NHL Hurricanes vs. Flyers

[JBaz]

I got lucky this year and acquired my press pass to take pictures of the Hurricanes at the RBC Center in Raleigh for the 08-09 season. So I took the opportunity today to take some test shots and to get a feel for the sport. Never shot hockey before so any CC, tips and advice is welcomed.

I feel as though shooting hockey is more difficult than shooting any other sports I've tried before. The vantage points are small and restrictive, that and I barely know the players.

Shots were done with a 1D mkIIn, 5d, 24-70, 70-200 and 300. PP done in cs3 with Noise Ninja filter.

http://pics.jbaz.net/albums/uploads/jbaz/NHL/Game4/Hurricanes_game04_004.jpg
http://pics.jbaz.net/albums/uploads/jbaz/NHL/Game4/Hurricanes_game04_008.jpg
http://pics.jbaz.net/albums/uploads/jbaz/NHL/Game4/Hurricanes_game04_012.jpg
http://pics.jbaz.net/albums/uploads/jbaz/NHL/Game4/Hurricanes_game04_015.jpg
http://pics.jbaz.net/albums/uploads/jbaz/NHL/Game4/Hurricanes_game04_018.jpg
http://pics.jbaz.net/albums/uploads/jbaz/NHL/Game4/Hurricanes_game04_024.jpg
http://pics.jbaz.net/albums/uploads/jbaz/NHL/Game4/Hurricanes_game04_034.jpg
http://pics.jbaz.net/albums/uploads/jbaz/NHL/Game4/Hurricanes_game04_035.jpg

[yagimax]

Congrats on your press pass. Good shooting for your first time out.
I see the variety of dof in some of the shots.
Some will probably comment on picture #7 missing part of his left skate.
Was #2 shot with the 300 f2.8?

Best wishes for the 08/09 season.:)

[khall]

Good colour, like the action, but would like to have seen four and six corrected so that the tilt was taken out of them.

[JBaz]

^^ thanks! For picture #7, it's only the pinky toe, not very important. lol #2 was shot with the 70-200 at 70. It's full frame as the guys were fighting just a few feet from me. They actually slammed against the wall a few times.
^4 and 6 are straight out of the camera. If I correct the tilt in 4, it cuts the puck out so I left it as is. I left 6 alone cause I wanted to keep the cool wide angle feeling there. Plus I shoot with just one shoe on to get the tilt in the camera. :p

[khall]

^^ Plus I shoot with just one shoe on to get the tilt in the camera. :p

Good reply "I like it" :) :) :)

[namasste]

very nice and I agree, hockey is not easy. nicely handled and I look forward to more. on the cc side, you could probably bring the ice down just a fuzz in post on a few but that's just my personal preference.

[JBaz]

The whole time I was shooting in center weighted metering mode with +2/3 exposure compensation - for about 60% of it was good exposure, but a lot was still off and tricked by the Ice causing some shots to be underexposed by 1/3 to a full 1 stop. Should I just shoot in manual mode to lock the exposure in or what?

[namasste]

The whole time I was shooting in center weighted metering mode with +2/3 exposure compensation - for about 60% of it was good exposure, but a lot was still off and tricked by the Ice causing some shots to be underexposed by 1/3 to a full 1 stop. Should I just shoot in manual mode to lock the exposure in or what?
I haven't done a ton of hockey but I do use M for exactly the reason you mention. Ice plays havoc with metering. I usually start with a quick gray card reading (or if you have a light meter, even better). Then after getting a decent baseline, I chimp the histogram and add or subtract exposure as needed. Naturally, you'll still get a huge spike in the histogram from the ice but that's just how it is. My exposure tweaks are generally done to ISO first as I want to keep as much shutter speed as I can (looks like that is a non issue in that venue).

[RobNYC]

I just recently shot a Rangers game at Madison Square Garden. No press pass but a few decent angles. I tried a custom WB off the ice and it didn't work out. My custom WB put me somewhere around just over 4000k and it was too warm. In post I dropped it to around 3200 and it was perfect. Many suggested to me that I shoot in manual so I did and it was definitely the way to go.

[JBaz]

I never dealt with ice or snow yet, so this is a learning experience. I think for the most part I was shooting 1/500 at ISO 800-1000 at f/2.8-4 and getting close to proper exposure. I got to the stadium late, but I'll try to get there early next weekend and take my gray card and light meter to run some tests.

I do wish I could use their strobe setup. I'm becoming friends with the Espn guy. He likes my bike and bikini shots. (pays to have my ipod touch with my portfolio on me all the time)

[convergent]

Hi from someone else in the Triangle! I would recommend shooting manual for sure... no light is going to change in there and as a pro venue it should be well lit. For hockey, I usually just use the ice to take a custom WB and that works pretty well. If you use a custom wb and shoot manual, your processing should be easier since it will stay consistent.

[TheSportsGuy]

Nice shots jbaz. From another North Carolina folk :D

I saw your pics on The Wolf Web and wanted to tell you they look pretty good, but I don't have an account.

How did you get the pass?

[muls]

Nice exposures and colors look good, I shoot a lot of NHL hockey and my one critique would be to watch your horizons...in shots 4,5,6 it gives the illusion of the players skating uphill or downhill, make sure the boards are level, otherwise good work...

Ed

[JBaz]

How did you get the pass?
I baked them a cake and asked really nicely.

No, but seriously, I work with a few publications as a freelance photog. Covered a few events downtown last month, mainly the new Raleigh Convention center and met the managers and high level staff from the RBC center. I mentioned to them I tried to get a press pass for the NHL season last year after covering Mike Commodore's b-day party, then they instantly remembered those pictures.

My name travels quite a bit around the town since I cover a wide range of stuff and practically all over the grid. They always remember I'm that serious crazy sports photographer kid who also takes pics of hot girls at night. The Hooters swimsuit contest I did down in Atlanta is probably the most talked about event I've done in the past year. Not to mention all of the fashion shows I did earlier this year (Art to Wear) got a lot of coverage (was the only official photographer there that also shot with 3 studio strobes).

Funny, I didn't ask for the press pass this year, they asked me if I was interested and I was like "HELL YAH!"