Ice Hockey C&C

sprinkles

Ok this is my first attempt at some sports photography. A friend of mine was playing in a local league so I decided to go out and have a look at him in action.

The biggest problem was the dirt of the "glass" around the rink, I tried my best to deal with it but it still turns up in some of them.

Anyway, I was hoping to get out again soon to do a bit more shooting so any tips on what I'm doing wrong etc would be much appreciated!

Thanks
Danny

#1 - Keep Quiet


#2 - Ref enjoys a laugh


#3 - Ready for action


#4 - Keeper


#5 - Faceoff

sprinkles

#6 - On the puck


#7 - Breakaway


#8 - Ready


#9 - Sent off at the end of the 3rd...


#10 - Cheeky

sprinkles

#11 -


#12 - Shootout (dirty glass is glaringly obvious here - tried to keep the shutter speed as fast as possible to reduce it somewhat)


#13 - Same dirt...

dinneenp

Just out of interest are you shooting with Canon 5D mkII? What lens?
In my very ameteur opinion:
I like no 2 a lot- nice dof. What settings?
3 is good
4 would be better if shot was a lot wider
5- keeper with no head distracts me. and the scorebaord
8 would be better if players in the background had heads (but still blurry)
I like 9 (expect the player doens't seem to be sharp focused).
11- nice action shot, espically as he still has the puck.

If I was at game like this I'd try some shutter speed shots/panning to get nice sense of motion/speed.

Well done though.
Pa.

AnimalRights

Never being to an ice hockey game but....

Overall the colours seem very subdued and dull, the White balance seems off too and not enough action shots of a sport that is known for high speed and action.

#1 is a nice idea but still seems wrongly executed somehow.

#3 like #1 but carried out somewhat better if still not perfect.

#4 no need for this shot 'cos you have #3, it would've failed too either way, just too much of a meh snap.

#5 like most of your rink shots it's just lacking contrast/pop or basically any life.

#9#10 and others is missing the puck too often?

#12 gives a feel for the game but I still it can be executed better and I'm not referring to the perspex/glass

It does make me feel like going out to photograph an ice hockey match and I'm fairly sure I'd probably get the same results lol!
What was the lighting like in there and what Cam/lens did you use?

sprinkles

dinneenp wrote: »

Just out of interest are you shooting with Canon 5D mkII? What lens?
In my very ameteur opinion:
I like no 2 a lot- nice dof. What settings?

Used a 5D alright, with a mix between a 50mm 1.8 and a 70-200 f4

4 would be better if shot was a lot wider

I actually cropped it to this, not much mind you. I'll dig out the uncropped version and stick it up for comparison.

5- keeper with no head distracts me. and the scorebaord

Yeah I don't really like this one tbh, but it was a shot the best shot I had of the faceoff with the scoreboard in the background, had to wait for the keeper to duck to get it too Don't think it really works.

8 would be better if players in the background had heads (but still blurry)

This is the only shot I got that wasn't through the glass - just held the camera over the glass couldn't really see what I was shooting - pity the heads are cut off!

I like 9 (expect the player doens't seem to be sharp focused).

Not focused at all really. I was shooting in servo mode and the camera kept picking up the dirt on the glass - played havoc with all my close shots. This was my friend getting sent to the bin for 2 mins with 3 mins left on the clock - just wanted to capture the moment

11- nice action shot, espically as he still has the puck.

yeah same thing here though with regard to the focus - still off!!

If I was at game like this I'd try some shutter speed shots/panning to get nice sense of motion/speed.

Well done though.
Pa.

Cheers. Yeah a panning shot would be great but difficult to do given the set up they have - I might risk getting in behind the bench although there were quite a few flying pucks to contend with there.

AnimalRights wrote: »

Never being to an ice hockey game but....

Overall the colours seem very subdued and dull, the White balance seems off too and not enough action shots of a sport that is known for high speed and action.

I agree looking at them on here that something is off - they do look quite dull but that's an issue I've been having with Picasa. On my mac they look a lot more vibrant. I'll link a few of them from my pix.ie account and see if there's a difference.
[quote
#3 like #1 but carried out somewhat better if still not perfect.[/quote] I agree, I wanna try this one again a little bit lower and more DOF if possible.

#9#10 and others is missing the puck too often?

Indeed, I'd say half of what I shot had the puck missing, either it's hidden behind bodies/stick or it's after flying off somewhere

It does make me feel like going out to photograph an ice hockey match and I'm fairly sure I'd probably get the same results lol!

It's a great sport, only recently got into it. This is just a very basic level league but that game was great, had a bit of everything in it. I'm a bit annoyed at how some of the shots turned out but I like a few of them, it's at least given me a few ideas for the next trip.

What was the lighting like in there and what Cam/lens did you use?

The lighting was actually terrible, I had to use quite high ISO's to keep the lens as fast as possible, I was surprised as I through the ice would have meant a lot brighter environment. For nearly all the pics I had to mess about with the exposure in aperture too, I didn't get the light metering right at all. I'll step it up 1/3 stop next time. Lens and camera as above.

Thanks for the comments!!

sprinkles

A few different shots..

#14


#15 - One of the dirt Actually like this one for some reason


#16

dinneenp

here's a very nice panning shot.

On a very vaguely related topic there's some seriously stunning pics here

PCPhoto

one of the main things to focus on while shooting sports is getting faces .... no point in taking photos of the backs of people.

if possible arrange access to the press area - I've never shot Ice-hockey but would love to do it, If I was in your situation I would get right up to the glass and shoot pressing the lens against it - to cut out reflections.

if you are friends with the team arrange to be sat in with the team - as there is usually (on TV) a space where players can view the ice directly - no plexiglass.

