Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-05-27
By Alexander }. Wedderbun
curetor Of Photography
The Smithsonian institution

The Smithsonian institution
Horses and cameras make a
good combination to my way of
thinking. This is the season for
horse shows and ideal outdoor
picture-taking conditions. If you
are seeking thrills and fast action
shots you will find both in the
show ring and even the pictorialist
will have his moments amid the
grace and pageantry Of the occa-
sion.
There is nothing static about
q horse show. The programs,
which usually last all day. move
along at a fast pace and even an
experienced cameraman will be
kept on his toes if he tries to
cover the entire event. There are
many classes, ranging from chill
dren with their lead-rein ponies
to juniors and seniors. Horses
are judged as hunters, hacks.
jumpers, teams or pairs, etc. Many
horse shows wind up the program
with one or more races. The fiat
races are exciting affairs and the
timber races are seldom run with
out spills and falls. All this gives
the photographer a wide choice
for subject matter.
Get hold of a program as soon
as you arrive. Reference to the
program will keep you informed
as to the classes SO that you will
know in advance when the events
that you wish to cover are coming
up. also suggest that you try to
obtain permission from the off,
>cials Of the show to get into the
ring with your camera. # you do.
make yourself as unobtrusiye as
possible and avoid interfering with
the view of the judges and keep
out of the way of the horses. If
it happens that you can't, you can
still circulate along the rail and
shoot good pictures because most
of the jumps are located around
the perimeter Of the ring.
Need Speedy Lens.
In many OF the classes. partic-
ularly those featuring the jump
ers. the horses will be moving at
q fast clip. This calls for quick
thinking on the part OF the pho
tographer and fast exposures
Shooting at speeds less than
. l/40Oth of a second is often q
waste Of time when photograph
ing fast-moving equines. With
cameras that operate as lesser
shutter speeds. your only chance
is to follow the action. ,panning
the camera in the same direction
that the horse is moving and
taking the picture at the critical
moment. This will. Of course, blur
the background but 1t will give
you a chance to get the scene on
film.
Assuming that you can shoot at
1f400th or better I would recon-
mend that you do not attempt to
follow the horse with your camera
With q. fast shutter there Is no
purpose in taking the chance that
camera movement will blur the
background. Instead. pick your
spot, focus on the jump or other
point, and snap the picture when
the horse reaches the position.
You should have very few
lighting problems because the
jumps are positioned mostly along
the inner edge of the ring. This
will permit you to select a position
according to the type Of lighting
that you prefer. Nor will you
necessarily be restricted to one OF
more positions because as the
sun travels the lighting will
change for each of the jumps
Don't forget that If you use a
back lighting, you will have to
open the diaphragm of the lens
two stops greater than norma
BY the same token it is advised
to open up one stop if a side
lighting is used. When planning
exposures it is also wise to con-
slider the color of each particular
horse. A black horse. for example
will require a greater exposure than
a white one. If you shoot a pic