hard turn (horse)

I'm usually in a hurry when I PP & load 400 or so shots from the shows. Now that I had some time to browse, I just noticed this hard turn - that the rider's foot was hitting the dirt. (cropped tight to show) . It's also an example of the horse's head moving out of my spot focus. .. do you think shooting for more dof would help? (I often end up with the focus point at the horse's chest or on the rider) .. anyway.. any cc is welcome

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What amazes me about this shot is that while the horse is clearly exerting a huge amount of force and energy to make the turn, the rider appears as if he is on a slow, ambling walk through the woods...he looks so calm! I would have expected to see him leaning into the turn as well!

LOL.. yeah, I know what you mean. .. Being relaxed is a good thing though. When you tense up, it shifts your weight up into your shoulders - away from your pelvis pivot point. If he were to anticipate the turn & lean toward the cow as it turned, (they call that "riding the cow") it would make the horse have to work harder to push the rider's weight back up to center.. which would slow the horse down & put him behind the cow. (not good) ... anyway, it's exhilirating .. and as calm as he looks, I'd guess his heart was a pumpin'. .. LOL .. but yes, it's not always easy to stay centered & relaxed.

Ok. Ive got be honest. The shot doesnt really work for me but WOW!...The moment is just amazing. How in the world does a horse do that? And how does that rider look like nothings going on!?

I understand that horses don't ring everyones' chimes.. At these events, the riders usually want a shot or two of their horses working. (I shot 105 riders that day). The rider's job is primarily to not interfere while the horse holds the cow away from the herd. So what you're seeing is mostly animal to animal reaction. The horse knows his job.. and is basically a trained athlete. .. so it can get pretty active. (yeah, I love it.. I think they're pretty amazing .. heh heh) glad you enjoyed the *moment*.

Brrrrapt! that horse is insane. The guy being completly motionless makes it really hard to take in what the horse is actually doing.

any lower and he'll hit his foot on the ground!

That's amazing. If you cover up the bottom 2/3 of the image with your hand, you'd never guess that guy was on a horse, let alone a horse pulling a turn like that.

Great shot ! If that horse was in the ground any more the cutters foot would be draging. I see you shot at 6.3 ,did that work better for you?

Thanks.. I'm going to try f8 at the next show... and try even harder to keep the AF spot on the horse's head. The dof includes the rider to the back of the saddle.. so I think maybe my focus spot was an inch too far to the left. Maybe, once I hone my 'aiming' skills, I'll be able to go back to f5.6. I don't really want the herd in focus w/f8.. but if that's what it takes for awhile to get both horse & rider sharp, I'll see if it's a solution until I aim better. (hey.. I'm a great shot with a rifle.. I ought to be able to do it with a camera!! ha!) ... look closely.. his heel was kicking up sand.. LOL.

I'm having a hard time believing this is a true shot. No wrinkles in the shirt...no emotion on the riders face...no leaning with the horse...no muscles tensed up in the rider...just doesn't seem real to me. If it is real, the rider ruins the great shot of the horse.

I don't think it is faked. Most of those well bred cutting horses tend to be on the short side and this one looks like he has a big rider on him is all. As for the rider, he's obviously good and he's in the correct position. If he were to be leaning with the horse or opposite the horse he'd be messing up the horse's movement and throwing him off. Looks like he's doing it all good to me. If you want to see movement in the rider, look at his chaps, the fringe is swaying. Just cause the rider's body is steady doesn't mean its fake, it just means he's a decent rider. He SHOULD be as still as possible. A GOOD cutting horse should be doing all the work and making the decisions all on his own thanks to his training and very powerful instincts once he's on the cow.

Wow that is a great shot! It is really cool to see the horse so leaned over.

Are you sure that your depth of field is the issue? It could be a little motion blur as the horses head is moving faster to the left then the riders body? it seems like the fence in the background and the cow's butt in the forground are pretty much in focus?

LOL.. it's real, Brad. Read some of my comments above about why the riders need to *make* themselves stay relaxed. .. here are some images of his ride : http://shootmypix.com/​p425367650/?photo=9600​32415

.. and here is what can happen when you tense up : http://shootmypix.com/​p292475672/?photo=3317​39034

Very interesting moment to capture - just love the way he looks so casual.

I have seen these in action alot growing up and was always amazed at how "at ease" the rider was, but to see it like this is really amazing!