The Headless Horsman....in 50mm?

[WillowBelle]

I have 25 days till our next trip to the World. We will only be there for 2 days. Doing EP one day/night for a grand gathering. Decided to surprise my DDs with tickets to MNSSHP for the 2nd night we're there. We've never been in October so I'm totally excited we get to go to the party.

I know the Headless Horsman is a very sought after shot. My fastest lens (aside from my fisheye) is my 50mm 1.8. Has anyone used this lens to get THE picture, or was it too tight? If someone has used this lens, would you please post it with the extif so that I can have an idea of what settings you used?

Thanks!

 

[disneyboy2003]

I know the Headless Horsman is a very sought after shot. My fastest lens (aside from my fisheye) is my 50mm 1.8. Has anyone used this lens to get THE picture, or was it too tight? If someone has used this lens, would you please post it with the extif so that I can have an idea of what settings you used?

You're going to have sooooo much fun at MNSSHP!

To photograph the Headless Horseman, I actually used my regular walk-around lens, the 17-55mm f/2.8 lens, but I also used an external flash, too. Things happen really really fast and really really dark when the Headless Horseman gallops by, so I'm always afraid that f/1.8 or f/1.4 might give too shallow a depth-of-field for this picture.

Here are a couple photos I took a couple years ago:

1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800
focal length: 23mm (17-55mm f/2.8 lens)

1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800
focal length: 20mm (17-55mm f/2.8 lens)
​

Hope that helps!

 

[Experiment_626]

Neat! In this case, having red eye on the horse is actually desirable!

 

[WillowBelle]

Thanks for the examples DisneyBoy! My fisheye and my 50mm are the only 2 lenses that I have that I can drop down to f2.8. Have a great speedlight, and didn't think of using it whilst trying to capture the pic - thanks for that tip .

Wonder which lens to use, the 50mm and have it too 'tight' possibly, or the fisheye and deal with potential distortion but have the added ability to crop in closer........

Do they do this parade 2x's a night? Maybe I could try with both lenses.

 

[mom2rtk]

I really do think the 50mm will be too tight. If you move back far enough to get all of him in the shot, people will get in front of you. I took this one last year using my Sigma 30mm f1.4. I opened the aperture all the way up to 1.4 and set the ISO to 1600 (max on my Xsi). Shutter time was 1/30. No flash on this one.

You could try for more of a close up maybe, but that's harder on a moving subject. Of course, from what I've read, he moves MUCH slower than in previous years, so maybe it will be fine.

The other option with the 50mm would be to try and position yourself on a curve in the road so you can get him at more of a distance.

And yes, the parade does show twice every night.

Be sure to post back with how you do!

 

[WillowBelle]

I really do think the 50mm will be too tight. If you move back far enough to get all of him in the shot, people will get in front of you. I took this one last year using my Sigma 30mm f1.4. I opened the aperture all the way up to 1.4 and set the ISO to 1600 (max on my Xsi). Shutter time was 1/30. No flash on this one.

You could try for more of a close up maybe, but that's harder on a moving subject. Of course, from what I've read, he moves MUCH slower than in previous years, so maybe it will be fine.

The other option with the 50mm would be to try and position yourself on a curve in the road so you can get him at more of a distance.

And yes, the parade does show twice every night.

Be sure to post back with how you do!

Will you post your pic for me?

I agree in the thinking that the 50mm will definately be too tight. Would love to rent a 30mm for this trip, but we're taking the most economic trip I could ever take and can't justify spending the $$$ for renting a lens .

Maybe I'll just give it a shot with my fisheye. I can zoom it "all the way", while keeping it as level as possible, which will help with some distortion. That's all I've got to work with.

 

[mom2rtk]

Will you post your pic for me?

I agree in the thinking that the 50mm will definately be too tight. Would love to rent a 30mm for this trip, but we're taking the most economic trip I could ever take and can't justify spending the $$$ for renting a lens .

Maybe I'll just give it a shot with my fisheye. I can zoom it "all the way", while keeping it as level as possible, which will help with some distortion. That's all I've got to work with.

Sorry about that! I had the link copied and just left it off. Here goes:

[/url] The Headless Horseman by mom2rtk, on Flickr[/IMG]

I'm not sure which direction I'd go. Maybe go with fisheye trying to keep him right in the middle of the frame to minimize distortion then crop down a bit.....

The only down side of doing 2 parades is that it makes it really hard to do everything else. Of course you could stay for the first parade then stake out a spot for the second parade on the side of the park you want to be on, then just head off for something else after the Headless Horseman rides.

Good luck!

 

[mom2rtk]

Also note that he holds his head in his right hand. I liked being on that side for a better view of the head.

 

[WillowBelle]

Thanks for the pic! (If you look closely, it looks like you and disneyboy staked out the same spot!) Helps to see how others did it. I think that the fisheye will be my best bet. Hopefully I'll get the pic right the first time and then not have to worry about catching the 2nd one. Of course, right after the parade I'll have to find out a good spot to spread out my tripod so I can catch Hallowishes! Going to be a busy night!!!

 

[WillowBelle]

Also note that he holds his head in his right hand. I liked being on that side for a better view of the head.

TOTALLY didn't notice that! Thanks for the head's up (no pun intended )!

 

[mom2rtk]

I like being in the hub. You could also see the Villains stage show from there as well as shoot Hallowishes, maybe with the fisheye???? Depending on which night you are going, you might have to stake it out early though.

I had JUST bought the Sigma lens right before this trip, so I didn't do great with the parade, but it was OK, and better than I had before. I'm anxious to give it a go for MVMCP again!

 

[annnewjerz]

I didn't use my 50mm f/1.8 last year at MNSSHP, but I did use my Sigma 30 and had loads of extra room to crop...so I think a 50mm would be fine.

Headless horseman. by annnewjerz, on Flickr

 

[GrillMouster]

Blasting the horseman with on-camera flash can ruin the mood of the character & scene, but you may not have any other choice. This isn't a character you see regularly, and when you do see him it's just for a moment, so you don't get a lot of chances to experiment. I'd prefer to find a spot where there's plenty of light already available on the parade route. Check out the image just posted by annnewjerz. The character is sufficiently illuminated, while maintaining the mood. In fact, the way in which the shadows fall on the horseman and his horse (especially), it actually ENHANCES the mood! There are dramatic shadows with enough detail.

If I ever make it back to MNNSHP, I might have my wife stand on the other side of the street with a radio-controlled flashgun in her hand. I'll try for dramatic back/rim light.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

I used my Nikon 24-85mm 3.5/5.6 lens on our trip last week. I want to say I shot the Horseman at about ISO 400, flash 1/160 @ f/5.6. Probably around 35mm.

Hang on a few... let me see if I can find the shot...

Granted, it is a little dark (at least on my screen here... looks better at home...)

 

[GrillMouster]

Observation: All of the images posted thus far have been from the horseman's right side. A Google search yielded images taken from his left, and I think I prefer that side to photograph him. The pumpkin is always in his outstretched right hand with the carved portion facing the horseman's left side. It looks better seing the full jack-o-lantern face, and the outstretched arm looks more dramatic from that angle. From the right side the arm points toward the camera, obscuring a portion of the horseman's body, and sometimes (depending on the camera's angle) appearing as if it's resting on his shoulder. It just doesn't look as cool or dramatic from the right-hand side IMHO.