Norton Heath Equestrian Centre

Blackwijet

Blackwijet

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Name
Sue
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi

do any of you shoot at Norton Heath? I'm struggling with the lighting there and due to shoot on Saturday, indoor showjumping. During the day isn't so bad but once the natural light (what there is of it) goes and I'm relying on the lights I'm really stuffed! I'm using D3S, high iso, and at best getting 250 shutter speed at F2.8 but images are totally rubbish and certainly not worth selling! I'll post some when I'm back home but after a test run last week where I experimented with different ISO's, shutter speeds, white balances etc and previous experience there I think that once it gets past 4.30 i might as well give up. I'm just wondering if I am missing something vital or am I expecting too much. I shoot as some other pretty dark arenas like Osbaldeston and Badgeworth but Norton Heath just beats me!

Any advice welcome!
 
okay here are some examples - I know they are awful and normally they would be deleted never to be seen by anyone but then I would't be able to get any advice from you lovely people:)

before editing
DSC_0635_1_.jpg


after editing
DSC_0635.jpg


Bearing in mind there was a light above the rider's left shoulder, this was the best I could get. Bay or black horses were just disappearing into the darkness and chestnuts developed a stunning orange glow:D White balance I'm not too worried about although it would be good to get it as near as possible in camera rather than sorting out later but I tried all the various settings for tungsten, white fluorescent, an expo disc, even manually changing the colour temperature but never got anything remotely right so gave up to a certain extent. I would just like to be able to up the shutter speed a bit more, 1/500 is usually the lowest I prefer to go to. Panning isn't really an option as the jumps aren't going to be high enough for side on shots as the wings will get in the way but I'm open to any suggestions!
 
Being on a iPad, I can't read the Exif. What ISO were you shooting at?
 
Hi - ridiculously high at this point but it was the only way I could get get 1/250 on the Shutter

EXIF below
Camera Maker: NIKON CORPORATION
Camera Model: NIKON D3S
Image Date: 2011-12-28 17:09:34 (no TZ)
Focal Length: 70.0mm (35mm equivalent: 70mm)
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure Time: 0.0040 s (1/250)
ISO equiv: 5000
Exposure Bias: +0.33 EV
Metering Mode: Spot
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
White Balance: Manual
Light Source: White Fluorescent
Flash Fired: No
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB
 
Your camera should be able to soak up ISO5000 easily and even push up to 12,800. Have a look at some of Gary's high ISO posts in Sports.

Part of the problem is that you're under exposing, so the noise will be even greater. Push the gain more, get a better exposure and the images should improve.
 
cheers! - will have a look at Gary's sports shots. I have tried ISO at 6400 before now but wasn't very happy but will experiment some more!

what do you mean push the gain? Did you mean grain?
 
Ramp up the ISO to 8-12,800, youre going to be shooting as close to filling the frame as possible so noise is going to be at its minimum, expose to the right by 1/3 of a stop, i know it'll drop the shutter speed a little but its a trade off for reducing noise.

Take it off spot metering and use Matrix.

WB, looks like a tricky one which you'll have to fix in post

Can you use flash????
 
Last edited:
Thanks Gary, unfortunately no flash as its show jumping, luckily it should only be the last two classes which probably wont have too many competitors but I would still like to get at least one half decent shot of each person.

Thanks to you both for your advice, will let you know how it goes .
 
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