The best outcome from a bad situation

Afternoon all,
As some of you may know i have had a few bad weeks recently. Due to debt i was forced to sell my beloved 24-70 f2.8 for a measly £270 and my other lens (70-200 f2.8) was dropped by my wife so i was really unhappy. Before all this had happened, i had organised a photoshoot with a few friends and their horses and i thought i would have to cancel.

I had a root around and found my trusty often overlooked and forgotten nifty 50 and i also thought i would try taking my 8mm out too.

Surprised isn't the word for it! I went ahead with the shoot and was amazed with the results!
I have now bought a CPL for the fifty and accidentally splurged on a 50-500 Bigma but i think the fact i have been almost FORCED to use my 50 made me find new angles, new inspiration and a different way of looking at things.

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It's all about breaking the rules sometimes.

Very best,

To be honest i was very happy and quite surprised when i got home and saw what came out of these lenses. The 50mm missed focus a few times but i can live with that. As for the 8mm, The only issues i had were not being used to using manual focus and i was shooting at f8 a lot to get the 'Set and forget' settings for focus and that meant i had to bump the ISO pretty high to get the shutter speeds i wanted in lower light.

urbanfreestyle wrote in post #17708183
To be honest i was very happy and quite surprised when i got home and saw what came out of these lenses. The 50mm missed focus a few times but i can live with that. As for the 8mm, The only issues i had were not being used to using manual focus and i was shooting at f8 a lot to get the 'Set and forget' settings for focus and that meant i had to bump the ISO pretty high to get the shutter speeds i wanted in lower light.

I hear ya. I think it's awesome that you did a horse run shoot with a fisheye. It's not something you see every day, it's a very different perspective and a different look.

Very best,

Thanks! In the last shot i was about about 5 ft away from the actual jump stood in the middle so it was quite scary but i trust the riders (it's just the horses i don't trust haha! I have had some great feedback from the riders and some interesting ideas for next time!!!

nice. great example of it not being all about the gear.

urbanfreestyle wrote in post #17708196
Thanks! In the last shot i was about about 5 ft away from the actual jump stood in the middle so it was quite scary but i trust the riders (it's just the horses i don't trust haha! I have had some great feedback from the riders and some interesting ideas for next time!!!

By the way, just a thought, at 8mm, you probably get infinity depth of field (or at least perceived) easily at F4 (even at 5 feet to subject). Could save you a stop or two of ISO next time if you're really in need of shutter speed on an overcast day.

Very best,

Thanks, I'm glad you get that too! so many times people i know have thought they are 'photographers' but blame their gear.
I admit i run a 1D3 but that is only 10mp and a sub $100 lens i can't complain at all!!!

I'm still very much learning the capabilities of this lens but i will give it a go at f4 and see what results i get

Great shots! Especially considering working outside your comfort zone!

yeah, it was rather interesting!
Thankfully my 70-200 was insured so the money will be going towards a 50 1.4 art i think. Should give even better results!

Beautiful! Now I want a fisheye..

Glad you like! the only thing that i was having to get used to was how close i actually was!
I was about to take a great shot of my wife riding past me (looked like i had a good 2-3ft away) as she rode past, i got kicked in the face.... turns out it was more like inches! lol.

The action in the 2nd image is quite intriguing! I can't help but to imagine what the image would look like if you had been closer and lower.....like, lying on the ground shooting from a prone position aiming up at the horse, from half the distance.

yeah, i have some plans for next time. That was shot on my 8mm so was closer than it looks.
I do want to lay under a jump next time... i know its really risky but will be worth it if i get the shot! lol

urbanfreestyle wrote in post #17709504
yeah, i have some plans for next time. That was shot on my 8mm so was closer than it looks.
I do want to lay under a jump next time... i know its really risky but will be worth it if i get the shot! lol

Get a remote, frame where you want the shot ahead of time, and take the shots while you're safely out of the way. The horse will be less shy about the jump (Most aren't overly keen about jumping on humans or other squishy things that would offer poor footing), and having just your camera kicked in will be a lot cheaper for you than getting your head kicked in.