On a couple of previous visits to Rodeo Austin, I remember a delightful horse show run by a family from Mexico. I checked the schedule, and one of Tomas Garcilazo’s performances was only half an hour away. I got there early to secure a great seat near the front.

I blogged about his performance seven years ago in 2017 with his masterful rope tricks shot with an Olympus PEN-F. My full-frame Sony A7C setup had some advantages and disadvantages. The 28mm generally worked well but was insufficient to capture the far-away rope trick demos. Consequently, I opted not to shoot those scenes. With the PEN-F, I had a 50mm equivalent that worked better.

On the plus side, the A7C’s fast-tracking and low-light capability allowed for better action shots. I set the shutter to a fast 1/800s to sufficiently stop most movement as they galloped past. Their closer proximity worked well at 28mm. I knew the ISO 3200 needed for the picture would be high quality, especially compared to the Micro 4/3 cameras I used back then.

Blog readers, you’ll love my free monthly photography magazine. Signup for the free magazine to get articles and topics not discussed on the blog.