Barrel Racing

Scottwdw

Scottwdw

Member
Here's some more horsing around for Tim. Was able to catch and get close to the New York State Barrel Racing championships held last weekend when I attended the NY State Fair here in Syracuse. I didn't want to flash riders in the face so I snapped on my 50mm f/1.8 and got a reasonable shutter speed of 1/125th in very poor lighting. Looking at the image data, I think I could have gone up to 1/250th but I kind of like how these came out. The panning I learned at the dragstrip earlier this month came in handy, too! Some of these are cropped from the original.

Not one horse lost it's balance. There was 41 competitors. I think the still image captures the agility of the horse and rider more so than a video, IMO.

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After rounding all three barrels, this cowgirl knew she had a good time going as she raced to break the timing beam at full gallop.

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Sometimes they cut it a little to close. A knocked down barrel was a disqualification.

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Rider setting up to go around the second barrel of three.

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The slowest times were in the 17 second range. The winning time was 15.123 seconds. I have a gallery of all 68 pictures that made the cut :) here: http://scottwdw.smugmug.com/gallery/337 ... 514#P-1-15
 
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couldn't have said it better HW. That first one is awesome! Nice panning on the second one too.
 
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Thanks guys! I'll be heading to the Fair a few more times. Always something fun to photograph. Lots of events, demonstrations and exhibits. Not to mention thousands of people who make it such a colorful event.
 
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that is fine work, esp #1, you got the essence of the sport right there,
my wife's horse is a former barrel racer, the first time she went to cut a sharp corner with him she got quite a surprise
 
"gary" said:
that is fine work, esp #1, you got the essence of the sport right there,
my wife's horse is a former barrel racer, the first time she went to cut a sharp corner with him she got quite a surprise
Click to expand...

;D I bet she did, Gary!!!! I love that first image, too. That was the most extreme angle I caught. Due to the lens being wide open, the depth of field makes the horse's head soft. I would have loved to set up a couple of remote flashes but did not come prepared. Maybe next year I'll see if that is something they wouldn't mind me doing.
 
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