Horsey Action shots

I was fortunate to bump into a reporter at a horsey event who was a Pentax User which made a pleasant change from the Nikon and Canon gang!
He gave me a few tips about settings for action shots using Tv rather than Sport mode, and these are some I took today :

Excellent shots. Right in amongst the action. So nearly a super reflection on the first too.

Great photos. The only (slight) shame is not getting a complete reflection in the first one. K.

looks like the tips worked for you, good action shooting.

Thank you everyone ! Yes, I agree about the reflection, but it was surprisingly difficult zooming in yet getting the subject in the right place. I had plenty of chance to practice but this is just the beginning.

I think the last one might have been better as a panned shot to give more of an impression of speed but I was keen to try the new settings.

All these shots were hand held and of several hundred (i) taken yesterday, very few were out of focus. My main fault was placing the subject in the right place - this was probably because I had zoomed in too close. I was fortunate to be with the pros by the water jump - the first time I've been able to talk about photography seriously with anyone 'live'. They had some serious kit ...

Good action photography here Sally, you managed to freeze the action and get some well exposed and composed shots - apart from losing half of that reflection.
Were you shooting in hi-continuous mode with your focus switched to continuous?
As for pro journalists using Pentax: I can remember in the late 1960s and early 1970s when many daily newspaper photographers used Pentax Spotmatics.
David

PPG:
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout

Thank you, David.
I have to confess to only noticing the reflection after downloading onto my computer !!! I was more concerned with keeping up with the subject. Very little PP apart from some level adjustment and cropping in iPhoto.

I was on Tv, continuous mode and automatic ISO, as recommended for action shots by the journo. The light was very difficult as it kept changing from dull to bright sun. I don't think the focus was switched to continuous - but I was on autofocus and it seemed to work pretty well. If I wasn't properly focussed for the first of a run, then they were all fit for the bin !

Perhaps I should have added that I was using the Kx with the ever-faithful DA 55-300.

The second shot in the sequence captures the action wonderfully! Although the facial expression on the third one takes some beating
Andy

I like them all. Well done

Thank you Andy and Stan. I've thought about putting up a series showing the faces .... and they do this for fun !!!

Excellent camera skills. You've captured some very interesting 'live' action.

I used a Pentax to shoot motorcycle racing many years ago so I know how difficult it can be to capture fast moving objects. (manual focus in those days!)

Maybe you will post more form the day?

Deryn

Thank you, Deryn. I've rather hesitated posting too many horsey shots as they're not everyone's cup of tea ! I'll have a look ....