Horse Racing at Lone Star Park

[Joe_Lorenzini]

Met up with Jake at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie tonight for some horse racing. Except for the first race, most the light was of the sunset type and mostly behind the riders.

This was a lot of fun and cost a grand total of $5 (not including gambling bucks). They let you roam around at will and were very kind when we asked to shoot from certain restricted spots.

Here's a few:




This is the entrance from the round to the track. This was the last shot of the night as the sun had already set. And yes, that is Jake in the orange shirt:


This last one was Jake's call. He saw the shot, I just tagged along since it was such a good idea:


_/oe

[CaptainTom]

Sorry I missed the event. I had to shoot a Ballet rehearsal.
I will definitely make the effort, especially since the cost is within my budget.

Nice shots.... :)

[dbphotos]

Joe,

Great shots! Sorry I missed it. I was in 116 degree temps in AZ/CA (Blythe) today. Sitting in Irvine tonight and then off to San Francisco tomorrow.

[bohonk445]

Great series. I really like #1. Not too crazy about the fisheye since the walls seem little boring to me, IMHO. :D

[Jake]

Originally Posted by bohonk445

Not too crazy about the fisheye since the walls seem little boring to me :D

But I'm in the shot, so how can that be boing? :lol:
Joe, your #4 can out a lot better then mine.
I hate to post pics after you, your's are so good.

[PhotoSHO]

Really nice work guys. Did y'all get trackside access? I went out there for a Elvis contest and had a blast, definitely one of the few places left that is affordable entertainment. I would like to know if y'all are going again.

Have a great day,

[jerrykr]

you guys are really good. great shots!

what a fun place to shoot.

well done.

-=- Jerry -=-
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[Joe_Lorenzini]

Hey all,

Thanks for the kind comments but it's very easy to get access to these shots. The hard part is controlling the shutter speed and exposure while the sun is setting (but that's the fun, isn't it!).

Yes, we did get track-side access but no different than anyone else. The only thing we did was to trek out to both ends of the track where no one else was to get the shots of the turn and straight-aways (yet to be posted). They are very kind about letting you roam and Wednesdays are very light in terms of crowds.

I really like the shots you got Jake, especially that last one. I'm glad we had the different focal lengths, it adds different dimensions to the shots.

On that last shot of Jake's which his came out great and mine are pure white we decided to shoot the horses crossing the finish line. There are a set of lights right after the finish which I can only assume are for "photo" finishes. Well we exposed properly beforehand but when the horses got close they turned on those lights and everything went to heck. It makes that last photo of Jakes that much more impressive.

If anyone is interested in doing this again, let me know. I'm up for another trek out there.

_/oe

[boomerd35]

Great shots guys! I posted a thread a couple of months back asking if anybody had experience shooting horse racing. I didn't get any replies, but this is the kind of info I'm looking for. I am in Houston and plan to go to our local track when races are back on (I think quarter horses start in July). Hopefully, our track is as friendly in terms of letting us roam around to get shots. Good info about the lighting at the finish line.

Troy T.

[KarenG]

Nice shots.. I want to go! It looks like you guys had a great vantage point ... too bad you couldn't move the sun in front of the riders ....
8)

[srini]

Very nice pictures Joe and Jake, hopefully there will be another time and I can join you guys too.. Srini RR
http://www.pbase.com/rrs/lsp_06_2005 from my trip a couple of weeks ago...

[Jake]

I want to go again for sure, I had to meny missed shots.
I had no wide angle so I had to do a pano(5 shots). It's kind of looks dark here at work but it looked fine last night at 12:00 A.M after a few beers :?

[KLeigh]

This reminds me I wanted to get out to SHRP to try to photograph the quarter horse racing this summer.... I think it starts this weekend or next.

Very nice pics!

[lscottpht]

Very awesome stuff, Joe. And remind me why you are coming to my class? Perhaps to teach it??!!

[Sheldon]

Joe and Jake....Awesome shots! These animals are just pure beauty, and you both captured them so well.

btw, I happen to really like the "fisheye" shot, even if there was another photog in the image..... :)