Steeplechase...

This photo depicts the 3000m steeplechase. I like the splash from the

lead runner, as well as the tightly packed group of runners behind

him. Any other comments?

You capture the feeling of the runner. Nice compostion.

I suggest cropping significantly tighter above the runner to minimize the distraction of decapitated figures behind him. You might also want to crop tighter left and right. The subject, after all, is this runner as he hits the puddle.

 

A very competent shot.

While tighter is usually better, I would actually suggest getting a little wider on this one to include the heads of the runners on top of the steeplechase. Concentrating on just the lead runner makes for a boring picture simply because there isn't enough action to interest the viewer. Widen it up to include the other runners just above him, and you've got context as well and that will make for an interesting picture

Advice to crop tighter was given on an assumption that we are looking at essentially the whole image in the negative frame -- perhaps not a good assumption at all. If it is correct, I firmly stand by my advice to crop in tighter. But if there is more to the neg image -- enough to include other racers without running into the decapitation business -- it certainly would be worth trying a looser composition for the sake of context. In going wider (for future reference), a somewhat larger shooting aperture would provide more starkly selective focus, thereby adding impact without sacrificing the context.

 

As a footnote on this, if you are shooting for publication (especially newspaper), my guess is that most editors would prefer the tighter crop.

If possible you got to go wider with this shot,to go tighter you would still have parts of the other runner`s body include in the shot,arms and legs.

One thing that I like about this one, is that it's taken AFTER the runner hit the pool. Somhehow, that makes it even more dynamic. Furthermore the contrast between the runner in the foreground, with dark shirt and complexion, and the much lighter runners in the background make it more striking.