Newbie Hockey Shots

[dadwtwins]

Thanks to my mentor April other wise known here as AKTSE (http://aktse.smugmug.com/%5B/URL) , I feel I am getting better at hockey shots. I just started to shoot hockey a month ago and really did not have a full grasp at what i was up against. The low light conditions, very quick pace, shooting through dirty scratched glass and not understanding the game of hockey made it very difficult for me to take any pictures that were decent.

April took me by the hand and not only explained the fundamentals of the game of hockey to me, she explained how to shoot in such extreme settings and subjects in a way i could understand.

I normally shoot portraits or landscapes where I am able to control lighting as well as the subject without the panic of time constraints. If I make a mistake, I can just take the picture again.

With sports photography, you do not have the luxury of time, retakes or the ability to pose your subject. A big difference for me and my for mind to except. With the coaching of April, I soon started to understand how valuable anticipation of actions became, keeping your eye on the entire rink while following the action, not being afraid of shooting many frames during an action sequence or the anticipation of an action sequence, proper exposure settings, constantly checking and adjusting White Balance as the light conditions changed, etc....etc... So many little tricks but well worth learning and trying to achieve good to great Hockey shots.

Thank you April for your time, teachings and patience. You have been a huge help on this forum and off the forum for me and many others. You are a true lover of Hockey and sports photography as well as sharing your personal experiences. Thanks for your passion and thanks for your willingness to share with beginners like myself:bow

Here are a few picks I took of a goalie last week in your honor:thumb

http://DThorp.smugmug.com/photos/267780072_Xv2sa-M.jpg

http://DThorp.smugmug.com/photos/267779004_himTn-M.jpg

http://DThorp.smugmug.com/photos/267779642_VmLrs-M.jpg

http://DThorp.smugmug.com/photos/267779205_8CtrD-M.jpg

http://DThorp.smugmug.com/photos/267779866_hMVmG-M.jpg

http://DThorp.smugmug.com/photos/267779411_MK8a5-M.jpg

[aktse]

You really know how to make a girl blush! (face bright pink). Thank you so much for you kind words, but all I really did was to give you a some few basic pointers, some feedback on what worked and what didn’t and you did the rest with your tremendous photo ability.

Very, very well done! You should be very proud of this set! :lust

These three are my favorite of the set that you posted….



http://dthorp.smugmug.com/photos/267780072_Xv2sa-Th.jpg

http://dthorp.smugmug.com/photos/267779642_VmLrs-Th.jpg

http://dthorp.smugmug.com/photos/267779866_hMVmG-Th.jpg



These three are my favorite of the set that you posted…. The first one is just rocks! I can feel the speed of the skater and the intensity of the goalie!

These captures work for many reasons.

First of all, you nailed the exposure. The key for shooting indoors with poor lighting, either in a rink, area, or gym, is white balance via an object of your choice (SpectraSnap, expodisc, grey card, jersey, Pringles lid, coffee filter, white piece of paper, etc). In addition, you’re using a shutter speed high enough to freeze motion. For a challenge, you can attempt panning on a skater the next time that you’re at the rink, etc.

The other element of sports photography is the composition. These photos nailed the elements of a good sports photo and you have learned the sport photographer mantra – shoot tight, crop tighter – also – capture face, action, ball (bat, puck, etc). And you don't have anything in the background to distract the viewer.

Well done! I was at this game with you, and honestly, I think these are better than the ones that I took.

I'm so proud of you! :thumb:thumb:thumb:thumb:thumb:thumb I always think that if you can shoot ice hockey, you can shoot most sports. Well done!

[dadwtwins]

Thank you April and thank you for your tips.:clap

[winger]

You really know how to make a girl blush! (face bright pink). Thank you so much for you kind words, but all I really did was to give you a some few basic pointers, some feedback on what worked and what didn’t and you did the rest with your tremendous photo ability.

The other element of sports photography is the composition. These photos nailed the elements of a good sports photo and you have learned the sport photographer mantra – shoot tight, crop tighter – also – capture face, action, ball (bat, puck, etc). And you don't have anything in the background to distract the viewer.

awwww your blushing....

Althought I am glad my sports photograhper mantra is catching on...soon there will be t-shirts, mugs and motivational tapes!!!!!!