Most of the photography I do is of horses. They are moving subjects and often at the other end of an arena. For horse shows I use a very long lens 250-600 mm mounted on a mono-pod. So I can get close with that but often it may have too much other stuff in the background distracting from the horse or the rider. So I want to 86 ( get rid of) some of the background or foreground. This week Patti had given us the challenge of “cropping the shot”. Here is my take on it.
This photo was taken at the end of British rider Carl Hester’s ride at the World Equestrian Games 2018. The whole stadium was on its feet cheering not just for this ride but for his whole career of amazing horsemanship. I wanted to focus on him.
Another occasion where I wanted to focus on the rider was the end of Isabel Werth’s ride on Bella Rose , also at the 2018 WEG. Isabel had never given up on this mare during four years of injury and unsoundness. I imagine Isabel must have put her foot down with the German selection committee and insisted on riding the mare. Isabel is the top ranked dressage rider in the world and she was right to insist on this mare. They helped Germany to a Team Gold Medal and Isabel won the individual gold medal. At the end of her Grand Prix test emotion got the better of Isabel as she looked toward the cheering crowd and I was in right spot to capture that moment. I cropped the shot to show this moment better.
Horses are always on the move just like other athletes . As I am a rider myself it helps me as I understand the rhythm and tempo of horse’s gaits. A good photo of the trot is when the front leg is extended. So the second before that moment is the time to click. Here is Charlotte Dujardin on Mt.St. John Freestyle. I cropped out some of the arena fencing.
Thank you Patti for this challenge. It was fun to look back at some of these shots before and after cropping.
HorseAddict 
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