# The "Belly Scritch" Jump **URL:** \ **Category:** Image Critiques\ **Tags:** non-nature\ **Created:** [September 15, 2026, 8:46pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/the-belly-scritch-jump/52281 "2026-09-15T20:46:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dennis\_Plank](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/dennis_plank/32/27033_2.png) [@Dennis\_Plank](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Dennis_Plank)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 8:46pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/the-belly-scritch-jump/52281/1 "2026-09-15T20:46:06Z")
![Original - -20260912-_SA18804-Aspen Farms-DxO_DeepPRIME 3-Edit.jpg](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/a/6/a6e3f475cd305606523a2f2b58ae1a07cd534884.jpeg) **Critique Style:** Standard The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below. **Feedback Focus:** Artistic + Technical ### About This Image My wife and I did our annual pilgrimage to the local three-day eventing facility Saturday-her to bathe in the aura of horses and me to photograph them. We always do the cross-country as there’s at least a chance of catching a decent background and personally, I find it more interesting than dressage or show jumping. While my wife would argue that there is nothing more natural than a woman on a horse’s back, according to our rules, this goes in non-nature. I liked this jump for the nature of it and because I could get an angle where it was pretty easy to remove the flag stakes that they put on either side of the jumps. ### Feedback Requested I came perilously close to clipping the hind hoofs in this frame and when I straightened it and tried content-aware fill it didn’t work well, so I resorted to generative fill which did work nicely except for the near leg of the jump which it made too short. A simple clone fixed that. We had fairly good cloud cover, but the light was still moderately directional and was from behind for this shot, so I did a lot of shadow lifting. Does it still look realistic? ### Technical Details Camera: SONY ILCE-1 Lens: FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS Focal length: 200mm Shutter speed: 1/2500s Aperture: f/9 ISO: 4000 Hand held. ---
**Author:** ![Diane\_Miller](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/diane_miller/32/27391_2.png) [@Diane\_Miller](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Diane_Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2026, 2:21pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/the-belly-scritch-jump/52281/2 "2026-09-16T14:21:18Z")
Very nice capture! Lovely setting and a great example of the rider keeping her CG where it needs to be.) The light looks just right to me – no evidence of tampering detected. (And I try to tamper with bad light a lot, so should be able to recognize it.) ---
**Author:** ![Glenys\_Passier](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/glenys_passier/32/33963_2.png) [@Glenys\_Passier](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Glenys_Passier)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 9:43pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/the-belly-scritch-jump/52281/3 "2026-09-17T21:43:02Z")
You’ve caught the horse and rider very well. The intent on both faces is immense. The grey horse against the darker background has really worked well. The light is good. It looks realistic. (Love @Diane_Miller 's comment on the subject!) It’s not easy choosing a place to photograph an event. I think you have picked a good spot and there is no trace of any flags being removed. I might have been inclined to shoot a bit further away to get more of the course? but this has worked just fine. Some suggestions; maybe lower the contrast of the jump, lighten the riders face just a tad. I would consider adding a little more ground below. I bet the rider would be tickled pink to see this image. In all my long gone years of competing I have one crappy photo. ---
**Author:** ![Dennis\_Plank](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/dennis_plank/32/27033_2.png) [@Dennis\_Plank](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Dennis_Plank)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 9:58pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/the-belly-scritch-jump/52281/4 "2026-09-17T21:58:08Z")
Hi Glennie. Thanks for the input. I don’t know if it’s the venue or the times, but this place hires a professional photography team to photograph it, though they don’t mind amateurs. They also have gopros or some other small video cameras set up all over the place to get video of everything. The one bet they’ve missed, in my opinion, is setting up a special photo jump with a great background and good light to get real commercial quality images. Given the number of people rooting for the riders, I think they could make some money on that. ---
**Author:** ![Glenys\_Passier](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/glenys_passier/32/33963_2.png) [@Glenys\_Passier](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Glenys_Passier)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 10:05pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/the-belly-scritch-jump/52281/5 "2026-09-17T22:05:57Z")
Yes Dennis! I thought they would have professionals there. Sometimes you have to tread llightly. (I was taking photos at my son’s wedding with a 200mm lens and the paid professional asked me to stop shooting! I was very conscience of where I was and didn’t “steal” her poses or interfere with her shots.) Setting up a “photo jump” is a wonderful idea. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_Zablotny](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/jim_zablotny/32/3919_2.png) [@Jim\_Zablotny](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Jim_Zablotny)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 10:32pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/the-belly-scritch-jump/52281/6 "2026-09-17T22:32:51Z")
A very nice comp with just enough space for the rotation during post processing. The lighting looks good and the lights and shadows are exposed well. The wrinkles on the horse’s rump are interesting. I’ve never seen that before in a jumping horse. Well done…Jim ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Peters](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/don_peters/32/87970_2.png) [@Don\_Peters](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Don_Peters)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 10:07pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/the-belly-scritch-jump/52281/7 "2026-09-20T22:07:26Z")
A cool picture, Dennis. I have no suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Buffington](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@Steve\_Buffington](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Steve_Buffington)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 1:43am UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/the-belly-scritch-jump/52281/8 "2026-09-21T01:43:37Z")
Hello Dennis. Nice action packed shot. Looks realistic to me. Good job. I had a different opinion of the winkles on the rump. I would clone those out as I don’t think that is what the viewers attention should be drawn to. As a suggestion, you might want to try to blur the trees in the back, just a tad.