Recently our Road Runner Photography Meetup attended a Bull Riding event at the Prince William County Fair. Besides getting rained out before the end of the event, we had a really great time! The rain offered a nice little photographic opportunity, but I will blog about that soon over on my Photo Blog. The big action involving those brave or perhaps crazy guys that ride bulls did not start until after dusk. Sitting at the top of the bleachers offered me a fairly nice view, but in the evening light I needed some help. That is where the Better Beamer came in handy. The Better Beamer is an attachment popular with wildlife photographers that enables your flash to reach longer distances. I got mine from Hunt’s.
The Beamer simply Velcros to the flash and holds a magnifying lens about 8 inches forward of your flash. Considering that I was easily 50 yards away, notice the light in the bull’s eye. I also made a decision before the start of shooting to try and go for a more artistic look, thus the blurry images. I was playing with different shutter speeds but for the most part was shooting around 1/10 or 1/20 of a second.
Overall I’m pretty happy with the results. When shooting motion blurs you have a lot of images that don’t make the cut. But in my viewpoint I only really need one!
