Badminton Horse Trials May '25 - Dressage

[Unframed Dave]

This was an event I've never attempted to photograph before. It's fair to say that I found it pretty challenging. I had selected the 400mm f2.8 prime, which in all honesty was a bit of overkill. The 300 would have been better, the larger field of view would have allowed more landscape orientation and greater ability to crop. The light was flat and dull in the main part.

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[DaveC Oz]

Nice shots. A similar size arena is used for the events my wife competes in, I generally find my 28-200 works fairly well if I am allowed into the warm up area. But if I'm shooting from the stands a longer lens is good.

 

[Unframed Dave]

Nice shots. A similar size arena is used for the events my wife competes in, I generally find my 28-200 works fairly well if I am allowed into the warm up area. But if I'm shooting from the stands a longer lens is good.

My conclusion was, next time, I'd use my 70 - 200. I'd still like f2.8, to keep the audience separated from the riders.

All the professionals were using long primes, but they have a lot more flexibility in their positioning.

These were taken from the front row of the public stands.

 

[Clide]

This was an event I've never attempted to photograph before. It's fair to say that I found it pretty challenging. I had selected the 400mm f2.8 prime, which in all honesty was a bit of overkill. The 300 would have been better, the larger field of view would have allowed more landscape orientation and greater ability to crop. The light was flat and dull in the main part.

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Great photos! The horses are stunning. I like the capture of the stern faces on the riders.