Photographing Royal Hobart Show
Spring Agricultural Event Brings the Country to Tasmanian Capital.
Photo opportunities abound at this county fair, Australian style, with a wide variety of events, exhibitions and entertainments providing some unique images.
Hobart is the capital city of Australia’s island state, Tasmania, located off the southeast corner of the continent. Its annual Royal Agricultural Show has its roots in exhibitions held since the early days of European settlement in the early 1800s. The current location at Elwick Showgrounds has been its home since early last century.
Held over four days the wide variety of events, exhibitions and entertainment have expanded beyond the original concept of farmers displaying their best animals and produce while they take the opportunity to peruse the latest machinery and farm gadgets. The serious machinery displays for farmers now takes place at specialized events such as Agfest.
A regular event missing from the main arena at this year’s Royal Hobart show was show jumping. Following the introduction to Australia of Equine Influenza from a federal government quarantine facility, the movement of horses are severely restricted as state authorities try to contain this exotic disease. However, there were plenty of other attractions providing visitors with a range of photographic possibilities.
Equipment
Camera Body Pentax *istDS digital SLR . The APS-C sensor size makes the focal length of lenses 1.5 longer than they are on a normal 35mm film SLR.
The two lenses used were a Sigma 135-400mm zoom, and a Sigma 18-125mm zoom.
Sheep Dogs
One traditional agricultural show event is the sheepdog trials. Here a dog must herd a group of three sheep though a series of obstacles. The handler instructs their dog during the event with whistles and commands, but cannot assist in herding the sheep.
While commonly thought of as docile, compliant animals, when three sheep face a dog half their size they can become aggressive. The dog is judged on how well they move the group of sheep through the course.
As the event was taking place in the middle of the main arena, it called for a powerful telephoto lens and a monopod to reduce camera shake. In this case, the Sigma 135-400mm zoom provided the magnifying power to fill the frame when the action moved to the centre of the arena. While not small, this lens is still reasonably compact for what it delivers.
To get the most pleasing lighting aspect required a walk away from the main spectator area to the far side of the arena. Composition requires a degree of patience while waiting for all three elements move into a pleasing configuration. The monopod helps by holding the heavy lens in position for extended periods.
Wood Chopping
Tasmania’s long history with forestry produced the traditional sport of wood chopping. Around Tasmania, axeman compete fiercely to chop through specially prepared logs. The logs cut from local Eucalyptus are a tough hardwood, unlike the soft easy to cut softwoods used in other parts of the world.
The most spectacular event is the tree-felling contest. Here the axemen must cut a series of notches in a tall log to hold a series of boards that become platforms used to climb the tree. Once at the top, the first to chop through the log is the winner.
Here the shorter Sigma zoom came into its own with its wider angle of view. Shooting events in the morning light set up Mt Wellington as a backdrop, one of the city’s major landmarks. As the axe men climbed higher in the tree-felling event, the zoom could follow them, maintaining a full frame image. A polarizing filter helped make the sky a deeper blue.
At its shortest focal length, this zoom’s wide angle of view allows the capture of the overall image of the action in a wood chopping arena.
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