Re: A Lesson Learned...

David:
Nice action shot - there's a sense of wild abandon on the part of the rider, and the tilt of the horse plus dirt thrown by its hooves says 'motion!' without a pan blur.
In years of photographing pro mountain bike races, I always use a filter over the front element. Only cracked one filter, over an 80-200mm f/2.8 ED-IF Nikkor lens. Would have been an expensive re-coating or element replacement.
If I'm shooting into the sun, I'll take 'em off. Otherwise, they stay on, even if it's just wildlife. And you can't get filters big enough to cover 500mm f/4L IS or 400mm f/4 DO IS front elements, so I always use hoods. They're good protection against anything but a direct hit. I like getting close, even with long lenses, so a direct hit is still a possibility...
Ans I'll bet the rodeo work prepares you for wildlife action. I find similarities between shooting dual slalom and birds in flight. In both cases, you can't direct the action, and you can't ask 'em to do it over again! 

Mark Bohrer
Mountain and Desert Photography
www.mountain-and-desert.com


David Young wrote:

A lesson learned:
I cannot imagine two fields of photography so different than wildlife and rodeo work.
One involves hours of peaceful meandering through the woods, while the other involves fresh action every couple of minutes, with loudspeakers blaring in your ears the entire time!
Moreover, hiking in the woods can be dangerous to your body - should you trip or meet a bear. Rodeo work is far more dangerous to your equipment.
There has been a lot of debate, over the years, as to the wisdom of using UV filters over your lenses. Some feel that they are good protection. Others say that "If Solms/Wetzlar had intended us to use filters, they would have built them in to the lenses". Such folks feel that filters degrade the image. And, indeed they may. I don't know.
However, all my life, I have used clear filters simply to protect my glass. But, the filters for my newest lenses are still in transit.
Last Sunday I was crouched down, in one of the bucking chutes, just 3 meters (10 feet) from the barrel, in order to get a good angle on the barrel racers. You'll notice, in this next barrel racing shot that the horses often throw up a lot of dirt and stones, as they make the high speed turn.
In all the years I've done this sort of thing, I have never had a problem ... although I've been sprayed with a lot of dirt/mud. This time, one horse threw up such a barrage of dirt and stones, that I could not take a photo, but had to duck away to protect myself ! However, when I looked, afterwards, I found a stone had put a tiny pit in the center of the front element of my nice, new, zoom lens! It won't affect the images, but it will drop many hundreds of dollars off the value of the lens, when/if I go to re-sell it!
So, a word to the wise... if you're going to do "dangerous work".... use a filter ... no matter what the anti-filter folks will tell you!
This shot was the first taken with the newly chipped, and subsequently cleaned, lens... 

http://www.furnfeather.net/Temps/barrel-2.htm
You'll note the odd expression on the rider's face. She is "chirping" to her horse... making little chirping sounds with her lips. It is an alternative way to encourage a horse to do what you wish, when you wish it. 

Comments, criticism welcomed, as always.

Cheers!

---

David Young,
Logan Lake, CANADA

Limited Edition Prints at: www.furnfeather.net
Personal Web-site at: www.main.furnfeather.net
Stock Photography at: http://tinyurl.com/2amll4




--
Mark Bohrer


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