Park Industries

runnah said:
What fstop?

All of them at f2.8.

baturn said:
I agree with rick that all are pretty amazing , but the head on shots aren't as great as #2 and #3. IMO.
Also in #3 I'd crop to lose the tractor or whatever it is on the right.

I did think of that; however its one of those things where there's the distracting tractor and then the horse running which makes me want to leave more head-room for the horse to move into. I think with horses (esp with rider) because of the bulk of their core body I tend to find that the head draws less attention so when leaving "head room" I keep feeling that I need a whole lot more "space" for the horse to move into in the frame.

gsgary said:
When I was shooting horse events every weekend I never used auto focus for jump shots you get almost 100% keepers using manual focus

I'm not sure if my trigger finger is yet ready for that kind of lightning fast shooting. I will have to give it a go, but thus far AF has done decently well for me. Side-on I could see it working - head on I can't.

funwitha7d · Feb 10, 2015

#1 wow, all great but the horse and rider and so fixed on their task, the riders eyes...

Overread · Feb 10, 2015

Yeah Riders are odd. Horses are normally very nicely posed head and body; riders on the other hand make some of the oddest of faces as they go over a jump. If one gets a series sometimes you see a whole range of facial expressions.
Some riders are very "focused" they've a game face that they keep - some are looking away at the next jump sometimes almost before they've even got the back legs off the launch on the first - some go over with a look of pure terror

One from the balcony - background is somewhat cleaner, however whilst its a nice-ish angle I still prefer to get more a sense of the size of the horse by being a bit lower.

And just to show its not always the riders, one horse who looks like he's gone to sleep going over