Two rodeo Shots

[Chris Calohan]

If you don't think there is enough merit to continue posting the images, please be frank - or john ...

Barrel Racer



Calf Roper

[kencameron]

I like the first one. In the second, the invisibility of the face and the distracting hat and blue gate make it maybe not a keeper. Are you looking for any particular kind of feedback?

[Chris Calohan]

What you just noted about #2 is what I am looking for. That's probably the one thing I found most difficult is getting a clean shot without a hat, horse or gate in the shot. Another area I need help with is minimizing the noise factor. This is oneof the noisiest shots but I had so little light to work with, it is a miracle i got anything at all.

[wolfnowl]

Can I be Ernest instead?

I'd keep #1 and #3, but #2 isn't worth it.

Mike.

[kencameron]

I also like #3, and would be tempted to post-process to put more emphasis on the faces, which make the shot. My first moves would be to darken the foreground with a graduated filter and brighten, fiddle with the local or global contrast, on the faces, with a brush (lightroom procedures, other tools could do the same thing). That might not work - just a starting point. I would also consider B&W as the saturated blue color in the front draws more attention than it deserves. The noise isn't necessarily a big deal.

[francois]

Can I be Ernest instead?

I'd keep #1 and #3, but #2 isn't worth it.

Mike.

I'm with Mike. Ken pointed out what was wrong with #2. The first image is very nice but my favourite is #3. The determination on the face of the "lever-man" and the look on the two other guys make the shot.

Well done!

[Chris Calohan]

I also like #3, and would be tempted to post-process to put more emphasis on the faces, which make the shot. My first moves would be to darken the foreground with a graduated filter and brighten, fiddle with the local or global contrast, on the faces, with a brush (lightroom procedures, other tools could do the same thing). That might not work - just a starting point. I would also consider B&W as the saturated blue color in the front draws more attention than it deserves. The noise isn't necessarily a big deal.

Did a pano crop of 16:9 to eliminate some fo the extraneous background clutter. Couldn't do the graduated filter on the whole bottom without losing the bull in the translation but did manage to make the clipboard less conspicuous.

[nemo295]

I'm normally biased towards b&w, but in this instance I much prefer the color version. This is a visually complex photograph and the color version preserves the separation of tonal values between the various  elements, some of which are getting merged in the b&w version.

The clipboard in the color version doesn't bother me, and neither does the original background. I prefer them both to the b&w shot and I feel they add context to the shot. The arbitrarily darkened values of the clipboard in the b&w makes it look out of place with the rest of the foreground. Also, the top of the black hat on the left guy in the b&w version vanishes into the heavily burned-in background. The cropping of the b&w looks too tight to me. In the color shot they look like they're at a rodeo. In the b&w shot they look like they could be in a big barn, for all we know.

[Richowens]

Chris,

 I agree with Doug, it is much better in color, just not as much color. I hope you don't mind my revising your photo.

 Yes...No....Maybe?

 Highlights pulled down, blue darkened and desaturated, slight global desaturation and grain added. I wanted to give it that sort of "grungy" look.

 

P.S. If you don't like me messing with it just say the word and I'll pull it down.

[Chris Calohan]

I never mind a rework...not sure if this isn't a bit too grungy for my tastes, but I thiink I can take this where it needs to go. Thanks for the input.

[quickhiker]

#3 is the most interesting of the lot. The shooting conditions for all of them were challenging with low light and lots of action. The first one feels like the white balance could use some adjustment to warm it up. #2 might be worth experimenting with some radical crops to try and show hints of all the elements (lassoo, rider, etc) rather than the documentary feel it currently has. The part that works for me with the third one is the contrast between the different expressions and actions of the three men, but it still feels like it has a focal point (middle guy), but nowhere to go from there. What if you cropped out the left guy (maybe just at the right edge of his hat) emphasizing the contrast of the older determined but relaxed guy against the younger more emphatic guy to the right? This could simplify the composition a bit and focus the narrative. 

[WalterEG]

OMG — a Lee Marvin clone!  Well spotted.

W

[kencameron]

OMG — a Lee Marvin clone!  Well spotted.

And the one on the right looks a little bit John Travolta. I guess all handsome cowboys look a little bit movie star. I like the partially desaturated version posted above.

[Chris Calohan]

It's really kind of funny because I desaturated the heck out of the blue to start with. If you look at the spectator shot, you can see how blue they really are. But more does look better and I can play with that in a cropped version.

Not so keen on cropping any one of the guys out as each has a specific function and as I understand it from my evening's cowboy mentor, to omit any of them would make a cowboy say WTF. I waited a good fifteen minutes for each of them to be doing exactly what they have to do to get everything rolling at the same time before snapping the shutter. This was a good learning exercise and I did enjoy the experience. Next week's rodeo starts in the morning so high ISO's and the like won't be as much a problem.

[dmerger]

Chrisc, I enjoyed your photos, but I'm from Texas, so I'm biased.  Just wondering, where was the rodeo?

[Chris Calohan]

At our local fairgrounds in Panama City, FL

[Jaffy]

Hi Chrisc
#3 made me pause and look for a while.
To me it becomes a lot more powerful if you crop the top down to just above the hats of the 2 riders at the back. That seems to make the blue more of a frame and therefore less of a draw, and makes the 3 main characters more dominant. The 2 riders help give it context (rodeo rather than cattle market), and  the white shirt balances the clipboard; lastly the white shirt sleeve makes the middle guy's hat "pop".

[stamper]

 Number 3 cropped works best for me. I am surprised about why some photographers see the different images as being in a contest with each other such as number # is better than number *. I see them as complementing each other rather than being better or worse? Chris you seem to be on a roll with this subject and you should explore it further.