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Just back from Epsom – here’s some pics from this afternoon.
Joseph O’Brien in the paddock pre-race
Hayley Turner becomes only the second woman to ride in the Derby
The eye of eagles – Camelot in the pre-parade
Camelot in the paddockhttp://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz321/cormack15a/AndrewBaldingsmall.jpg
Bonfire’s trainer Andrew Balding tense as they go down to the starthttp://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz321/cormack15a/Camelotpasssingthepostsmall.jpg
Camelot wins easilyFantastic pictures of Camelot..
Love the shot of his eye in the pre-parade.
Did you get any pics of St. Nicholas Abbey?
Is there any stopping the Ballydoyle team this year, Steven Spielberg will be visiting sometime soon no doubt.
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...I have a few of SNA Jac, I’ll post them tomorrow – too tired at the minte to resize them, etc.
If you look closely at the pic of his eye you can see the grandstand reflecting, I like that picture. But I took hundreds so it is a matter of chance that one will be good!
Very nice photos Cormack. Presumably they’re cropped enlargements from a high-pixel camera rather than through a telephoto lens. Would you be so kind to tell me what camera you used and what the mega-pixel count was, as I intend to retire my antiquated (2006) 5 mega-pixel Panasonic Lumix soon for something of the calibre of yours
Thanks
Drone –
I use a Nikon D3100 which is a more or less entry level Nikon DSLR (soemwhere around £300-£400 depending where you buy it and with what add-ons).
I use a normal Nikon 18-55mm lens (about £80-£100) for standard photos but all the above were taken with Tamron 70-300mm zoom lens (about £130).All the equipment is budget (in DSLR terms) and if you pay more the quality does get better. As an enthusiastic amateur who only really uses the camera for racing and family pics it is fine but I do fancy getting some better gear eventually.
I tend to use the camera on auto mostly but need to get in about it a bit to explore the possibilities. I’ve seen some stunning pics taken with the kit above. The lenses are the main issue. Mine are budget really and they do have limitations. For racing the auto focus on both is a bit slow and it costs me some good shots, obviously in sport the quicker the focus the better.
I don’t do much processing (in photo-editing software) but you can really improve your pictures there. I do crop but try to compose my pics when I take them if I can to avoid losing the image quality by cropping/enlarging too much. That saves pixels.
The pics above of Hayley, Joseph and Andrew Balding were all uncropped, taken at fairly close proximity with the zoom lens.
The Camelot pics were all cropped, the one crossing the line was the one most cropped and you can see that. That shot was also on auto and really you want to be setting teh shutter speed for real action shots wth movement in them like that.
It’s an absorbing hobby and one I wish I had more time to explore.
The Camelot pics were all cropped, the one crossing the line was the one most cropped and you can see that. That shot was also on auto and really you want to be setting the shutter speed for real action shots with movement in them like that.
David does your camera have a "sports" setting?
The "action" shots I took were with a Canon 80-200 zoom but with the camera on "sports" setting – the only thing you do need with that setting is reasonable light because of the fast exposure time.
Here’s mine of Camelot crossing the line
http://www.ostermeyer.co.uk/CamelotSmall.jpg
And here is St Nic going to post
http://www.ostermeyer.co.uk/StNickSmall.jpg
Yes, it does Paul
You’re talking here to a man who when the Queen was two feet in front of him tried to take pictures in vain and thought the camera was broken, only to find it wasn’t switched on.
I have a lot to learn but I WILL use the sports setting next time.
Very nice pictures Cormack, well done.
I’m a keen amateur photographer myself. Despite having lived in Newmarket for almost forty years I’ve only really ever dabbled at the racing pics though. (Most of my stuff is wildlife or angling related.)
I’m going to make a concerted effort to shoot some racing photos in future though. I began making a point of photographing the horses down at the start for the Guineas a couple of years back and it has been good fun. Use a D200 myself.
Yes, it does Paul
You’re talking here to a man who when the Queen was two feet in front of him tried to take pictures in vain and thought the camera was broken, only to find it wasn’t switched on.
I have a lot to learn but I WILL use the sports setting next time.
Happens to all of us David – I had a beautifully framed photo of the Red Devil and the giant Union Flag as he drifted in front of me on the roof of the Queens Stand only to press the shutter and realise it was in "manual" mode and it came out over exposed beyond even Photoshop redemption.
Thank you for that comprehensive reply Cormack, your enthusiasm is very evident
Having spent decades lumping weighty manual-wind SLR’s about and being a not-particularly-enthusiastic photographer, the pocket-sized Compact Digital was a welcome introduction, so don’t think I’ll be going the DSLR route
The reason I was guessing (incorrectly) that your pics were non-zoom cropped enlargements is because I’ve seen the quality of enlargements that 12+ mega-pixel Compacts permit. One of which was a photo of me from about 15 yards, cropped and enlarged to just head and shoulders. Nose hairs, skin blemishes, bloodshot eyes
in high-def as remarkably, in my estimation, there was no loss of sharpness (no pixelation) at allMy present Compact has a ‘sports’ setting and it’s pretty good at capturing sharp images of moving objects such as horses cantering to post, and falling out of starting gates
Editing suites are indeed very useful. I have one called Photo Impression
Awesome photos Corm!
Good to see that you are using a D3100, thats what i bought a few months ago! I have also been thinking about getting the Tamron 70-300mm, looks a good lens!
What a lovely looking colt Camelot is!
The Tamron is good value at the price Gareth. Depends how seriously you plan to take it – most photo manuals will tell you that the glass (i.e. the lens) you put in front of the camera is the vital bit. As I mentioned the Tamron’s main drawback is a slightly slow auto-focus but for the money it is a great buy.
I’ve found the D3100 is fine, I prefer Nikon to Canon as the cameras have a bit more weight about them (or seem to) which I like (having, like Drone, carted about a Nikon SLR for many years carting about the D3100 has a familiar feel to it).
Looks nice David! I have had a look at the Sigma APO 70-300mm lately too, in comparison to the Tamron, they both look nice lenses!
The D3100 is my first DSLR, so im just getting used to it!
FAO Triptych –
Here are a couple of St Nicholas Abbey – I couldn’t get any decent ones in the paddock, some Hooray Henrys in front of me at the time. These are from the winner’s enclosure. I’ve posted lots of other Derby Day pics onto the Racing Forum page on Facebook (just search for The Racing Forum).
http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz321/cormack15a/SNASmall.jpg
http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz321/cormack15a/SNASmall2.jpg
in high-def as remarkably, in my estimation, there was no loss of sharpness (no pixelation) at all
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