morning training gallops at Middleham in Yorkshire. No expert editing cos I ain't no expert! Just cloned out a piece of debris from the preceding horse's hooves that was just in front of the horse's mouth.
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Place: 331 out of 573 Avg (all users): 5.5625 Avg (commenters): 6.2500 Avg (participants): 5.5167 Avg (non-participants): 5.6607 Views since voting: 827 Views during voting: 245 Votes: 176 Comments: 7 Favorites: 0
Compositionally, I think you have the right idea in placing the horse and rider in the right side of the frame so that it looks like they are riding "into" the picture. I think, though, that showing a bit more of the jockey would help the composition feel a bit more balanced. Right now his (her?) butt is stuck out of the frame, and the shot doesn't feel "complete." Also, movement is implied by the position of the jockey and the way the mane is "blowing," but it almost looks like the horse, if taken separately, is standing still, looking around anxiously.
Technically, there isn't a lot to suggest about. Perhaps learning how to dodge and burn, in its simplest forms would help to eliminate some of the darker areas where details are lost, and overall emphasize some of the beauty that is there. I like the contrast of the rich colors of the horse and riders compared to the "blandness" of the background. This, I think helps to isolate your subject, and make it even stronger.
Overall, I think you have a pretty good shot. If I need to further clarify or explain myself, please feel free to contact me.
This is a nice environmental portrait and I so wanted to score it really high but, alas, I know too much (about horses that is) so I have to vote closer to the middle! I don't care for the shadow on the forehead that comes into his eye and the heavy shadow of the rider on the top of his neck. I do understand it is a compormise one sometimes has to make when there is no second shot to get. The position of the horses head & neck is fairly high giving away that the horse is not in one of the prettier parts of his stride. Just a step or two later and the head would be lower and would make the head lower and make it look like he was in a better frame and using his 'engine' (the hind end) more than the resistant looking head in the sky. I would have like to seen a little less of the background and a little more of the rider compositionally. Maybe more than you wanted to know, but there you go!
Nice capture! my only complaint is that the lighting is creating shadows over the most important parts of the subject, namely the faces. I don't know if it could even have been possible to fix that... but other than that, this is pretty cool! I like the intense expression on the rider's face, and the way the horse and rider seem to be wokring together. Cool shot.
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