Popular Aussie horse sport of Campdrafting comes to the U.S.!!!

This past weekend I had the privilege of watching the first ever sanctioned Australian-style Campdrafting competition on U.S. soil.  And it was right here in my (nearly) backyard of small town Kiowa, CO!

Campdrafting is a hugely popular horse sport in Australia, with 5 events per weekend and the larger events hosting 800-900 riders.  Top-ranked Campdrafting competitors and horse trainers Pete Comiskey and Steven Hart flew in all the way from Australia to teach a Campdrafting clinic and help supervise the first ever sanctioned event in the states.  They were great guys and my wife and I had a good time interviewing them during the competition.

I covered the event for The Fence Post magazine and the story and photos will be out in next week's edition (Sept. 02 edition).  It should also run online on the Fence Post's website and they will be featuring a video I created from the event, as well.  The video contains photography, video clips and audio interviews I was able to get during the competition on Sunday August 25, 2013.

You can aleady see photos from the event I have posted on my official Facebook page.
Here are two photos as samples - the first is of Australians Steven Hart and Pete Comiskey.  The second is local resident Sunni Valencia competing in Sunday's event. 

If you are interested in what Campdrafting is and what it is all about, you can find out all sorts of information from the following websites:
U.S. National Campdraft Association
Australian Campdraft Association
Wikipedia's Entry on Campdrafting
Wikihow.com's entry on Campdrafting - with tips 

If you love horses and horse events that involve cattle, you'll love learning about Campdrafting.

Take care, God bless, and have a great day.

Lincoln Rogers
https://www.facebook.com/LincolnRogers.Writer.Photographer
http://lincoln-rogers.artistwebsites.com/
http://www.lincolnrogers.com/

What is it about old stuff?

There seems to be something inherently "photographic" about old things, historic places, vintage memorabilia, etc.  I don't know if it is the nostalgia they create or maybe it is because items/places that have been around a long time just have a more interesting character to them that photographs better.

Whatever the reason, here is some of the "old stuff" I have loved capturing with my lens. 

What old stuff do you love?  I'd love to hear from you.

Have a great day.

Lincoln Rogers

Light and Shadow

In my last post, I talked about the importance of light to photography and a bit about how to use it.

But what if there isn't much light in a situation?  Can quality photographs be made in those circumstances?

Sure.  If you think outside the box, you can change your perception of what you are "looking for" and try to take photos of what you have available instead.

- I'll provide two examples using different situations -

The following photo is of one of our dogs when it was just a pup.  There wasn't a lot of light at this particular moment and I didn't care to use a flash, since I didn't want to disturb the little fella while he was trying to sleep.  So I got down on the floor and put myself at an angle to best use a narrow shaft of light that covered a portion of his body.  The angle you choose from any available light can make a huge difference in how the light works for your photo.  Knowing there wasn't enough light to fill the room or even his little frame on the floor, I decided to go ahead and use what I could.  I consciously dialed the ISO on my digital camera to a low setting (ISO 100).  In lower light situations, that setting tends to deepen shadows and can even create a black background behind a subject.  I was near him, so using an f-stop or aperture of 6.3 would create a pleasing shallow depth of field on his head (focus point is sharp while the rest is nicely blurred or out of focus).  I clicked the shutter at 1/320th of a second and the following came out:

 

The black background and deep shadow around him create a more dramatic image than just a puppy sleeping.  There is some mood here and maybe even some emotion.  It's not necessary to get hung up on not having as much light as you want.  If you don't have it, then create a different type of capture instead.

Another type of situation is the low light action shot.  That can be very tricky, but figuring out what kind of light you DO have at your disposal will make all the difference in the world.  The following shot was taken at a horse competition, a western freestyle reining event, to be precise.  It was an indoor event and some of the performers choose to have the arena lights off and compete with only spotlights.  When I saw it happening, I was able to prop myself against a railing and slow my shutter speed down to 1/250th of a second while I panned with my lens (followed the movement's direction with my lens).  I believe I was at a higher ISO 2500 because it was so dark.  As a result of slowing the shutter speed and panning with the action, I was able to pick up the spotlight illuminating the edges of the dark-colored horse and the rider in a formal black suit.  Being satisfied with capturing some light, instead of giving up because there "wasn't enough light," allowed me to capture the following image:

It has become one of my favorite captures, and it was because I kept shooting and tried different settings to make it work rather than giving up on that ride because there was insufficient light.

