Schutzhund under the lights

Hi, first time posting in this forum, hope I did the pix right!

This was my first try at stadium shooting under the lights, and while the "official" photographer for the event had a "white" lens, I was working with my sigma 70-200 2.8. A little less reach than I'd have liked to have and my poor little rebel doesn't do ISO 1600 without protest (noise).

But overall, after 3 nights shooting, I think I managed to capture some reasonable action.

Just a few here, lots more on my site if you want to look.

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Not bad, but use ISO 1600 and the clean it up with a noise reducer like Neat Image or Noise NInja...

You will be surprised at how well they come out!

Look at those dogs bite!

I ran one of the through neat image quickly just in case you wanted to see it.

Those are great shots.....You wouldn't get me volunteering as a chew toy

Nice Malinsquabbles in the first! In that last shot is that a Dutchie?

What exactly is this? Training for attack dogs?

Good call Hooookup, yes the last one is a dutch shepherd, and was a super nice dog to watch in both obedience and protection.

Superdiver, Schutzhund is a three part sport for dog/handler teams, usually the working, herding and guardian breeds. Tracking obedience and protection are all performed and scored depending on the training level of the dog.

For more info about the sport, you can go to http://www.dvgamerica.​com

Funny, I don't get a whole lot of volunteers for the "chewtoy" part for some reason

Great shots of a great sport, Shelly. My only suggestion would be to turn the camera to a horizontal position. They feel a bit tight on the sides to me. As I said, though, great captures!

D

Thanks d'mur.

Several of the shots are definitely tight and shoud probably have been landscapes. I'll try to keep that in mind next time I get an opportunity to shoot my favorite sport. It probably would help the viewer get a better feel for the speed and distance required from these dogs. Thanks again.

Considering the limitations you had with light and ISO, you did a pretty good job. I've shot a number of these events, although they have been outside with lots of light and I was very close most of the time. I could have shot out on the field with the dog and lure, but since most of the time they were testing 3/4th trained dogs (in some cases half trained) I didn't want to take the chance that they would get confused of who the bad guy was... "hmm, over here we have a guy in a padded suit, over there we have a guy without a padded suit...which one should I go tackle?"

If you want to see a bite, watch a Bouvier des Flandres at work. Their jaws are almost look double jointed when they open them for the bite. Very impressive.

Mike

Thanks Mike, really enjoy when there is a day trial or seminar, so much easier to get the shots I want without the low light issue. Of course, overly bright sunshine brings its own set of problems
The official photog at the event these shots were taken, decided on the last dog of the evening to shoot from the oposite sideline from where he'd been all night. Unfortunately for the handler, her dog noticed him and kept doing quick headchecks in his direction. (Maybe I'll stick with my Sigma..no white lens to distract them
Would love to see a Bouvier work sometime. I haven't had that opportunity at the trials/events I've been to so far.

im a huge fan of Schutzhund, especially Dutch Shepherds. IMHO they are the ideal dog for protection and obdience.

There are a number of Bouviers here in the Northwest that are worked in Schutzhund and a number along the East coast. There are some in the Florida area but most of those are weekend warriors and the owners sorta play at it but not real seriously. We have 6 Bouviers but we raise ours for service dog work rather than Schutzhund, so they have to have a different temperment and attitude... although ours wouldn't hesitate to take a bad guy out, they'd just be a bit more polite about it while they knocked you down and sat on you. Several of ours have been tested against guns, sticks and other stressful situations and they stood their ground but still under control.

Here are a couple from the last event I shot:

Hey, that's Ron Maeshell in the 4th, 5th, and 6th photograph. He is a very talented helper and dog trainer. He helped me with my dog a couple of years ago. I am also involved in the sport of schutzhund.

Wish I was there! Thanks for sharing. That is a cool site.