WHL Hockey in a nice arena (including from rafters)

[Spearin]

Tonight I shot the Saskatoon Blades vs. Red Deer Rebels WHL game. I've shot two Blades games before, but this time I shot from the rafters for the second period.

Here are some shots:

1. Face off.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/123/378047965_7f84139282.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/spearin/378047965/)

2. Crunch.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/134/378047349_cc30896849.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/spearin/378047349/)

3. Deflected off the pad.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/166/378047833_20bddc39c1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/spearin/378047833/)

4.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/136/378048714_e09e4b66a0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/spearin/378048714/)

5.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/184/378048385_51d1af0b27.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/spearin/378048385/)

6. Called for interference.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/167/378048613_3af0be6ea3.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/spearin/378048613/)

7. Wrap around attempt.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/126/378048527_ca251e32c0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/spearin/378048527/)

8. Holtby wasn't lovin' it after letting in four goals...
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/130/378048128_59e79f8a35.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/spearin/378048128/)

Even more can be seen on my flickr page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/spearin/).

I hope to get to some more Blades games before the season wraps up! I love shooting in this arena as opposed to the dungeon that my university team plays in.

Any comments or crits?

[jmitch]

Great photos, the perspective from the rafters is very cool. The colors are very good, like them a lot.

[JCAC75]

Great shots Andrew!! How did you get access to shoot in the rafters?

JC

[RonnieA]

Great exposure. Colors really pop. #5's interesting.

[Lacks_focus]

Fantastic shots! That's a nice looking arena too.

[DavidEB]

excellent work. very good exposure, you've made the ice brighter than I usually do but that just adds contrast to the players. might try that sometime.

2 & 4 do it for me. great shots.

[dlpasco]

All nice shots. #5 is a little spooky ;)

Imagine, a name like 'Sutter' in a hockey game - haha.

Dan

[Jim7226]

Generally I find face-off shots to be a little boring...but not this time with your unique perspective. Great work!!:) The colors are awesome.

[Spearin]

Cheers everyone!

JC, I had to sign a piece of paper with the security guard at the top when I went up there... but next time you shoot a Pats game, you can try going up there and asking.

Dan, I'm glad someone caught on! That is Brent Sutter's son, Brandon. His other son, Brett, also plays for the Rebels. I guess that's what happens when your dad is the coach, president, and general manager of the team! OT: I'm a Habs fan too :D What a game against the Penguins eh? Too bad at the outcome though...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/125/378413344_d69dcfa2d5_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/spearin/378413344/)

[dlpasco]

:) I suppose there is that 'talent' thing involved with the Sutter family too!

Yeah - too bad about the Pittsburg game but the Habs made up for it.

All nice photos and I like the last shot of the bench. I'm jealous of the lighting.

Dan

[Woolburr]

Hockey played under decent lights...I'm impressed...both with your shots and with the lighting. Great angles from above!

[metalman1010]

Sweet shots there.

Did you have a press pass in order to get up to shoot in the rafters or do they just allow you to go up there?

Ross

[superdiver]

GREAT shots...love the "above" perspective as well...

[Faithless]

i should really switch to the RBK pads... the brians ain't doing them for me anymore.

[ajbalazic]

Very nice! Love the overhead shots.

[ErikM]

Great shots man. Perfect exposures and fantastic colours! What do you meter when you shoot hockey? Could you post the exif for a few shots?

[Spearin]

Just when I thought this thread died, it gets a breath of life again :) Thanks for your comments!

Erik, I shoot Manual and used the 70-200mm at f/2.8, 1/1000 (give or take a 1/3), at 1600 ISO. I did shoot in RAW this time, mainly so I could see how Auto White Balance performed in this lighting, and it was a little warm so I made minor adjustments. But I barely (+/- 0.05 to 0.20) adjusted the exposure in post-processing, if at all.

Ross, I was shooting the game with media accreditation, but I'm not sure if it was necessary to get up there (it seems that a flashy camera can sometimes get you places). Another photog who regularly shoots the games and goes up in the rafters took me there and we both signed a sheet of paper at the security guard.

Next time I go up in the rafters, I'm crossing my fingers for a fight below me!

[ErikM]

Thanks Andrew. That helps alot. I am shooting a local Junior A playoff game on Friday and my last attempt at hockey left me with many underexposed images :(

1/1000 eh... that is quite fast. Do you try and aim for 1/1000 all the time?

[Spearin]

Yep, I always try to have around 1/1000 shutter speed while shooting sports, with the lowest ISO to do so. But I always want to get an accurate exposure, and won't underexpose for added shutter speed.

At the rink where I normally shoot hockey (where my university teams play), I only get 1/250 at f/2.8 and ISO 1600. So it was a nice treat to shoot in a well-lit arena ;)

[Croasdail]

Hey Andrew, these are peachie indeed. Great timing on these and love the varying angles. On my monitor, they do look a tad bright. But thats a very small nit as I would be proud if any of these were mine. Good stuff. When I was going to school/playing in Montreal I got to shoot in the old original Forum. You made me want to go dig those back out and see how they would look today. Those shots are probably older then you are unfortunately.