Neither Wildlife nor Landscape - Eventing XC!

[WizArt]

The competition season is approaching - impressions from a training session.

Whether up to date tech: Z9 with 600pf as a sports lens opens up completely new possibilities (for me)! Incredibly light, compact and agile - and the results are absolutely impressive.

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Or already old fashioned: D6 with 200 f2.0. Loud, fast and precise! Crafts instead of IT! Still my favourite (for my use cases).

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And some "landscape":

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Happy shooting
Cheers
Koni

 

[Rassie]

Nice!

 

[BarkingBeans Coffee]

Looks like a Wild Life to me. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Larry S.]

Yup, I agree with Michael… looks like a wildlife encounter to me..

 

[ajrmd]

Nice series. Would you mind sharing your tips and techniques (AF modes, positions, settings, etc.) for those who may not know about show jumping,

 

[WizArt]

Looks like a Wild Life to me. Thanks for sharing.

Kind of Wild Life indeed!

 

[WizArt]

Nice series. Would you mind sharing your tips and techniques (AF modes, positions, settings, etc.) for those who may not know about show jumping,

Phew, whole books could be written about this topic! Thank you, Steve, for taking this trouble off my plate!

But, I can convey my preferences...

Which tool do I prefer for which job:
D6: Action, low light, long missions, rough missions.
Z9: Silent work, high resolution (cropping), (supposed) advantages of subject detection. (Z 600 pf!)
Df: sentimentality, deceleration, old lenses (with aperture rings!).
D500: Small Kit, Backup.

Settings:
D6: AF-ON on the shutter button with primary measuring field as required, usually custom mode, single or group. On the AF-ON button an alternative focus method as required, usually Single or 3D.

Z9: Basically the same plus Face / Subject detection mode in the hope of a higher hit rate (BUT to be honest, the hit rate for me is not a bit better than with the D6)
When all the AF gizmos fail - you have to take over! Turn everything off! Go old-school single point. This works, you just need to practice.

M/A/S mode:
I usually use M with Auto-ISO (aperture wide open, shutter speed >1/1000s for little motion blur).
If specific motion blur is desired somewhere between 1/60 and 1/125s (practice, practice, practice and practice some more!)

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What else? Try to get as close to the action as possible.
Avoid elevated positions with a downward view (hills, bleachers).
Stay at eye level or go low (dramatic).

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Lenses:
The workhorse: 70-200 2.8 (always fits!)
My favourites: 135 1.8, 200 2.0 and 300 2.8

All in all, things that are exactly the same for wildlife photography.
So now I've revealed all the secrets!
Sorry about that, Steve!

Thanks for reading, I hope it helps - or at least inspires.

Cheers
Koni

PS: Practice, practice, practice and again... Well you know!