Minor rant!

Meredith

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Those that may have read some of my previous posts know I refer to myself as a “ technological dinosaur”.
On my Face book page there are quite often invitations to post a comment and photo to win ( whatever). I am not naive enough to expect to win and neither do I want to put any extra personal details all over Facebook. I do realise also that the competitions are all about advertising
BUT
Is is fair that those like me who ride alone, can’t take a mobile phone picture even if offered a million pounds and whose only source of ridden photos is those purchased from professionals will never be able to enter?
I wish I could exclude these posts because every so often I see one and think
“Wouldn’t it be nice to try to win that?”
Rant over.
Thanks for reading
P. S. edited to add.. yes, I have posted photos on here but apart from 2, I think in about 8 years, they are field pics not ridden.
 

Widgeon

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If it's any consolation, I am pretty good with technology and have still never managed to get a good picture from my mobile out hacking. I have very few photos of me riding because like you I have no one to take them. If I had lots of friends to ride with who were also on social media and equipped with smartphones, I'm sure it would be different. But I don't (sob) and I can't seem to figure out how to take those lovely "sunset over my horses's ears" photos myself...!

Social media is all just a big game anyway, like you say it's all about advertising really. Sales shopping is far more effective and fun :-D
 

vhf

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I managed to win a brilliant hi-viz ride on fly rug in a Facebook competition - but I didn't have to have a photo! I can just about do the "view through the ears" photos, but am stuck otherwise... I resorted to taking a photo of my horse and myself in a roadside mirror to send to the company I won the rug from!
 

Meredith

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I managed to win a brilliant hi-viz ride on fly rug in a Facebook competition - but I didn't have to have a photo! I can just about do the "view through the ears" photos, but am stuck otherwise... I resorted to taking a photo of my horse and myself in a roadside mirror to send to the company I won the rug from!

Well done.
You have given away your secret so we can all try that trick sometime.
 
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Merrymoles

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I've got one "view through the ears" photo taken on the yard - generally I daren't get my phone out on my horse - if he had a wobble about something, I'd lose my work appointments, contacts etc etc!
 

dogatemysalad

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I'm the same, I rarely take photos anyway probably because I'm too busy enjoying the moment to stop and take a picture or to pose for one. I do have a few nice professional ones but it's not the same as those lovely pictures that some people manage to capture when galloping along a beach or jumping a hedge.
I have memories of fabulous rides that would have made great pictures, but they're lost in the mists of time. Shame really.
 

Meredith

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I'm the same, I rarely take photos anyway probably because I'm too busy enjoying the moment to stop and take a picture or to pose for one. I do have a few nice professional ones but it's not the same as those lovely pictures that some people manage to capture when galloping along a beach or jumping a hedge.
I have memories of fabulous rides that would have made great pictures, but they're lost in the mists of time. Shame really.

Many years ago I managed somehow to take a photo of my friend on her now long gone horse on a beach ride. I used an ordinary camera. She had it ‘converted’ and put it as her screensaver. I gave friend camera and said “Take some of me”.
The result was half a dozen pictures of the sand, one of my horse’s legs in the shallows and one taken from so far away a magnifying glass was needed.
 

rowan666

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I know the feeling, I very rarely have time to ride but when I do i can never get a nice pic for these reasons
1.. the friend I ride with is terrible at taking pics/videos (by her own admission)
2.. my horses pull a variety of faces only a mother could love as soon as a camera comes out
3.. if a nice pic of my horse is somehow captured then it's only when I look like a bag of spuds or im pulling a face not even my mother could love! 😂
 

JFTDWS

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I take the precaution of a decent camera, and a reciprocal arrangement with like-minded friends. I photo-bitch for them, they photo-bitch for me. Or, sometimes, I bribe my mother with coffee and nice food to come and take photos ;)
 

Meredith

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I take the precaution of a decent camera, and a reciprocal arrangement with like-minded friends. I photo-bitch for them, they photo-bitch for me. Or, sometimes, I bribe my mother with coffee and nice food to come and take photos ;)

Unfortunately my family live far away and mother is over 90, as quoted above one friend is a useless photographer and acknowledges it, another doesn't care about photos at all, never keeps any and says they are just clutter.
I have over the years kept some awful pictures because otherwise there would not be an image to jog my memory.
 
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I know. I'm totally going to come and take a tonne of photos of you and your ponies, so your future SSs get an easier ride :p

Where would the fun be in that!?!?!?! And anyway who doesnt like a nice picture of a shetland or GrayMo being a mong?!?!?!? 😂😂😂😂😂
 

JFTDWS

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Where would the fun be in that!?!?!?! And anyway who doesnt like a nice picture of a shetland or GrayMo being a mong?!?!?!? 😂😂😂😂😂

One does like them. A great deal. A nice photo of a shetland or GrayMo that is more than a few pixels across and can be printed out in decent quality would be very useful ;)
 

JFTDWS

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Unfortunately my family live far away and mother is over 90, as quoted above one friend is a useless photographer and acknowledges it, another doesn't care about photos at all, never keeps any and says they are just clutter.
I have over the years kept some awful pictures because otherwise there would not be an image to jog my memory.

