Showtime

[DoctorJazz]

I took a bunch of shots at the Gran Prix Jumper competition today.....this is the only one I liked.....I'm going back to see if I can get better action shots this week.

This photo was taken as the judge spoke individually with the young competitors
in the lead line class. Too cute!!

[eyerkish]

Boy, look at the paparazzi just hounding those kids! Looks like they were having some fun out there. Can't wait to see some more.

[shirlm2]

Nice shot Sandy. Lots of proud parents about!

[mj702002]

Too Cute Sandy!! I love taking pictures of the hunter/jumpers - they are awesome to watch and ride.

[Kaye]

Lovely shots Sandy... look fwd to more.

[sorted]

Hi Sandy
Don't see photo's but i am sure they are excellant.

[sorted]

Hi Sandy

Don't see no photo's ?

[DoctorJazz]

Eddie, Shirley, MJ, Kaye, Elaine
Thanks for your feedback on the one photo which has since been deleted by me.


Apparently Jaxhere saw fit to use this photo without my permission in his thread
on "Photo Ethics".
Jack, if you are reading this, I have responded to you in your Photo Ethics thread.


I hope to go back to the show and get some better action shots of the Gran Prix jumping.....my initial shots were not great.

[mj702002]

Good Luck on the Grand Prix jumping! Can't wait to see them.

[DoctorJazz]

Thanks MJ! I can't wait to go back...tomorrow should be my first opportunity.

The hardest thing I found on my first attempt was getting my timing down so I could get them in midair centered over the jumps....I found myself counting strides and anticipating their takeoff.....it was a challenge for sure.....to be continued!!

[mrdoug]

Shoot, I missed your photo! I also missed the link to "Photo Ethics" by Jack.

[DoctorJazz]

Hi Doug,

Thanks for your comment......it all worked out for the best I think.

[DoctorJazz]

Went back to the show this a.m. for the jumper classes...the big Grand Prix competition is on Sunday....hope to be there.

Here are some from today.

[mrdoug]

Whoa... they're all incredible, but 3 and 4 are incredibly stunning!

[mj702002]

Sandy you did GREAT! You said this is your first time trying to shoot these?

And, love the mountains in the background!

[verikos]

Great action shots Sandy...I absolutely love #3. It's like the horse is actually flying....a perfect capture!

[DoctorJazz]

Hi Doug,
Thanks so much for your comments on these....the grey horse in no. 3 +4 was a favorite of mine to watch....he made everything look effortless....I'm happy if that came across in the pics.

Hi MJ,
Thinking of you!! Thanks so much for your encouragement.....this feels like the best of both worlds....horses and photography! Yes, last week-end and yesterday are the first times I've tried photgraphing them since becoming a member here....it was a good test, and such fun!

Hi Denise,
Thank you so much for your feedback on these action shots....it really means a lot!
I may use the 3rd for my final assignment.

[Kaye]

Hi Sandy,
These are so great. My favourites in order are 3,2, then 4 in that order.

No. 3 is so great. I would love to see you try either:
A touch less exposure.... or
Darkening the background a little to get a better view of the light coloured horse (especially the hooves at the back).
Also considering there is a little clutter in the way of the hooves which you can't really do much about, but I really think that darkening the background could really enhance this.

They are all wonderful.

[DoctorJazz]

Hi Kaye,

Thank you so much for your feedback and I've been working on your suggestion for no. 3.....I'll post the two side by side here...I selected out the horse and rider, and put the background in Variations, and made midtones 35% darker.
I added a touch of sharpening to the lower limbs and feet of the horse, and then
applied Curves (Linear Contrast) to the whole image. See what you think.

[Kaye]

Hi Sandy,
I really love the edit. I think it brings the horse more to the front with nicer contrast.

I also did a quick edit just with more alteration of colours and some burn and dodge. I am happy to post it if you would like.

[DoctorJazz]

Hi Kaye,

Thanks for your thoughts on the edit....much appreciated.
I would love to see your edit as well....please feel free to post anytime.

