Basil Loc: New Mexico

In a post in Main Photography discussions, I mentioned I was going to be going to the rodeo at Tingley Colosseum at the New Mexico State Fair and asked for some advice on the best equipment to take given the lousy lighting. I am posting what I learned at this shoot and hope this is helpful to others who shoot indoors events like this in poor lighting.

What I learned during this shoot:

1) The Canon 135 f2 was probably the best choice for a lens in this lighting.
2) In the lousy lighting I was shooting wide open at f2 and still had to use ISO of 2000-3200 if I wanted to get shutter speeds anywhere near fast enough to stop action.

3) On my 7D2 the high ISO introduced a lot of noise I had to deal with in post.

4) The 135 L on the 7D2 was probably a bit too much reach from where we were sitting.

5) Next time I will probably use the 6D and the 135 because a) I found the reach a bit too long on the crop body and b) the 6D will do better with noise at higher ISO (which I had to shoot even wide open).

6) Also, I found using multi AF points not necessary and in fact caused a lot of mis-focused shots due to lack of contrast between the riders and the background audience, etc. With 9-point AF selected I found a lot of shots where the audience was in focus and not the subject of interest.
-- In that respect, with the 6D, having only decent center-point AF won't matter since I found keeping the focus point on the subject rather easy (not like BIF).

7). I used a monopod without a ball head. I made the length short and placed the foot on the seat between my legs - worked perfect!

8) Next time - don't sit so close to the chutes!

There was a lot of noise due to high ISO which I reduced in post with luminance, which is what these photos are not as sharp as I'd like. I was overall a little disappointed that I had to shoot at such high ISO. Here are a few samples:

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jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Good shots

angela k Loc: Long Island

WOW!!!! Fantastic action shots!!!!
Rough sport.... thanks for sharing!!!!

Basil Loc: New Mexico

Thanks folks. It was a challenge to be sure. The lighting was such that the only way I could get reasonably fast shutter speeds was to push the ISO to levels I'd rather not be.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Your tightly cropped images serve to focus on the subject, in this case excellent rodeo action! Thanks for sharing the results! Excellent processing too!

PhotoKurtz Loc: Carterville, IL

Nice job! I just passed on shooting an indoor rodeo. You handled it nicely!

rlaugh Loc: Michigan & Florida

Great action shots!

Basil Loc: New Mexico

Thanks! One big lesson I learned about this venue is not to sit so close to the chutes! I lost a lot of shots due to the action being blocked by the chutes/gates. Example:

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CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Well, next rodeo you'll have this knowledge for ticket selection and maybe even a lens rental specific to the event. The shot with the yellow chaps and the horse in mid buck is classic and maybe says you had exactly what was needed already.

Let's have a hand for that young cowboy
And wish him better luck next time
And hope we see him up in Fargo
Or somewhere farther down the line ...

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

These are excellent images. Great job.

James56 Loc: Nashville, Tennessee

Great job...I can almost smell the dust.

Doug Estes Loc: Nederland, Texas

Very nice photos sir. You got some great captures. Thanks for sharing.

I STOP TO SHOOT Loc: By the No. CA Sea

Basil: You really had a fun full day..... Got some really good action shots....Thank you for sharing...

kerry12 Loc: Harrisburg, Pa.

Fantastic shots.

Basil Loc: New Mexico

Thanks all for the nice comments. As I mentioned, I was shooting at ISO 2000-3200 which was introducing a lot of noise. Well, just to day I was watching a video on the 7D2 (which I shot with) and I was reminded that my camera has a "high ISO noise reduction" setting which I had completely spaced out. When I looked at my camera settings just now, I discovered that setting was set on "Standard". I'm wondering if I'd have been better off setting that to high during this shoot. Ah well, live and learn.