I have previously written about photographing renaissance festivals. This time around, I'd like to focus on the most popular event at renfests, the joust. These pictures came from the Ohio Renaissance Festival, October 11, 2008 at Harveysburg, Ohio. Jousting contests are very hard to shoot. You have a crowd of people and all of the action you'd really want to catch happens in a split second in the middle of the arena. If you are not ready or you have a bad vantage point, your chances of getting a great bunch of pictures are slim to none. The contest typically starts with the knights being introduced to the audience and each knight picking a "lady" to champion. Then, the crowd gets to choose their favorite rider. Points are awarded for landing certain blows and bonus points are given for breaking a lance in the process. A dismount is the ultimate goal. Once the riders begin the actual joust, you must be ready to shoot.

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The arena consists of a dirt track with a center divided into two lanes. The riders begin at one end of a lane and ride to the other. In the center, the knights cross lances with the goal of landing a blow to the other, if possible knocking the other rider off his horse. Your goal is to capture that precise moment when lances cross and one rider or the other lands a successful blow. A joust typically lasts for about half a dozen passes across the arena, so, you don't have much time to get things right. If you are not ready ahead of time, you'll never get your shot and even if you are ready, the action is over in a split second.

When shooting a joust, there is only one place to be. You must arrive early and position yourself at one end or the other of the arena and in direct line with the center divider. You need a long, fast lens and a steady tripod. I was shooting with a Sigma 135-400 APO DG lens on a Manfrotto tripod. I was able to shoot with a 4.5 aperture at one 1500th of a second shutter speed.

You have to position yourself exactly as I've recommended and have your camera on and ready to click the shutter before the riders head up the lane. Once they meet in the middle, your photo opportunity is gone in an instant. My Sigma lens was chosen because it has a very fast focus motor in it and the aperture is wide enough for me to catch the action even at full zoom. The lens is big and has its own tripod mount, so, I did not have to worry about holding steady, I just clicked the shutter button when the time was right. I was already aimed at the center field.

As you can see from these images, I was in the right spot and ready when the knights crossed lances. I never could have done this without being at the arena ahead of time, getting my perfect spot right at the outer fence, having the right lens, great weather, and knowing when to click the shutter.

Unfortunately, you have to develop your timing for these sorts of shots and an event like this one only gives you about half a dozen attempts before it is over. You either get it right, or you come back another day and try again. This was my day, though, and I had everything ready for action when it began. My trip to the renaissance festival was planned specifically for the joust and I knew I had a perfect day for this challenge.

By the way, take a look around you. When you are waiting for the joust to start, there are some other photo opportunities you might miss if you don't keep your eyes open. I shot these two images while waiting at the end of the arena. Had I not been paying attention, I would have missed a couple of ready cool shots.

If there are any renaissance festivals in your area, be sure to check online and read the daily schedule of events. Plan your trip around the photographs you'd like to take when you are there and make sure you are prepared. Take a tripod with you. I am always one of the few people walking around with a tripod, but, my images are sharp and clear. Most people, these days, are shooting off-hand. That's a big mistake when using long lenses. The rule used to be don't hand-hold anything from 200mm or larger. These days, I see people shooting 300mm and beyond without a tripod and their shots just aren't sharp enough for my taste. If they try to print anything larger than 4x6, they will wonder what went wrong.

You can check out the Ohio Renaissance Festival at this URL: http://www.renfestival.com/