From the races!

[Overread]

Some shots from Higham point-to-point at the weekend.
I'm rusty as anything having hardly shot much last year (nor so far this year) so I was even down at f5.6 (which isn't bad for equestrian, but I have shot wider with good success in the past). Any comments and critiques are most welcome
All taken on Canon 7D and 70-200mm f2.9 IS L MII

 

[tirediron]

Nice set! I really like Dobbin's expression in #3! This is another one of those things I wish we had more of in Canada; I love to shoot any sort of equestrian, but only ever get the chance maybe once or twice a year and then only at the very most junior level.

70-200 f2.9? Huh... is that a new offering from Canon?

 

[Overread]

Yep its that latest new model that weighs only 0.2kg and focuses faster than light travels

I'm surprised that Canada doesn't have much in the way of equestrian sports, then again it might be your area, but I'd have thought a nation like that would have had an abundance. Especially since, its my impression, that you've a lot more open areas and trackways to actually ride on without having to deal with cars etc...


Junior level (in terms of skill rather than purely age) can be quite a challenge too since many jumps can be basically just a hop or step over for the horse. Which doesn't really make for great photography, but also means that there's far less of a "moment" to capture. The action moment gets consolidated down to almost nothing. Meanwhile things like dressage or general motion can be very tricky as well since you've got to have really good timing to get a good pose on the horses motion (fast shutters and fps helps somewhat too).

 

[tirediron]

It used to be a lot more popular; I think (especially in my area which is development-mad) that it's a combination of the cost of ownership and nowhere to run. Any place that would have been large enough for steeplechase now has thousands of condominiums on it. The only race track on Vancouver Island (primarily sulky) closed a number of years ago and is now an industrial park!

 

[Winona]

Great shots!

 

[Derrel]

You may feel rusty, but these four shots look quite decent.

 

[Jeff15]

Some good action shots......

 

[Overread]

Thanks all!

Another from the day

Gods does it remind me what a paint shiny red/yellows are with digital cameras! I even adjusted this one to drop the red luminosity a lot. I think its shifted the colour a bit but he's at least no longer a "glowing nuclear" red in colour.

 

[terri]

These are great! I missed this thread before. Terrific action in all of them. The reds look nice to me in this last one, good job.

As an aside: that jump must have been a particularly challenging one; I see no daylight between the top and the horse's belly in any of them.

 

[RVT1K]

I really like the action captured in the shots of the horses jumping.

 

[Overread]

Thanks both

Terri I've seen them do this jump for a few years, I don't know if it was a little higher or if the run up to it was longer/different than before as I've shots from the past where horses cleared it. It could be the horses racing and the riders or the jump or a bit of both. I also wonder as its a fence that "gives" (its all brush so if the horse impacts it just pushes it aside) that if its the hunt going over the horses might not leap as high to clear it on purpose and might be conserving energy and lowballing the jump knowing they can brush through the top half.

It's a spot I've shot at for a few years once or twice a year; being as its got the light from a good angle and its the only jump on that side of the circuit without the crowds or cars in the background. Sadly the other side of the circuit has a big wood so that tends to shadow things over somewhat. I could have gone round there this year (light was pretty diffused and scattered) but I didn't feel like the long walk.