The Notion of Motion
Just 7 seconds left to go...ride 'em cowboy.
Just 7 seconds left to go...ride 'em cowboy.
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Mar, 2019Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo at a rodeo in Payson, Arizona. This of course was the 'saddle broc' portion of the rodeo.Time
It was early on a hot August afternoon in Payson, Arizona. Even though Payson is in the mountains, the sun was intense.Lighting
I chose to attend the afternoon rodeo because of the day light. I found night rodeos very difficult to capture because the horse and rider come in and out of shadow so quickly.The sun was so bright I used my view finder. I suspect the live view mode would have been very difficult to see.Equipment
I have a Nikon D7200 camera. I usually use a Nkkor 24-120 mm lens but since I was in a large arena I used a my Nikkor 55-300 mm instead. Because it was early in the afternoon I was using the "sunny 16"rule.I was in aperture priority so I really don't know what the shutter speed was, but it was pretty fast. I had the ISO at 100.Inspiration
While a bareback rider has a rigging to hold onto, the saddle bronc rider has only a thick rein attached to his horse's halter (note the picture) Using one hand, the cowboy tries to stay securely seated in his saddle. If he touches any part of the horse or his own body with his free hand, he is disqualified.Editing
I was across the arena from the rider so I cropped him and added some additional motion blur. This added to the feeling of motion and highlighted the rider even more.In my camera bag
I have a Nikon D7200 camera. I prefer use a Nkkor 24-120 mm lens. I usually pack my Nikkor 55-300 mm for distance shots, and my 18-35 mm for close ups. Since rides take place in seconds and in 'bleacher stands' a tripod would be pretty much useless.Feedback
Judges score the horse's bucking action, the cowboy's control of the horse and the cowboy's spurring action. While striving to keep his toes turned outward, the rider spurs from the points of the horse's shoulders to the back of the saddle. Try to capture these behaviors. Remember of course, one only has eight seconds (at best) to capture them so I found it helpful to back focus on the gate and shoot the action when the gate opens as the focal point will change in milliseconds.
