Sunday, May 20, 2012

The St Regis International Cup

PinkJulepAbroad (www.pinkjulepabroad.com) received 2 tickets to The St Regis International Cup held at Ambersham polo ground at Chowdray estates in Haslemere/Midhurst Surrey England. The Cup would be played between England and the USA, the first time in 15 years the game would be held on English soil.

This would be a great time to practice my sports/action shots with my Nikon D7000. And away we go! After taking the train from Clapham Junction, one hour away and one taxi ride later, we arrived to glorious skies, perfect conditions and a well stocked picnic, all was well. There was the usual exclusive areas for those who need to be excluded and removed from the public and the usual stalls and trappings of an outdoor event.
Once the ball was thrown in for the first chukkah, the pace was relentless. The ponies and riders played to the bitter end. I played with various shutter speeds in shutter priority mode and took the below shot. Speed at 1/200 and aperture f7.1 and ISO 100.
Same settings but lost a little contrast in the lower left. I was trying to remember everything from contrast, lines, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, even the white balance I set to cloudy, everything happens so fast it really make you appreciate the skill involved. I am only shooting since April and I absolutely love it! There is always that part of me that plans for a shot as best I can but never really knows what the exposure final result will be.
After the final whistle, England won by a half point, I captured this nice pic.

And so to the train and back home to London, if ever you get a chance to go to a polo match, do. And trust me, there are loads of polo grounds inside and around London to make a day of it and the cost to get in no more than the price of a few beers. A cracking day out and a great reason to take your camera and take a lot of pictures. until next time....