----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Dayton"
Subject: Re: GESO
Bill,
Having never really witnessed a show like this, I was wondering if
you'd care to share a bit of how you go about shooting this venue?
I'd be guessing that you may be pre-focusing, but those dogs look like
they are moving pretty quick and you might end up wanting to focus in
front of the hoop so that their faces are in focus at the best moment.
Anyway, I am quite curious.
I spent a lot of time praying......
I found what worked best was to pick a couple of pieces of equipment to
shoot the dogs at, and stick with that plan.
Pictures of the dogs coming work better than shots of them leaving, and made
for only a few good spots to shoot from.
The Border Collies were almost impossible to track with the equipment I
have, the Aussies were merely difficult.
For the first while, I was using the F300/4.5 (gorgeous lens, btw), then I
switched to the 80-200/2.8, but didn't like it.
I actually ended up using the FA50/1.4 and a 2x converter for a while as
well, which was the focal length that seemed the best for where I decided
was best to shoot from.
The course is changed freqently, and every new course requires a different
shooting strategy as well.
If you stay by the sidelines when the players are walking the course before
running their dogs, you can get a good idea of where the dogs are going to
be, and can set up accordingly.
I try to get tight shots, which is tough, dogs are not the biggest target,
and they are moving quite fast. I don't know how the bird guys do it.
Thanks for looking
William Robb
