Faces in a crowd - pics

[Wavy C]

Went over a local race course (Down Royal) yesterday evening and took my camera to get some pics.

There were a lot of people around watching the racing, and some great expressions as they inwardly urged on the horses they'd backed...

[Wavy C]

As I was pointing my camera at someone else in the background, this attractive young lady wandered into the frame. She looked a bit sad about something, but I quickly refocused and grabbed a shot...

[Dragonfli Spirit]

I can't see the second shot :(

[Wavy C]

Of course there were lots of grooms leading horses around. This was a flat race, so very fast and valuable thoroughbred horses...

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The bookies were having a field day...

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Punters checked the odds on the bookies' boards, in the race programme, before placing their bets...

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There were even a few unlikely looking jockeys wandering about (promotion girls)...

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Some people just went to enjoy a glass of wine...

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Down at the paddock, you can get a chance to check out your horse before the race begins...

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It's also where racehorse owners discuss tactics with jockeys...

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And where racing experts gather to discuss likely winners...

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The race gets underway...

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A lot of money changes hands at these events (one bookie told me that bets of £1,000 were not uncommon)...

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So it pays to keep a close eye on the runners...

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There are plenty of delighted people who have backed the right horse when the winner crosses the line...

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But even more are disappointed with the result...

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As I was wandering around, I came across these guys called the Bootleg Beatles. They were playing a concert after the racing ended. I took a pic and promised to email them a copy for their website.

[Wavy C]

Just one more shot for now, of the racing...

[shniks]

Wonderful captures, and what a fantatic series, they really tell a story! Great composition in all of them too. I have to say you have been a bit too aggressive with the shadows/highlight tool, it makes the photos look a bit unnatural. But other than that I love them!

[troutbreath]

Great shots. They really tell the story.

I'm really impressed with the lighting and the colors. Care to share your gear/setting?

[dmp-potn]

Hello,

a very nice sequence. May I ask which lens you were using?

[JenzZx2]

Great series! I really enjoyed it!

[35mm]

I think they are all very nice shots. Specially the second one. Beautiful subject, great lighting, and therefore good colour

[Wavy C]

Wonderful captures, and what a fantatic series, they really tell a story! Great composition in all of them too. I have to say you have been a bit too aggressive with the shadows/highlight tool, it makes the photos look a bit unnatural. But other than that I love them!

Thanks! I ran these through pretty quickly, and looking again now agree that some of them might have ended up lighter than I'd really intended. I guess I should try and do the editing in daylight rather than late evening, lol.

[stupot]

some great shots here. a few too many to attach though... got a feeling this post is gonna get edited - you're only sposed to attach 2 per thread.

[Wavy C]

Great shots. They really tell the story.

I'm really impressed with the lighting and the colors. Care to share your gear/setting?

Hi Troutbreath - thanks for replying. I was using my 20D camera for these shots. Used my canon 70-200 f4 for the pictures of the horses racing, and some of the people shots. For the rest of the people pictures I used a tamron 28-70.

The shorter lens was a definitely a lot easier to handle and less noticeable in the crowd.

[Wavy C]

Hello,

a very nice sequence. May I ask which lens you were using?

Thanks David! Answered your question in the post above.

[Wavy C]

Jen, 35mm and Stupot - Thanks for your comments :)

Stupot - ooops, didn't realise the thing about the limit on attachments. I've tried to keep the file sizes small though, so hopefully won't create too many problems.