This weeks task was to explore shooting for sports. I was originally going to shoot mountain bike riding, but I couldn’t get access to my friend that goes riding. He is too busy and not going out for a while. So, I chose dog sport.
Research:
These images are successful because the crucial part of the action has been captured by the photographer; the eager faces and eyes of the huskies pulling the sled, the agility of the border collie balancing with it’s trainer with the frisbee, and the utter elation of the sweet brown dog leaping into the water. To achieve this the photographer must have used a fast shutter speed to freeze the dogs in motion. Also, on most of them it appears a long lens has been used, because there is large amounts of blurred out background that had to be taken at a far distance. Equipment that may have been used was probably a tripod, long lens, maybe a speedlite. They would have been quick to get the action, and anticipating just before it was about to happen, and probably using continuous drive mode to try and capture the full range of motion and not miss any shots.
My shots:
ISO 320 | f/5.6 | 1/800
ISO 3200 | f/5.6 | 1/800
ISO 2000 | f/5 | 1/640
ISO 100 | f/4 | 1/320
What I learnt from this task:
In being prepared for taking these kind of photos it was important to remember that the animals move fast. To capture any kind of action without blur, a fast shutter speed was needed, and sometimes depending on time of day and the weather, a high ISO was needed. A longer lens would have been great to get even closer in to the action, but a tripod would just not have been helpful because the dogs just run around and move too quickly. I needed to be agile and follow them with speed.
Jes Johnson 