Wednesday, February 9, 2011

HORSE POWER

Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, Canon 50mm lens, ISO 100, f/9, 1/15 sec. (Kristy Gray and Baby Girl)
    I shoot a lot of basketball photos at my son's high school games. A month ago or so my brother Jim asked me to knock the shutter speed on the camera down to 1/15 or 1/20 sec. and do some panning.  Haven't really been able to apply the technique of panning on the basketball court yet.
  A couple of weeks ago an opportunity did come my way, though.
  My daughter had been taking horse riding lessons from my older son's girlfriend, Kristy Gray.  One Sunday morning, I was lucky enough to take Jocy over to Kristy's for her lesson and of course took the camera with me.
  After taking a couple hundred shots of them walking around the field and up close, they were about to dismount and call it quits when Kristy asked Jocy if she wanted to watch her really run her horse, Baby Girl? Jocy said yes and it presented my chance.  I asked Kristy to make sure and run across in front of me and she gladly obliged.
  The distance between her and I when she rode by might have been a stretch for my 50mm lens so I used an f/9 aperture to try and assist with focusing.
  All-in-all I think the shot turned out very well for my first attempt with this technique.  For the most part, Baby Girl and Kristy are in decent focus while the trees in the background and the Cedar Tree just in front of them to the right are a complete blurr.
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7 comments:

  1. Jimmy DFebruary 9, 2011 at 9:08 PM

    Cool shot! I recommend shutter priority mode and let the camera set the Aperture. Put the focus to AI Servo mode and use only the center focus point. This will help keep them in focus while you pan! Good work!

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  2. Denham PhotographyFebruary 9, 2011 at 9:11 PM

    Thanks, Jim. I definitely still have a lot to learn about this technique. Appreciate the advice.

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  3. Toad Hollow PhotographyFebruary 9, 2011 at 9:42 PM

    Oh my God, I LOVE this PHOTO!!! The sense of motion is extraordinary, it really hits you right away. Check out the tail on the horse, now that's cool Jerry! And on top of that, I learned a little something from you guys here tonight, and for that I thank you.

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  4. Heath O'FeeFebruary 9, 2011 at 9:45 PM

    Nice work for the first go round, Jerry! The feeling of motion is pretty cool :)

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  5. David LaSpina / JapanDaveFebruary 9, 2011 at 9:57 PM

    Nice job! I love a good motion shot.

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  6. Denham PhotographyFebruary 9, 2011 at 10:31 PM

    Toad, Heath, and Dave thanks so much for the comments. I was very surprised how well received this shot was. Thank you all.

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  7. Chris KenisonFebruary 11, 2011 at 11:55 PM

    Great shot, Jerry! Great job for your first time. I def. Learned a lot too. I've not really done this before, so thanks for that!

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