For my final assignment I have decided to shoot a day at the races. To prepare for this I have decided to have a trial run at wetherby races for an evening meeting. This will allow me to practice technique's I will need for the shoot at York and also give me an idea of what to capture, settings/lenses/equipment needed for York.
One of the re-occurring things that I have learnt throughout this course so far is that preparation is the key. So by doing a trial run will give me the best opportunity to get the pictures I want/need first time.
Wetherby Races
I arrived early at the race course to give myself plenty of time to look around and find the best vantage points for all possible photos. Unfortunately the weather is the worst it has been for several weeks and I will have to take that into consideration.
Some good shots are to be had in and around the parade ring/winners enclosure with some clear unobstructed views. At the side of the race course there are large white safety barriers obscuring some of the views of the course.
I Position myself track side and fix my camera on the jump. The first batch of photos are OK to start with but need to change my technique.
For the second race I position my in the stand and use a 55-300mm lens to get close to the action.
The next sequence of shots I use a panning technique which produce some much better results.
The trip has proved valuable for gaining experience of where to be for the action shots what settings work best and what technique to adopt for various shots.
