Horseracing pics w/7D Mark II

Just thought I'd share a few pics from my local racetrack.All shot with 7D mark II and 300mm f2.8 II or 70-200mm f2.8 II.
C&C is always welcome.Thanks for looking.

Robert

1.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rzAF​on

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rzuf​4C

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rzuf​Qs

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rS41​e6

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rzug​SC

Great action in #1, good panning in #3.

all are well done

A beautiful set! Great job!

Zivnuska wrote in post #17498438
Great action in #1, good panning in #3.

craig_k wrote in post #17498716
all are well done

butterfly2937 wrote in post #17498718
A beautiful set! Great job!

Thanks everyone!

Cheers,

Robert

A slightly different opinion from horse country. I like all except number three. Panning with a slow shutter speed is necessary to show motion in many action events, not horse racing. The extremities of a running horse are moving much faster than the body. The hoofs in your photo are blurred due to motion. Photo No. 1 at 1/1250 sec. is much sharper than No. 3 at 1/160 sec.

I have friends that are professional horse racing photographers. They do everything possible to get a shutter speed of at least 1/1000 sec. when photographing running horses.

Background at race tracks is often blurred due to shallow DOF from fast lenses wide open. Shadows are a nightmare for everyone. The sun won't stay in the right place. The Kentucky Derby is awful with the background still in bright light and the track in dark shadows from the grandstand. Tracks racing at night with artificial lighting are usually terrible to almost impossible for photography.

Overall: Beautiful photos.

Nice shots...

Craign wrote in post #17499242
A slightly different opinion from horse country. I like all except number three. Panning with a slow shutter speed is necessary to show motion in many action events, not horse racing. The extremities of a running horse are moving much faster than the body. The hoofs in your photo are blurred due to motion. Photo No. 1 at 1/1250 sec. is much sharper than No. 3 at 1/160 sec.

I have friends that are professional horse racing photographers. They do everything possible to get a shutter speed of at least 1/1000 sec. when photographing running horses.

Background at race tracks is often blurred due to shallow DOF from fast lenses wide open. Shadows are a nightmare for everyone. The sun won't stay in the right place. The Kentucky Derby is awful with the background still in bright light and the track in dark shadows from the grandstand. Tracks racing at night with artificial lighting are usually terrible to almost impossible for photography.

Overall: Beautiful photos.

Nothing wrong with panning at all in horse racing. If the top guys (search Getty & AP Photo coverage) implement it, then it must offer something to the images. Search for the work of Al Bello specifically. He's a mind-blowing photographer and makes fantastic use of motion blur, even in horse racing.

Craign wrote in post #17499242
A slightly different opinion from horse country. I like all except number three. Panning with a slow shutter speed is necessary to show motion in many action events, not horse racing. The extremities of a running horse are moving much faster than the body. The hoofs in your photo are blurred due to motion. Photo No. 1 at 1/1250 sec. is much sharper than No. 3 at 1/160 sec.

I have friends that are professional horse racing photographers. They do everything possible to get a shutter speed of at least 1/1000 sec. when photographing running horses.

Background at race tracks is often blurred due to shallow DOF from fast lenses wide open. Shadows are a nightmare for everyone. The sun won't stay in the right place. The Kentucky Derby is awful with the background still in bright light and the track in dark shadows from the grandstand. Tracks racing at night with artificial lighting are usually terrible to almost impossible for photography.

Overall: Beautiful photos.

Thanks Craig for the feedback.I agree with you to an extent.I do shoot the majority of my horseracing photos with fast shutterspeeds.I think the fast shutterspeeds really show off the musculature of the horse.The mane and tail flapping in the wind and the pose of the jockey and horse are more than enough to convey speed and motion.

At the same time though.I try to shoot with a variety of focal lengths and shutterspeeds for more variety.Although it may not be everyone's cup of tea,I kinda like some of the panning shots with slower shutterspeeds.

I appreciate you taking time to comment.I am open to all feedback.

stlprk wrote in post #17499249
Nice shots...

abruckse wrote in post #17499798
Nothing wrong with panning at all in horse racing. If the top guys (search Getty & AP Photo coverage) implement it, then it must offer something to the images. Search for the work of Al Bello specifically. He's a mind-blowing photographer and makes fantastic use of motion blur, even in horse racing.

Thanks Kumar and Andrew as well for your comments.

Cheers,

Robert

Robert, I should probably leave well enough alone except I can't sleep tonight, so here goes. Andrew mentioned one of the top sports photographers in the world. He is in a class by himself with the rest of us unworthy to carry his gear.

Blurring a horse is really tricky. It is hard to get the correct combination of location, shutter speed and focal length yielding a good artistic shot and not just a blurred animal. My few attempts to pan at a slow shutter speed resulted in shots that look like photos that are out of focus. I might try again this spring/summer if I am at a track someday when I don't have any special interest in horses running that day.