[kinetic]

Hi Sandy, you don’t have to ask if I like these because anything with a horse is beautiful.
They are all excellent shots but the 4th for me has the better focus.
Can I ask Sandy what your settings are on these ones?
I know the float or mid air shot during a canter is the shot to get and as you say its timing,
I get better results with a burst of frames now and I always get the critical one from these.
Excellent stuff Sandy.
I will email you a nice example of a float shot to let you see the results of using a frame burst.
Mark

[DoctorJazz]

Hi Mark,

Thank you for sharing any knowledge and experience you care to in photographing horses.....they truly are poetry in motion....I would love to see your example of the frame burst you mentioned.

I am so grateful for your comments on this series.
As for settings used- these were morning shots and the sun was strong to start with. I used a polarizing filter and set ISO at 100. I used spot metering, and
shutter priority mode. Images 1,2, and 5 were all shot at 1/250 with f 5.6, 4.5,
and 7.0 respectively.
Images 3 and 4 were taken with the p. filter removed and ISO 200 as the sun was less intense, with settings at 1/320 and f 6.4 and 7.1 respectively.

I'll be practicing lots more this week-end. Thanks again Mark.

[Kaye]

Hi Kaye,

Thanks for your thoughts on the edit....much appreciated.
I would love to see your edit as well....please feel free to post anytime.

Thanks for the opportunity to post my edit on your No. 3 shot. Here it is:

6767

[DoctorJazz]

I love it Kaye! I compared them on my screen and see you darkened the ground a bit which looks great, and did you increase the shadows a bit in the mountain?
It seems you brought the flowers to life a bit too.....nice touch!

[DoctorJazz]

Kaye,

I've been trying to see how you did this, and I just have to ask....is your secret
adjusting the white balance (at least part of the secret?)? When I went back and adjusted that I saw a big difference in the ground and flowers.

After a little more time now, I'm guessing that you also darkened the cyans and blues in the forest and decreased the shadows on the horse's side...I think you added a little sharpening to the horse's face, as well as the rider's face and arm/hand.

[Kaye]

Kaye,

I've been trying to see how you did this, and I just have to ask....is your secret
adjusting the white balance (at least part of the secret?)? When I went back and adjusted that I saw a big difference in the ground and flowers.

After a little more time now, I'm guessing that you also darkened the cyans and blues in the forest and decreased the shadows on the horse's side...I think you added a little sharpening to the horse's face, as well as the rider's face and arm/hand.

Gee Sandy, I wish I'd made notes whilst I edited this, but do have a fair idea what I did.

- I love using Levels first. Seems to get the "contrast" of the light at a reasonable level. I believe it was this that helped highlight the flowers, etc.
- I did do a touch of Exposure. Think I only used Offset, (generally do this bit by bit -0.005 at a time), then played a little with Gamma. Too much offset will lose detail in some areas...and make portions of the background look like a black hole!
- No, I did not adjust white balance, (as I did not select the horse and rider in a different layer). Using white balance would have altered the shades of the horse as well as darkening the background.
- I did a "mild" Smart Sharpen on the whole shot.

The two main parts of my edit were:
- The use of Selective colour which is one of my most used tools in my editing, as you can completely alter a background colour or brightness (as long as the same colour does not exist in the main feature of the shot).
eg. I darkened the greens, and adding Magenta to your greens will make them naturally less vibrant and darker. Darkening yellow is great for darkening lots of bushy backgrounds.
Here the main issue to me was to lessen the blue hue in the background. So go to blue in selective colour, darken, then slide the yellow to more positive... this should make it greener. (I hope I have this the right way around)!
You can play around with selective colour and get some great results.
- Next main edit was using burn tool. I generally only set it at around 10% exp. I darkened the sand in the foreground with this, and other parts of the sand (to make them look trodden upon.., the horse's eye, and other black things on the horse and rider to darken them without cloning. Even the boots.
In the background, I made shadows around the bushes to try to give a sort of depth also with burn tool.
Also, touch of Dodge tool in a few places, mainly the yellowish green trees also to try to give a 3D affect.


Sandy, I hope this helps. I really don't think we realise how much we do in an edit, until we try to write it down!

[DoctorJazz]

Kaye,
These details are fantastic....thank you for taking such time.....I have not played with Selective color much, but with your example here I'm sure I will be able to get a better handle on it. It is all so interesting how subtle changes can have such an effect.

