I had the opportunity to freelance and sell my photos at the "local" arena for this visually exciting event. It was my first time shooting or even being at a Cutting Horse competition, but the riders and promoters were thrilled to see me there.
Cutting Horses are put through competition to cut a cow away from a heard without input on the reigns from the rider, this is why you see them holding the horn and pad while the horse does all the work. You will see a rider with a blank look on their face because it is to appear that the horse and all that it does is to be expected... with lots of behind the scenes training. The winning horses and riders can be rewarded handsomely in the cowboy world with bragging rights and bloodline breeding for major amounts of money apparently.
As a photographer I know what looks visually pleasing, but the riders chose their photos for more than just what looked to me an impressive action shot. They look for visual signs on the horses head, the way a horse is stopping and turning, and most importantly if the horse is managing or engaging the cow appropriately. It took me a lot of time figuring out what they like to see in a photo, and some riders want to see more of something than another lol... confusing!
I had to shoot around 1600-2000 ISO to get the SS up between 200&500 and it was heavily back-lit in the arena.
Wow, tough lighting you had to deal with. There was a discussion on this awhile ago started by Billy Hurst regarding bright BGs and what to expose for. You did a formidable job under extreme conditions.
P Alesse wrote:
Wow, tough lighting you had to deal with. There was a discussion on this awhile ago started by Billy Hurst regarding bright BGs and what to expose for. You did a formidable job under extreme conditions.
I didn't see the discussion. Thanks for the comment! I was told the the action was going to be closer to me so using either a 50 or 85mm prime at F2.5ish was my plan, but it turned out that I needed to go longer so I actually used my kit lens at 135mm most of the time. I expected focus problems but it hung in there for the most part. Within the 2nd rider I knew what settings I was going to need to expose for the rider, but was a little worried about the high ISO combined with wide open on a 60D kit lens.
Aqualung wrote:
^+1....have you tried a b&w conversion on any of these?
Chris
Nope but it should come out nicely with the contrast... actually the more I turned down the saturation the more I like most of the shots.
Great suggestion and that brings me to another discussion! I have a tenancy to use my work in a "sell it and be done with it" type of way, and most always never promote it as art. I think I need to teach myself to connect a little more on this field but I have worked so long as a product photographer. I think a photography art class is in store for me in the future or something.
Ted ellis wrote:
Fantastic results shooting into a backlight.
Ted
Thanks! It is great to share these photos and get a response like this!
Photo #1! Now this is real horsemanship! See how the horse is on the bit, not avoiding it or gape mouthed with the tongue sticking out? The horse and rider are partnered together, and the horse is very focused. The horse and rider have the same expression and determination. You captured it very well. This is a great shot! Nice to see an equine event that doesn't make you cringe when you see the look on the horses face.
See the whole gallery here: 