I get to try my 7D M2 this weekend at Keeneland. Rain on Friday and a standing room only crowd on Saturday will create problems finding a location with a good view.

Craign wrote in post #17500170
Robert, I should probably leave well enough alone except I can't sleep tonight, so here goes. Andrew mentioned one of the top sports photographers in the world. He is in a class by himself with the rest of us unworthy to carry his gear.

Blurring a horse is really tricky. It is hard to get the correct combination of location, shutter speed and focal length yielding a good artistic shot and not just a blurred animal. My few attempts to pan at a slow shutter speed resulted in shots that look like photos that are out of focus. I might try again this spring/summer if I am at a track someday when I don't have any special interest in horses running that day.

I get to try my 7D M2 this weekend at Keeneland. Rain on Friday and a standing room only crowd on Saturday will create problems finding a location with a good view.

I agree,blurring a horse is a little tricky.I am still trying to find that perfect compromise of nice streaked background without the horses legs and neck turning into a big blur.I've tried from 1/80th of a second to 1/200th of a second.I'm starting to think 1/100th to 1/160th of second might be the best compromise.Of course a lot of other factor come into play also.

I think I'm going to try a very slow SS next time and see how it looks.Maybe 1/60th down to 1/30th of a second.

Keeneland looks like a beautiful track from what I've seen on TV.I would to love check out some of your pics if you feel inclined to share them.Not that many people on POTN post horseracing photos.I am always interested in checking out other photographers work.

Here's a few more examples using slower shutterspeeds.Let me know what you think.

Regards,

Robert
1.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rzCg​9e

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/egYQ​1p

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/eh5z​yh

Below are links to photos showing panning at slow shutter speed. These are far enough from the horses so we don't see parts of the horse sharp and parts blurred. I don't have access to locations at Keeneland or Churchill Downs to get shots like these. I took my ultra wide to the KY Derby one time. I could not get access to any place that worked with that lens. It stayed at 24mm all day. I now take my 24-105mm lens.

http://www.travelchann​el.com …s/worlds-best-horse-races
http://bleacherreport.​com …-horses-in-racing-history

No photo or anything on television can show the true beauty of Keeneland. The natural scenery plus the great crowds has to be experienced to understand. Shooting the races is difficult. The grandstand faces south southwest resulting in strong backlighting most of the afternoon. Nearly all of the credentialed photographers stand behind the inside rail so they have shots with the sun to their backs and the grandstand in the background.

Weather forecast here for Friday is rain all day so I won't be taking my camera. Saturday is forecast to be clear. The feature race is for KY Derby contenders and all reserved seats have been sold. The crowd will be huge causing real problems getting a clear view of the horses.

I will try to post some photos. Past experience has been a disaster. Something seriously wrong happened between my computer and POTN.

Craign wrote in post #17500446
Below are links to photos showing panning at slow shutter speed. These are far enough from the horses so we don't see parts of the horse sharp and parts blurred. I don't have access to locations at Keeneland or Churchill Downs to get shots like these. I took my ultra wide to the KY Derby one time. I could not get access to any place that worked with that lens. It stayed at 24mm all day. I now take my 24-105mm lens.

http://www.travelchann​el.com …s/worlds-best-horse-races
http://bleacherreport.​com …-horses-in-racing-history

No photo or anything on television can show the true beauty of Keeneland. The natural scenery plus the great crowds has to be experienced to understand. Shooting the races is difficult. The grandstand faces south southwest resulting in strong backlighting most of the afternoon. Nearly all of the credentialed photographers stand behind the inside rail so they have shots with the sun to their backs and the grandstand in the background.

Weather forecast here for Friday is rain all day so I won't be taking my camera. Saturday is forecast to be clear. The feature race is for KY Derby contenders and all reserved seats have been sold. The crowd will be huge causing real problems getting a clear view of the horses.

I will try to post some photos. Past experience has been a disaster. Something seriously wrong happened between my computer and POTN.

Thanks for the links.Have fun at the Bluegrass Stakes!

Regards,

Robert

Thanks. Excited and leaving for Lexington in a few minutes. Rain has already started. Looks like a muddy track Saturday.

Panning at slow shutter speed 7D Mark II with Canon 70-300mm L at ISO 200 f/16 and 1/15 sec. This was better than using 1/30 sec. An even slower shutter speed might be better if I could pan with a steady hand which is highly doubtful. An interesting photo but I still like using a fast shutter speed to stop action.

I prefer to indicate motion by stopping action like photo No. 2 at ISO 2000 f/7.1 and 1/1000 sec. Three horses with all 12 hoofs in the air requires a lot of luck.