RODEO FOOD

This was my second shot for the BAPC assignment "Flash Photography" last Thursday night.

BIG CHECK

Last weekends Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo saddle bronc winner leaves Reliant Stadium with a big check for his efforts.

MONKEYS LINED UP

Another shot from one of the carnival booths at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

FIVE FRIENDS

These five friends posed for a quick photo at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo before the Saturday matinee.

Carnival Night

This shot received a Bronze award from the three judge panel at the Bay Area Photo Club of Clear Lake last night under the Honors Night assignment of "Fun".

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo_2012

Rain put a bit of a damper on the festivities at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo this past Saturday, but didn't shut it down. There was still a decent crowd, and everything was open, in spite of the weather.

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo_2011 #2

A shot from the lift spanning the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo this past weekend.

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo_2011

A shot of a bare-back bronc rider taken Saturday at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

View from the Ferris Wheel

I took this shot Saturday from the top of the Ferris wheel at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. It's a one shot pseudo HDR processed with Photomatix Pro.

HLSR Rodeo Cowboy

I don't know if it's a new category or not but I'm calling this one, maybe optimistically, a "salvage shot." As I mentioned in earlier postings I was setting up on row "T" at this Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo performance shooting with a 50-200 tele at 200mm in low light. In order to have any kind of stop motion I had to shoot this shot @ ISO 3200 and even then the result was underwhelming. The problem is though that I like the composition! Because of this I was compelled to attempt a rescue of the shot. This resulted in a pretty heavy handed bit of post-processing with Camera Raw, CS3, and Topaz Adjust using blending modes at different opacity's, blurring, textures, high-pass sharpening, vignettes, color correction, etc. At the end of the day I like the finished product which reminds me of what you might see if you were looking through an old ViewMaster. Hope you like it.

Sleepy Calf

I'm thinking this will be my last shot from the HLS&R [unless I make it back this weekend!]

Rodeo Portrait

Another shot from Saturday's Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in Houston, Texas. This one is of our friends Jamie and Mark Neal.

Photo Stuff: Oly E-3, 50-200 2.8-3.5 Tele @ 57MM, F4, ISO500 1/13, Available Light, Camera Raw, Photoshop CS3, Topaz Adjust Clarity Preset

Rodeo Clown

Another shot from Saturday's rodeo competition at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, one of the greatest shows on Earth!

Rodeo Cowboy

With my 50-200 2.8-3.5 lens mounted on my Oly E-3 and using available light only, I was pretty much committed to slower moving shots at Saturdays Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo competition. This saddle bronc rider was watching the replay of his ride on one of the giant overhead screens.

Llama Up Close

Probably the last Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo picture I'll post this year. Hope you enjoy it.

Rainy Day Rodeo

In spite of the weather we still had a good time at the Rodeo. Our good friends Jamie and Mark, pictured here, rounded out our group of four. This was our third or fourth consecutive year to make the trip and I'm sure we'll make may more in the future - rain or shine!

Big Wheels

Two different takes on the big ferris wheel at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Junior Rider

I photographed this young girl competing in the Junior Thoroughbred Division 14-18. This event was set up at the smaller venue in Reliant Arena. It’s usually easier to get some good shots there because attendance is lower and it is open seating.

Tech: Oly E-3, Zuiko 70-200 w/ 1.4 Tele @ 258mm, f5.0 @ 1/250 and ISO 800, FL50R Flash [Fired] Aperture Priority Post Processing: Adjusted Exposure, Clarity, and Saturation in Camera Raw>Opened in CS3>Duplicate Background> Levels Adjustment Layer>High Pass Sharpen>Merge Visible>Topaz Adjust Denoise >Topaz Adjust “Simplify”

Foul Weather Fair

It was cold and rainy at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo this Saturday. Not a great environment for taking photos, but at least Josh Turner put on an excellent show. Even though I was the only photographer in our group of four I had hoped take a couple of hundred shots at the carnival and livestock show. However in Saturday’s weather I was lucky to shoot about 40, out of which I will probably post four on the blog. Hope you enjoy them.

Tech: Oly E-3, Zuiko 12-60 @ 40mm, f4.5 @ 1/80 and ISO 320 @ +1, Aperture Priority Post Processing: Adjusted Exposure, Clarity, and Saturation in Camera Raw>Opened in CS3>Duplicate Background> Topaz Adjust “Psychedelic”>Merge Visible>Diffuse Glow Filter @ 40%

Ropin'

From the archives – This shot is from the ’07 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. Taken at the exhibition arena it’s one of many that I have on my hard drive that I probably shouldn’t like, but I do. I was using my old super zoom camera, which is not low light performer, on an indoor action shot and got just about the grainy soft shot I suppose I should have. I also had to remove a lot of clutter, the roping is a team event, to provide a clear subject to the photo.

Tech: Panosonic Lumix Super Zoom @ 23mm, f2.8for 1/60 at ISO400, Raw, AP Post Processing:Crop>Duplicate Background>Clone out Unwanted Elements>Black & White Adjustment Layer