Advice for barrel racing and horse photography

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Matt N

Matt N

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I have a friend participating in horse barrel racing and I'm planning to go to some of the events and do photography (not paid, just for fun initially). Currently, I don't think I have the right gear for it. I only have the following in my arsenal:
  • Nikon Z8
  • Nikon Z 20mm
  • Nikon Z 400mm 4.5 (and a 1.4x TC)
  • Nikon Z 800mm 6.3 (definitly not good for this)
  • Canon R5 Mark II
  • Canon RF 100-500
  • Canon RF 24-105 F4
  • I don't have any flashes/strobes/lights of any kind - I know this would be bad for horses anyway.
I think the right lens is a 70-200 F2.8, but I've been holding out on that because I didn't know which system I wanted it for (Nikon or Canon).

I've never been to one of these events. I'm sure they all differ and the seating, where I could be, etc. would vary so it would be difficult to give advice. The event starts at 7pm and sunset is 7:50pm. I'm sure they have lighting, but I believe it's less substantial than some venues. Also, I'm a little worried about dust and my external zoom Canon lenses...is that silly?

Any tips would be helpful. These could be tips about how to shoot barrel racing, dos/don'ts of using cameras around horses, what lenses are best, best camera settings, what types of shots do riders typically like, really anything...I'm always eager to learn from someone else.
 
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You wouldn't want to use flash around horses.
The right lens will depend on where you have access.
I only shot barrel racing once - it was indoors. 70-200 was good for a lot of it. Longer could have worked for some. Was able to get close to one of the barrels and shoot through the fence with a 50mm for some good shots.

From your kit I'd probably take the 100-500 and the 24-105.

1/30th - 200mm
_KZ39613_FB.jpg
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1/400th 50mm
DSC_0173_FB.jpg
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zemlin said:
You wouldn't want to use flash around horses.
The right lens will depend on where you have access.
I only shot barrel racing once - it was indoors. 70-200 was good for a lot of it. Longer could have worked for some. Was able to get close to one of the barrels and shoot through the fence with a 50mm for some good shots.

From your kit I'd probably take the 100-500 and the 24-105.
Click to expand...

Thanks Karl. This will be an outdoor event. Yeah, I'm thinking that the Nikon 400 would be too long... Any concerns about all the dust that will get kicked up around those external zooms?

P.S. - I love my hood and cap on my 800pf. =)
 
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Matt N said:
Thanks Karl. This will be an outdoor event. Yeah, I'm thinking that the Nikon 400 would be too long... Any concerns about all the dust that will get kicked up around those external zooms?

P.S. - I love my hood and cap on my 800pf. =)
Click to expand...

Glad you like your Zemlin Photo gear! :cool:
Dust is just going to depend on the conditions. I'd think they'd wet things down a bit so there wouldn't be clouds of dust, but that's just speculation. I got a little dirty when I was up against the fence, but it wasn't a big deal.
 
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