Horses and riders and mallets, Oh My!

[rpcrowe]

Most of my usual polo shots have been of one or two riders going fast after the ball. I thought that this mass confrontation was in interesting break from the shots of one or two riders. I like that the mallets seem to be situated like the hands of a clock...



You can see how, despite the protective helmets and face masks how the polo players can sometimes sustain injuries. This is an integrated sport. Females and males were playing on both teams...

Canon 7D, 300mm f/4L IS, ISO 320, f/4 at 1/3,200 second. I shot with ISO 320 because the clouds were intermittently obscuring the sun and I know that I can get decent quality at that ISO.

I'll post more as they are processed...

[Brownbear]

Oh, my your horse photos are beautiful...

Gorgeous image!

[Shadowman]

Very nice, tight composition.

[nimitzbenedicto]

Yes. round the clock mallets. Anticipation/timing is spot on.

[Donald]

Excellent picture, Richard. As you suggest, the composition in terms of the positioning of the mallets, makes it. It's the same effect as a vignette - It takes the attention right into the centre and the main subjects.

[rpcrowe]

Donald...
I have been using the "Darken-Lighten Center" filter available in the NIK Color Effex Pro group to darken the edges of an image. This is "almost"like a vignette but, is a bit more subtle...

Victor...
You neglect to mention "quite a bit of luck" in the positioning of the mallets and the riders. I was shooting in high speed burst mode with my 7D. There is a slight problem for me with the high speed burst mode. Although it enables me to shoot more images in a shorter time, I seem to be able to "see" what I am shooting in the viewfinder a bit better when I am shooting in the slower burst mode. Here is another shot from that burst in which the rider at the image right is not positioned quite as well as she was in the first image...



I was lazy during the shoot yesterday. First off, I brought only one camera and one lens; my 300mm f/4L IS. I should have also brought my 70-200mm f/4L IS lens because 300mm was a bit too long in many situations; especially when the subjects were closer to my shooting position. I think that the 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS lens would have been ideal in this situation but, I don't own one. Some fellow club members were shooting with the Nikon 80-400mm VR lens and I and looking forward to seeing their results....

Finally, my photo group had reserved front row tables, mid-field with umbrellas to shade us from the sun. I would have been in a better position if I had moved my shooting position down closer to the goals but, there was no place to sit and no shade. The sun was in and out during the day but when it was shining, it was pretty darn bright. I have been battling skin cancer and try to limit my time in the sun - even with the use of sun screen.

Today, I am going out to find a light-weight folding chair that incorporates an umbrella. That way, I can place myself virtually anywhere and have a place in the shade to sit and shoot.

[Brownbear]

Thank you for sharing the details of your photo Richard. I'm trying to learn to photograph horses so this is helpful reading for me

All my best wishes to you to win your battle, and for good health!

[rpcrowe]

Christina, I think that horses look best when they are moving and in a 3/4 view...

[Brownbear]

Thank you Richard,

Christina, I think that horses look best when they are moving and in a 3/4 view...

[rpcrowe]

[Brownbear]

Another beautiful and wonderfully sharp image. I like how you blurred out the busy background. Thanks for sharing.