Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Shooting spec is something I typically pass up now. However sometimes maybe it's good to grow into a new genre. The chaos of hunter/jumper equestrian events decidedly allows one to quickly discover just how challenging it is to generate a diverse event portfolio while struggling to maintain commercially viable deliverables.

Long day in the sweltering heat, how those young feminine athletes endure in those helmets, hacking jackets, jodhpurs, ratcatchers and stock ties is amazing. Courage and nerves of steel to effortlessly control 1200lb beasts through a demanding course of 8 to 12 obstacles.

Kit: D3x with AF-S 200-400mm f/4 IF ED VR Lens
Settings: AF-C priority (Release); Dynamic AF area (21 points); Focus Tracking with lock-on (Normal); AF activation (AF-ON only) Shooting Mode CH; Auto ISO (Min Shutter Speed 1/2000; Max ISO Ceiling 1600); Lens VR (Off); White Balance: (AUTO); IQ (RAW)

Illumination: Ambient with High Diffused Cloud Cover (faint shadows)

FYI: I'm certainly not a professional photographer, only a commercial shooter chasing legal tender...
Enough said...

Equitation Class Mini Stirrup Division

(Download)

Equitation Class Short Stirrup Division

(Download)

Hunter-Jumper Class Walk-Trot & Canter Division

(Download)

Hunter-Jumper Class Schooling Hunter Division

(Download)

cessnalvr Loc: West virginia

Nice shots. I attempt to take pics at the shows the barn i board at puts on. All better pics than i take but if you take the jump shots from the side instead of head on they are much better. I cant compare with hour quality this is just a hint suggestion.

cessnalvr Loc: West virginia

Looked up my post and it was titled a couple from today. I dont know how to add the link but i had much better luck with these than when i tried head on

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Thanks for the feedback cessnalvr... I found your post "A few from today" and totally agree that a quartering side view is an excellent lens perspective... Will endeavor to follow your lead for the next equestrian attempt. I have a lot to learn here in as I don't ride so this is virgin territory for me...

btw, Love how you got the jumper with ears forward... I've been told many times that is "ideal" but to be honest everything is happening so fast that I'm not fixating on ear configurations... lol

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and imagery here...
Greatly appreciated!

cessnalvr Loc: West virginia

Those were probably my proudest shots i have done yet. I got the address printed them and sent them to the girl. I do het some good action shots just still have alot to learn to get better focus and such.

CO

Excellent shots. The D3x with 200-400mm really tracks motion well. The focusing is spot on. To me, the depth of field is getting to be too shallow in some of the shots. In photo #2, the rider is in great focus but the horse's head is not. I think the rider and the horse are the stars of the show should both be in focus. Of course, that's subjective. People would have different views on that.

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

"...I got the address printed them and sent them to the girl..." What an excellent and thoughtful gesture... I'm absolutely certain she deeply appreciated your kind efforts... Looking forward to seeing more of your equestrian shoots. Thanks!

cessnalvr Loc: West virginia

Actually sent a dew more as that group had some special needs riders so tried to send a pic for all that i could remember in the group. Last show was indiors with bad lighting and i havent decided if i like any enough to post but i need to try and get some just at the barn

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

"...I think the rider and the horse are the stars of the show should both be in focus..." Absolutely! Totally agree CO, my bad for shooting wide open close in... That said, I always lock on the rider using BB focus... left to it's own devices the D3x will tend to lock on the closest focus point in the 21 group cluster... And 9 focus points is a serious challenge to hold on a rider/horse at full canter.

That said, to address this shortcoming I'm migrating to changing the number of focus points via assigning the function button to control Dynamic AF area mode via the Main Command dial in the view viewfinder. Hopefully I will be able to finally master the long reach between the Function Button and the Main Command dial especially since it requires rotation of the dial while holding down the Function Button... This is not as easy as it sounds and so far I'm not preforming this task effectively in real-time. However practice make perfect so I'm working on it...

Guess simply closing down the aperture a tad will have to do for now... (or as cessnalvr suggest, fire broadside) life can be EZ given that lens perspective :)

Thanks for your thoughtful feedback CO it is indeed much appreciated!