kenross
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at Keeneland race track near Lexington Kentucky, USA, during some morning warmup runs. Standing near one of the curves in the track, I was struck by the speed and power of horse and jokey as they flew past, lap after lap.Time
This was taken around 9am not long after the morning mist had lifted, and the sun had cleared the trees around the track.Lighting
This was taken with natural light with the sun still low in the morning sky and the overcast clouds providing a soft light for our speeding subjects.Equipment
This was shot with a Canon 7D using an EF 70-200 f/2.8 L lens, zoomed in to about 125mm with an aperture of f/7.1.Inspiration
My friends and I had been on a "photo safari" around the Kentucky "bourbon trail", visiting distilleries and other areas of interest. Keeneland had been one of our most anticipated non-distillery stops due to the open and photographer-friendly environment. Without special arrangements, we were able to wonder the paddock area and stand right next to the railing next to the track. While in the paddocks we met some of the jockeys who were getting ready for a morning warmup session and so we hurried over to the track area to catch the action. We knew these morning sessions would be far less crowded and more relaxed for us to practice this kind of subject.Editing
For me this image was all about the textures, focus and power of movement in this moment. For that reason, I converted the image to black & white so the colors wouldn't be distracting, and then boosted Contrast, Clarity, and some additional micro-contrast adjustments to really bring out the details in the horse and rider.In my camera bag
I'll often carry two camera bodies with me on an extended trip: a crop sensor like the Canon 7D for sports/wildlife and a full frame like the Canon R for landscape and portraits. Lenses will include the EF16-35L, EF24-105L, EF70-200L, EF100-400L and often my EF100mm macro and maybe a Lens Baby just for fun. Of course, I'll also have a circular polarizer and a variety of ND filters, a remote trigger/intervalometer, spare batteries, memory cards and my trusty Manfrotto tripod.Feedback
The real trick to capturing an image like this where you subject is in motion *and* the motion itself is part of the story, is to use a relatively slow shutter speed and pan your camera along with your subject. In this case, I'm using an aperture of f/7.1 at 1/80sec and ISO 160 - you would thing that would be way to slow to avoid a blurry subject. However, if you lock focus on your subject (e.g. 1/2 button press) and then follow them with your camera, panning along to keep them in your frame, and when the moment is right, press the button the rest of the way to capture the image, you'll get a sharp image. Rather than a high shutter speed that would freeze all the motion (appropriate for non-race sports), this technique allows motion to be enhanced while still capturing a sharp image of your main subject. Practice it at home taking photos of passing cars or bicycles so that you're ready when you have an opportunity to capture some really dynamic action images.