PRO+

kennyhimes

Pegasus

Flying at full speed this is one amazing team.

Flying at full speed this is one amazing team.
Read less

NIKON D100

settings

Aperture f/6.3 ISO 400 Shutter 10/6400 Focal Length 2000/10

upload_date

Aug, 2020

Views

547

Likes

+40

Awards

Winner in Horse action Photo Challenge

Peer Award

+23

Magnificent Capture

Top Choice

$kazimierzfrackowski$ +1

Absolute Masterpiece

Superb Composition

Outstanding Creativity

Superior Skill

Emotions

Impressed

Top Ranks

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 30 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 30 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken during a competition at Foxwood Farms in Alabama USA

Time

Fairly early in the day, I'd say mid morning around 9:30 as the jumpers were coming on the course in sequence.

Lighting

The natural lighting of mid morning on a heavily wooded course is really evenly distributed and shows well on trees, branches, horse and rider.

Equipment

This picture was taken with one of my all time favorites, my older Nikon D100 with a Nikkor f2.8 80-200 AF-D zoom telephoto attached to a Manfrotto monopod for stability. The fast glass is a must to capture the horse and rider as they clear the jump at speeds that can reach 20 to 30mph.

Inspiration

The jumps are higher and the horses are faster in this advanced level competition. I'd been practicing for a long while at various events taking pictures of different horses and riders at various levels of difficulty. This young, talented rider has been winning against competitors much older than her and she had mostly been a blur. I was so excited to capture her and her blazing fast horse right at the apex of the jump. Additionally, the legs are tucked just right and the horses ears are up...all a desirable result. The rider is already focused on the path to the next jump. She was thrilled with the picture as was her trainer who will often use my photos to assist with coaching.

Editing

All I really did here was some cropping. This was one of those rare moments when everything was just tack sharp and the timing on the shot was perfect.

In my camera bag

I have a collection of Nikons that include a D100, D200, D300 and a D7500. Too many lenses to list and I usually select what I need based on the type of shoot I'm headed to. Here, I had my full assortment of f2.8 lenses that included a wide angle, a portrait and a zoom telephoto. I also carry a Lumix DC-ZS70 point and shoot in my vest for times when I may not have time to swap out big lenses.

Feedback

Practice. Take as many frames per second on a burst as you can and anticipate the arrival of the horse ahead of the jump. If you wait until you see it you're too late. I actually shoot with both eyes. I use my left eye to see when the horse is starting to leave the ground and my right eye to keep the targeted arrival area in the frame. An f2.8 constant on your lenses is a must. Anything f4 or above will be less sharp and tend to blur. If there is a training stable or facility in your area go practice with the riders and develop a feel for your equipment and sense of timing the speed of the horse to the jump to the apex and you'll get there!

See more amazing photos, follow kennyhimes

kennyhimes

kennyhimes

Pegasus

Flying at full speed this is one amazing team.

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow kennyhimes

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes. Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.