Back in the saddle again.

[jeeperman]

You may/may not have noticed I disappeard for a week. I took myself a little vacation. I went south and west to the most southern beach area in Washington.
Ofcourse on arrival...saw the sun was gone replaced by cooler marine air. While it was in the 80s at home I had 5 days on the beach in the 60s, with solid cloud cover and mist. lol

My plan was some long awaited landscapes as birds have consummed much of my time. Weather just did not permit. So I caught a few birds and on the last full day I went to the Rodeo.

So I will start with a couple random rodeo shots. There are many, so let me know if I should post more. Sorry.....you know the bulls are always last! I will catch up with everyones posts over the next few days.









These last two images are of steer wrestling. There is a guide horse and rider and a wrestling horse and rider. The guide keeps the doggie/young steer in position while the second rider jumps from horse to horn and wrestles the steer to ground.

[Mike Buckley]

Very nice set, Paul! The last two probably require an understanding of what is supposed to be happening to fully appreciate them. For people who don't know about the various rodeo activities, perhaps a little text would be helpful.

I especially like the first one of the horses, as it's just absolutely superb. However, consider getting rid of the horse's eye that is displayed in the extreme top left corner.

Thanks for sharing and looking forward to more of your rodeo shots.

[ronlane]

Paul, those are really good. My favorite would have to be the calf roping picture but they are all really good. What body and glass were you using? settings?

[jeeperman]

Thank you Mike. I will go back and edit in an explanation for at least the last two. As for the eye in the first image, yes I have another where I removed it. I am still thinking on whether or not I like it as much. Although I agree it is slightly distracting....when removed...so is the light colored corner. I may have to crop it.

[jprzybyla]

Nice series Paul, it displays what a versatile photographer you are.

[dje]

Nice set Paul. I like the candidness of No 2 where the horse appears to be in control !!

Dave

[jeeperman]

Thank you Ron, I shoot a Sony A77 and had my 70-400mm on but rarely went past 300mm. I used ISO 200 between f7-f11 and between 1/800-1200sec or there about. I will next post the barrel racing where I stayed below 220mm.

[jeeperman]

Thank you Dave. The horse was surely in control. Later I will post some bulls......now they are really in control!

[jeeperman]

Thank you Joe. I look forward to showing the rest....I think they get better as I go. These are being posted in the order of the day and it was my first rodeo shoot. I had a bit of adjustment going on, but had a blast.

[Geoff F]

Very good action there, Paul. Sharp and shot against a difficult background with a lot of bright whites which could easily have given trouble with exposure.

[jeeperman]

Thanks Geoff, you are right....the fence and the tops of the trailers wanted to blow out fast and easy. Not perfect conditions but doable.

[ucci]

All brilliant shots to me. But if really pushed, for a variety of reasons, I have to opt for #3, but only by the narrowest of margins.
Please, Sir, can I have some more?

[jeeperman]

Thanks Ken, and yes you may....I have posted to more rodeo threads.

[ggt]

These horses are awesome! You really captured them! I had the privilege of riding a rodeo horse on a trail ride once --with it's owner just a head --I called it the Rolls Royce of Horses. Way out of my league. You pics really show how horse and rider work together. Just amazing shots!

[jeeperman]

Thank you Gretchen, they surely do work in harmony. I think it is seen best in the barrel racing.

[Bobobird]

Great set Paul. I like them all.

#2 - you took that angle deliberately eh?

[FrankMi]

An outstanding set of images Paul.

What amazes me is the extreme amounts of detail you've been able to capture of such fast action coupled with fantastic composition and still retain control over the technical aspects of the images. My guess is that you really understand the camera controls and get a lot of practice perfecting your shooting technique. These images wouldn't be possible if you had to stop and think about how to change the camera setting configuration.

It is images like these that convince me that knowing your camera and shooting technique extremely well is far more valuable than having a more expensive camera that you shoot occasionally.

How would you describe the process you used to get your technique to the point where you can so consistently produce images of this quality under such difficult shooting conditions?

[jeeperman]

Thanks Bobo, yes it was deliberate. Most shots I was standing but some I got down on the ground to take. This was from about a foot above the ground. I had him all framed up nicely but had to rotate the image a little and it pushed his chaps past the edge a bit. Tough to always get it straight when you are uncomfortable.

[jeeperman]

Thanks Frank, my process started a couple hours before the rodeo. I got there early to scout the scene, learn where the sun would be when if it came out. I met a photographer that has been one of the rodeos main contributors for some 30 yrs and questioned him on everything.

I then found a couple locations to choose from, once set, I practice shooting the people practicing in the areana. This gave me a good base from which to start. Due to this I had only small minor adjustments on occasion. Knowing the camera makes these minor adjustments an easy thing to do, ussually with the camera still against my eye. If you have to drop it and look through the menu or have to try and rememder what dial does what you will miss some good shots.

I think that my bird chasing has forced me to be ready for anything and to put myself in the best possible location and plan out ahead for the possabilities. It is becoming more and more natural.