Race horse

cpeay · Apr 10, 2012

deggimatt · Apr 10, 2012

You can reduce the shutter speed and move the aim with the horse, the result will be a blurred background.

ChickenDerby · Apr 11, 2012

I'm a total noob with photography, but I do know my way around a horse. So, I would suggest paying a bit more attention to the horse's stride and your timing. At this "collected" point in the stride, you've caught the awkward look right after his peak collection. A split second earlier, and all of his legs will be tucked up beneath him. Right after this shot, his left hind would have been dramatically pushing off. Both of those would give a more desirable galloping shot. Also consider the outstretched phase of the gallop.

Check out this slowed down video on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQDAUv6d_KY

This horse is a little more animated with his knees, so he never is quite in the same pose as your horse, but it's the best slo-mo video I could find at a moment's notice.
Go to around :48 and you can see this part of the stride and the parts before and after that would look more dramatic.

Joel_W · Apr 11, 2012

I like the B&W concept, as you really can't place the era it was taken. It's a solid composition, and shows just the right amount of action as all four legs are off the ground. What does disturb me, is all those highlights along the horse. They just look blown out when you get to the rear flank.