Dan Perovich's Cyberfront Property

1/50 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 400, 200 mm (EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM) I went to my first rodeo tonight.  What a blast.  Seeing the bull riding and barrel racing on TV does not do these events justice.  The raw power of the bulls and the insanity of the bull riders for getting on their backs is unmatched in person.

Before the festivities started though, all the bull riders and bull handlers took a knee and said a prayer.  From my spot up on a small hill at ringside, I was not able to catch the full line of 15 bull riders during the prayer.  However, I was able to make today’s photograph showing three of the riders and the rodeo clown.

The rest of the evening proved to be a challenge to get good shots.  The 70-200mm lens I was using had a maximum aperture of f/4.  In order to capture the action, I had to crank the ISO up to 1600 on my XSi.  This is something the XSi was not really designed for.  At ISO 1600, all the photos came back with a substantial amount of noise when viewed 1:1.  On the back of the camera, they looked good, but not so much on my monitor at home.

Next time I shoot a rodeo, I plan to get a more optimal spot at ring side.  Then, I may be able to use the 430 EXII flash to be able to stop the motion and eliminate the noise.  I will also be sure to reread Nicole Young’s “Rodeo – Part I” blog posting.

I have a few other pictures that I am planning to share.  When I upload them to Flickr, I will add them below.