Way, way, way behind on this footage from the Stockyards at Calhoun, Georgia. Lighting was challenging - lots of varying flicker rates on the generator lights meant trying to set a variable shutter speed was impossible. Nevertheless, I feel like I got some good rodeo action.
I wish this could come even remotely close to what it feels like to be at these events. There is truly nothing like it in the world and I feel fortunate to be able to attend. Huge respect to every single person who makes these events possible: the cowboys and cowgirls, cattle hands, organizers, contract acts, food vendors and anyone else I've forgotten. You all mean the world to me.
As always, thanks too to all my great friends at Southern Rodeo Company - you guys are the best. Southern Rodeo Company: www.southernro...
For this event, I've continued using the Innorel carbon fiber tripod with a 75mm bowl and it continues to work well for me. I can get low for riding events, but up to chest height for roping and racing.
The Tiffen Black Pro Mist filter was a bad choice this time around. When the lights are as low (angle, not brightness) as they were here, flares become a real problem. Lesson learned.
Camera bodies on this video are Sony A7IV. For event action I use a Sony 70-200 f/2.8 (v.1) lens. For the crowd shots I use a Tamron 20-40 f/2.8 on a Ronin RS3 Pro gimbal. Footage is 10 bit 4:2:2 at 60fps. Usually, one of my biggest complaints about the A7IV is the 1.5x crop when shooting 4k at 60fps. Effectively, my 70-200 becomes a 105-300. I'm thankful for the extra reach but I'm no longer getting a 6k downsampled image and I feel like the quality suffers just a bit.
If you have any questions about my approach to shooting rodeo, or any suggestions on ways I can do a better job, please comment below. Thanks for watching!
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