Excellent info, thanks again!!

[Kaye]

You are most welcome Sandy. I enjoyed doing it, but think I should get some sleep now before the sun comes up... if it does... as it's cold and rainy here at present.

P.S. I am sure you will get great value from using Selective Colour. Just practice with mix'n'matching colours.

[kinetic]

Hi Sandy just another few things that I sometimes have my camera set at to ensure good shots at events.

Aperture priority set at around the f8 mark or below…the example I sent you was at f2.8 @ 1000sec and that was in poor conditions.
Auto focus set too continuous…for obvious reasons your photographing a moving target.
Auto ISO this helps for when you’re panning around into different light the ISO adjusts to cater for the different light.
Fame burst to ensure you get the critical shots from the bunch
I focus on the area around the rider’s chest, not on the horse itself.
Give it a go and see how you get on…adjust things as you see fit for your given situation.
I have found this method reliable in most weather conditions.

Mark

[DoctorJazz]

Mark,

This is so helpful; Many thanks....I will try these suggestions.
Today I was successful in getting the frame burst, with an example of the "float shot" during the Victory gallop.....it's not a great photo, but I'll post it here just to show that I have the idea. Would like to have gotten a side view, but the horse was
about to duck out of the ring!

[Kaye]

Really nice sharpness and clarity Sandy.
I also think the "contrast/brightness" of colours is far improved from the earlier shots.
Keep going with your huge improvements. You are doing so well.

[DoctorJazz]

Kaye,

Thank you so much for your encouraging words, it means a lot!!

[kinetic]

Hi Sandy…hey look at that, all four off the ground…very nice and well done Sandy.
I know the norm for sports is in shutter priority, but this set-up has worked time and time again for me
and has been better in many instances than the more traditional shutter priority set-up.
Give it a go when it’s not a critical show for you to get photos at, and see how you get on.
Great shot…you now have to get a second to show that it wasn’t just luck…:D which I am sure you will...

Mark

[DoctorJazz]

Thanks Mark,

I can't wait to get back at this!
You are a tremendous help.
Hope to have more soon.

[MasterPpv]

This is really great for your first couple of times! I have a few things that might help; you can try them out and rage at me later when they don't :p

I definitely agree with Mark on not using Shutter Priority. It works pretty well, but I know you know your basics by now and I'm sure you can handle Manual. Auto ISO = huge help, because on some cameras it will even select ISO settings that aren't available to you manually, meaning you actually have a better chance of getting what you want out of the Auto. Try and open up the aperture a bit (f/2.8 to f/5.6 is pretty good) and raise your shutter speed. 1/200th is a general minimum for eliminating motion blur, and that's for basketball players. For horses, I'd say you need a shutter speed quite a bit faster than that, or you'll have at least a bit of motion blur. In my opinion, you should get the shutter speed high enough first to where it won't have much blur, then make your aperture adjustments as necessary. ISO, of course, should be on Auto. I may seem a bit hypocritical here, since I initially shot a lot of my track shots between 1/320th and 1/1000th while using f/4 to f/8, but you said that you were taking your shots in the morning as the sun came up, while most of mine are taken in the afternoon with a bright sun glaring overhead. Of course, everything is situational, so don't just take my word - try these things out and see if they work for you. And by the way, an interesting little thing you may or may not have heard about could help you out when you first get to the track and start setting up / shooting your first few shots. It's not really a concrete rule, but it's called the Sunny 16 rule.

What this says is that on a sunny day, you can try setting your aperture to f/16, and your shutter speed to 1/[the ISO value]. So if your ISO is 200, you can go f/16, 1/200th, ISO 200. Of course, this is just to begin with; you can then change the shutter speed to whatever you want as long as you make the appropriate changes in the aperture.

If I just thoroughly confused you, you can try Google or Wikipedia. Again, not really a rule to religiously follow, but it's there as an option.

Good luck, and I hope this helps you! :)

[DoctorJazz]

Hi Priten and Welcome back!

Thanks so much for these tips.....I'm trying all of them.....I have nothing to lose!

[MasterPpv]

Thank you! :D

Hope they work out for you! I can't wait to see the shots from your next race shoot! :)