Paulw

PCPhoto wrote: »

if possible arrange access to the press area - I've never shot Ice-hockey but would love to do it, If I was in your situation I would get right up to the glass and shoot pressing the lens against it - to cut out reflections.

if you are friends with the team arrange to be sat in with the team - as there is usually (on TV) a space where players can view the ice directly - no plexiglass.

I've shot ice-hockey once. A very interesting experience. I must arrange to do it again sometime.

Pressing against the glass is the best way, or to get above or inside the glass.

For one period of the game, I shot through the glass. It was very difficult, due to the thickness and dirt/scratches.

For another period I shot from the gallery, looking over the glass. Not bad, but a poor angle really.

For the third period, I was asked permission to sit in the players box and shoot there. They were not really in favour of it, for safety reasons. That puck travels very fast, and can cause a lot of damage (even kill) if it hits you. But, we eventually came to an agreement and I shot from the box.

Some of my images from that can be seen here http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulwa/sets/72157613247892016/

sNarah

Our camera club was granted access to the icedome in Dundalk for some shots, as the ice hockey club was putting together an exhibition to promote the sport. I didn't go myself but one of the players/photogs came in for a talk and gave a bit of advice.

Firstly, they had arranged full access to the pitch - like Pcphoto said - taking pcitures behind the plexiglass just doens't do the trick. The photog could either shoot from the playersbox, or even forage onto the ice - perhaps behind the goal and get different shots like that.

Secondly, the lighting in ice hockey domes is shockingly bad. I have no clue as to how to get the right settings.

Thirdly, get faces, the puck + a bit of action. Maybe a wee bit of ice flying around the joint

I can't seem to find any of their pics online for examples, but the one yer man from Dundalk had were absolutely cracking.

Hearvee

Looks like even being behind the glass isn't always safe either!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL9CvG1vaKA

Went to a couple of games in Helsinki earlier in the year, and took a few shots from my seat in the stands. Not the best angle but at least I could shoot over the glass. And being a top level game the lighting was excellent.
Would love to get a chance to shoot it properly.

HIFK vs Espoo Blues
Jokerit vs HIFK

dinneenp

@hearvee- what settings, lens did you use for your Connaught rugby shots?
I'm going to go along to a game soon (I'm in Galway too), did you have to ask permission to take shots, stand by corner of pitch?

Paulw

Hearvee wrote: »

Looks like even being behind the glass isn't always safe either!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL9CvG1vaKA

Is there a small hole in the glass there, where a photographer can put his lens through to shoot?? I thought that was what happened. The puck went through the hole and hit the photographer.

Ice-hockey is a very fast sport, and in Dundalk the lights are poor. Not always easy to shoot, but a fun challenge.

Borderfox

you would want to be shooting around a full stop over to compensate for the ice

Same time as Paul, shot through the glass

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3526/3245347219_72bedc5247.jpg

jspruit

You might want to check out hockey photography on the following forum:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=30

I learned quite a bit from them to get started in basketball photography.

sprinkles

Paulw wrote: »

Some of my images from that can be seen here http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulwa/sets/72157613247892016/

Some great images there Paul, thanks. I'll try stepping it up by a full stop next time. I had access to the box but it was a semi final and the 2 teams weren't overly happy with me hanging about, they wanted to concentrate so I only stayed until the game kicked off.

The one shot I wanted was the ice spray when a player was stopping - just missed it on a few occasions :mad:

Borderfox

Like this?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3320/3245328513_5eeec9e0d6.jpg

red_ice

Hi sprinkles

i play hockey myself. Theres always a photographer leaning in around the benches for shots during games. Ill have to route up his name so you can see some of his shots.

Is there a possibility of getting closer to the benches? Most hockey photographers shoot the opposite end of the ice (as far as i know). That way you can get over the plexiglass, but you look more like you are at ground level.

Thats the rams that borderfox has posted, and cliff barns is the chap infront of goal there. That shot was taken from mid ice by the penalty box in the dundalk icedome.

Is there a team there? or is it just your friend dressed up in the montreal jearseys?

i really like http://photos5.pix.ie/36/47/3647F53F957B40DA922839CDFA57F907-800.jpg this shot. It looks like a classic hockey shot imo.

sprinkles

I could get access to the bench but I felt like I was in the way and annoying the players a bit - it was a big game and I didn't want to distract them too much! I might get there a bit earlier next time and get set up at the Ref's box, that'll be a little bit more out of the way. The rink doesn't have tiered seating, in fact the only seating is in the bar overlooking the ice and that has a net covering most of the view so it wasn't worth shooting from there.

Both teams were local teams from Vancouver. My friend's team was the Vancouver Jets (in black). I'm not sure what the other team was called.

red_ice

cool! Get in the bench, but stay to the side and get away from teh doors, you'll be fine. Noone cares - jsut avoid the spit

hbr

sprinkles wrote: »

Ok this is my first attempt at some sports photography. A friend of mine was playing in a local league so I decided to go out and have a look at him in action.

So you decided to start with something slow and easy

The biggest problem was the dirt of the "glass" around the rink, I tried my best to deal with it but it still turns up in some of them.

I noticed that, particularly in #1, unless that was intentional? Sometimes the autofocus system is just too damn good.

I like #2 a lot.

I would prefer to see the focus point in #3 moved forward a bit. The out-of-focus red helmet is quite distracting.

#4 would be good if it wasn't so noisy. I would try to get that one again with lower ISO.
That might be easier said than done in tricky lighting conditions.

#5 has a kind of washed-out look that I don't like. The only interesting feature is the apparently beheaded goalkeeper

Anyway, I was hoping to get out again soon to do a bit more shooting so any tips on what I'm doing wrong etc would be much appreciated!

I would love to go with you. I'm sure a lot of the other forum members would like to be there too.