Its been an odd few months, work has been busy which in itself has led to less time to get out and enjoy photography. Coupled with that was what I felt a saturation in the shots I was taking, and in turn the skills I was learning (in some cases atrophying).
I sat and thought about what had originally gotten me back into photography, and that thrill of getting out to take shots. Going over those thoughts had me also look at why I felt I was plateaued and what I could do about it. I set myself a challenge of capturing shots with motion in and in turn had to push myself to try mediums I wasn't good at nor had practiced at much. With that came planning of trips, making lists of gear I needed and what I wanted to shoot.
My first trip and plan was to capture the Calgary Stampede in Canada. This meant capturing people on fast moving animals, in differing light settings and with a long lens as I wouldn't be arena side. Placement and a long lens where at the front of my mind, especially as the events would be happening during the midday sun because I wanted to capture the best action possible.
Thankfully there aren’t any real restrictions to photography, so I took my chances in the main stand and sat down to enjoy the show. Our seats where in a raised pavilion, overlooking the arena gates for the bull riding, which was perfect. We saw many cowboys bested by the animals and I managed to capture a ton of the action throughout the day.
Kit wise I kept it light. I rolled with my Canon 6d MKii and the Canon mkii 70-200mm lens (f2.8). That allowed me to take long range and closer in shots from the elevated seating position I was in. I’ve selected my favourites below, I hope you like them too.
Best
Mike