You need new / better friends ;)

If you're Essex or central Scotland I could appear with a camera. If you're not, you need to get your claws into someone else :p
 

Trinket12

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I had the husband come out and take some pictures, because I wanted some of me riding and not just sitting on Risky.

Well, I have never posted those pictures, because I either look really mad (my concentrating face) or grinning like a psycho because I remembered to smile and I over compensated, a lot....... :rolleyes:
 

Meredith

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You need new / better friends ;)

If you're Essex or central Scotland I could appear with a camera. If you're not, you need to get your claws into someone else :p

Thank you but Scotland is too far. Family are in Essex. I am not.😀
I keep my horse at home and ride alone mostly so photo opportunities are rare and those riders who are capable of helping are, unfortunately, probably not interested in tagging along with someone as old as their grandmother.
Sorry if that reads badly, it is a statement of fact, not a comment on attitudes. It is difficult to put the right expression in the written word sometimes.
 

FinnishLapphund

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Thank you but Scotland is too far. Family are in Essex. I am not.😀
I keep my horse at home and ride alone mostly so photo opportunities are rare and those riders who are capable of helping are, unfortunately, probably not interested in tagging along with someone as old as their grandmother.
Sorry if that reads badly, it is a statement of fact, not a comment on attitudes. It is difficult to put the right expression in the written word sometimes.

Don't presume that, ask them. Maybe one of them would enjoy helping you take some pictures.
 

teacups

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Agree with FinnishLapphund. And almost anyone should be able to do better than your friend, so if you post your general location I bet you will get volunteers. Or..you could go for one of those professional photoshoots. Then you really would get decent photos.
 

JFTDWS

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those riders who are capable of helping are, unfortunately, probably not interested in tagging along with someone as old as their grandmother.

Don't presume so - age is irrelevant. I'm always happy to tag along with people (of any age!) and photo from time to time. Sadly (or not at all sadly, for those who don't want me cropping up with a camera every five minutes!), I'm not everywhere in the country, but there are people like me all over the place if you can only find them!

(And god knows, that's a worrying enough thought!)
 

Meredith

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Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
I haven’t multi quoted as the post would be yards long.
I suppose that my generation don’t intrude ( as we were told). I am more inclined to speak to those I am acquainted with and carry on not join them.
Perhaps I need to be braver and if I see someone I know just ask.
 

ester

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Definitely ask, I'm lucky in that I have had friends who like taking pictures and have been happy to do so on occasion just to do that. Even I can make photos look reasonableish with their cast off spare too ;).

Some of my favourite photos were opportunistic though, my favourite beach one was taken by my instructors mum who just happened to be on the beach after xmas with her new xmas present.

My mum plays groom for her surrogate daughter- who lives much closer than the real ones (much more than she ever did me as the real one) but her photography/videography skills are just amusing. I've made no improvement in her skills over the last 14 years and have apologised to surrogate for that :D. You mostly get grass or arena.
 

Nasicus

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I'm in an annoying position where I can take great photos of other people and my horse on the ground, I did media for 5 years so I understand framing, rule of thirds etc. But whenever I ask someone else to take a photo of me on the pony, they always come out bloody awful. My head cut off, horse mostly out of frame, not understanding you can step back to fit us both in the frame etc. I'd never express my annoyance mind, and I always thank them for their time and for doing so, but my goodness I'd love to just have a nice photo of me on board for once :p
 

Silver Clouds

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As there seems to be a lot of us who ride/compete alone (I am another one with lots of 'through the ears' shots but very few pictures of me riding) and don't have family/friends who are willing or able to take pictures perhaps we need to use HHO to do some matchmaking? Maybe pairing up people in the same area of the country for a reciprocal arrangement :)

I did manage to drag (it took a LOT of persuasion and bribery) my sister to a dressage comp last year, but there wasn't a single picture where she hadn't cut off a part of me and/or the horse- she isn't open to constructive criticism so I had to smile and say thank you :rolleyes:
 

hopscotch bandit

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I have very very few pictures of me riding my own horses as I am always by myself. I have a few from work but not many. So you are defos not alone!
I have often balanced my mobile on a menage or gate fence, put the 10 second photo delay on and got back into position to take the photo. I've balanced my camera or phone on the fence post to take assessment videos for the vet as well. I have about 15 really good action photos of me riding my horse which have been taken by event photographers which I cherish, especially as I looked so much slimmer then. Now the horse is slimmer and I'm fat lol
 
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