Bill Luster's Photo Blog

Reinke ready for the moment

2006-05-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

Louisville AP photographer Ed Reinke was poised at the barn of Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro on Sunday morning after the colt won the roses.

Two at the Finish

2006-05-15T13:53:00.000-07:00

Whew! What a load to run into at the Kentucky Derby!. Sports Illustrated photographer Bill Frakes and current commerical photographer Dan Dry at the finish line. I'll leave it to others to comment.

Defiance on the Backside

2006-04-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

This cat is on top of things at Churchill Downs and is defiant. Of course he is not tied up, but he paid no attention to the sign posted near the tree. He was there with trainer Dan Pietz and his Derby horse, Steffenwolfer. The cat is Tomisue. I'm betting this horse to win it all.

The picture before the picture!

2006-04-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

My Herald-Leader colleague sent me this snapper today showing the beginning of my reaction to the horse rearing up on the Churchill Downs track. He shot a couple of seconds earlier. See his frame on heraldleaderphoto.com/blog---

Rearing up at Churchill Downs

2006-04-28T15:15:00.000-07:00

I have been covering the Kentucky Derby for 41 years and one learns to expect the unexpected. It happened this morning on the track on the backside. Herald-Leader photographer David Stephenson and I were photographing Dan Hendricks, the trainer of Derby favorite Brother Derek when we both turned to see a horse rear up in front of us. I heard a commotion in front of Hendricks and turned, and I turned a couple of seconds too late, and saw a horse rear up and nearly throw its rider. I got off two frames. Stephenson's picture is better...and I'll know I'll hear about it next week. My picture is shot with a Nikon D2X which is a great, great camera with a 17-55 lens, 500 at 5.6 @ISO 100.

Winners Circle Photographers at the Bluegrass

2006-04-17T17:51:00.000-07:00

Not much comment needed. This picture speaks volumes. Photograph by Ken Weaver.

From a bad assignment to decent picture

2006-04-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

I was sent to photograph a plate of food at a Mexican resturant in Louisville. I was overjoyed at the assignment. While waiting for the food to appear I noticed a couples shadow on the wall. I found this extremely interesting and spent quite a few pixels while waiting for the light to get right and the shadows to work.It finally worked and I left the resturant with a smile on my face.

As easy as 1-2-3

2006-04-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

Most of the time at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, I go down to the track from the press box for the feature race. But I decided to gamble today (not to mention it was raining) and go on the roof of the press box. The feature race ran perfectly and I was able to capture the winner, second place, and third place, with perfect spacing. Doesn't happen a lot, but this was worth it. Nikon D2X camera with a 300mm 2.8 lens and working with the hi-speed crop function on the camera.

New Digital Photography Equipment

2006-04-07T14:21:00.000-07:00

My colleage Ann Eberhardt, who works for the Blood Horse in Lexington covering horse racing, has apparently pioneered new digital photography viewing equipment. A hustler gave her the equipment before the fourth race today and she decided it defintely improved her vision. She shot amazing photos the rest of the day. To buy one of these units, go to www.thethreedimenosalmakeyourpicturesbetterandclearer.com.

Distractions

2006-02-16T13:55:00.000-08:00

I've covered most of Kentucky's home basketball games this season. The season has been disappointing and has seen a lot of distractions. Last night, as Kentucky played Georgia, I was in a posiition to photograph Kentucky fans trying to distract a Georgia player during his attempt at the foul line. He missed and Kentucky won the game. Shot with a Nikon D2H with a 300mm 2.8 lens at iso 800.