Like I said in my previous post, it is all about the light.  The difference is, how creative do you want to be in chasing that light?

Have a good one and keep shooting.

Lincoln Rogers

http://lincoln-rogers.artistwebsites.com/

https://www.facebook.com/LincolnRogers.Writer.Photographer

Using the Light in Your Photography

After seeing some of my photography, people sometimes ask about the camera equipment I am using.  I only state this, because there seems to be a misconception, of sorts, that if there is a nice photograph, then the photographer must have had expensive equipment to which most people don't have access.

I want to disagree, to a point, with that assessment.  I understand that expensive equipment can certainly help with creating a stunning image, but usually those stunners come from a photographer with many years of experience in their rear-view mirror and the ability to get the most out of their equipment, no matter what it is.

The single most important element of a great photograph is not the content, but the light.  Excellent use of light (even with average photographic equipment) can turn an ordinary, everyday item into an extraordinary image.

I'm not saying my photos are extraordinary, but since I know the photographer and have easy access to them (ha!), I will use a few as examples.

The following was an ordinary stretch of mature grass along a country road.  Nothing special, it was just grass, after all.  What made it stand out at the time, however, was the sunset light hitting the heads of grass from behind.  The effect turned everyday grass that most people would mow into a beautiful moment.  As a result, I got down on my knees and shot this image.  Choosing the angle that shows off the light helps make an image pop, as well.

More everyday items that I found outside an antique shop in Texas were these doorknobs on a wood plank.

Doorknobs as art?  You bet... if the light is good.  This was another near sunset time of day.  Photographers call the time of day near sunrise and again near sunset the "golden hour," for its warm tones and soft light.  I like it for the nice shadows it creates, as well.

A third example is a couple of Poppy flowers.

Flowers can be found nearly everywhere, including a relative's backyard, like these.  What makes them stand out is the contrast of light and shadow.  If I remember correctly, this was in late morning and the background of the garden was in deep shade from a nearby tree.  Seeing the sunlight hit these flowers and the shadow of the background made me want to take this photo.


All three of these photos required no special equipment.  There was no flash used, no reflectors, no special filters on the lens - just me walking around with my camera looking for an opportunity.

In other words, look for the light and bring you camera!!!   You just might surprise yourself.

Have a good one.

Lincoln Rogers
Official Lincoln Rogers Writing and Photography Page on Facebook
Lincoln's Fine Art America Website
Lincoln's Website

Pikes Peak in Autumn

Pikes Peak in Autumn - By Lincoln Rogers

Here's some more Cowboy-related photography that can be found at Fine Art America, my work included of course!

cowboy photos

Go have a look see and see what's available!

Have a good one!

Lincoln 

Daydream of a Horse

Here's a slideshow of some of my photography available for sale as fine art.

Gallery of Western Photography and Artwork

Now that I've started offering my photography for sale as fine art prints, canvases, greeting cards, etc., I wanted to provide a link to a Fine Art America gallery where you can find all kinds of western related photography and artwork, including mine.

western prints

Take a look and see what you think.

Have a good one.

Lincoln

I know, I know... it's been forever since I updated my blog.  Okay, it's been about five years, but who's counting!

During that time, I've been busy setting up my Official Lincoln Rogers Writing & Photography Facebook page and linking most of my new and current photography and writing there.  I figured I needed another good outlet for those posts and decided to fire this blog up once more!  (cue the applause, here)

One of the main reasons for kicking this back in gear is to let you know I now have some of my photography available for sale as fine art prints.  You can purchase them as prints, on canvas, acrylic, framed and matted, etc. from my gallery at Fine Art America.  I'll be posting updates here regarding new photography that is available for sale.


I'm excited about this new venture and hope you find photos you enjoy.  Let me know some of your favorites, will you?