Break the Rules

I am enjoying learning about equine photography and my goal today was to take shots I'm not comfortable with, perhaps shots that break the rules.  With both dogs and horses, I like photographing jumps from the side or coming towards me.  This past week, I was part of an online conversation about riders who have "jumper faces" meaning that the rider is grimacing or has their face in an otherwise unflattering position.  I've noticed with some of the riders that I photographed multiple time, there are some who really do have "signature" facial moves.  The conversation went on to suggest a shot like this with the rider is somewhat visible but no direct face view.  I had a lot of fun trying different jumps from this view and while most went right into the bin, there are a few I will keep, among them this one.  This doesn't have a crop and it was shot at about 250 mm.  

Another thing I wanted to try today was panning at very low shutter speeds.  The idea is to maintain focus on the horse's eye, much harder than it sounds, at least for me.  I will put what I think was my most successful motion blur shot in Extra and would love any feedback.  It was shot at 1/80, F8, ISO 180, Exposure Comp +1, focal length 70.  It was fun.

In addition, I wanted to continue working on the best way to photograph animals under full mid day sun.  Some say the answer to this is "don't".  

I am planning to watch a little TV with hubs tonight and will finish editing today's images tomorrow since it's going to be pretty hot outside.  

xoxo
Debbi