Pittsburgh Penguins Practice...take 2

[joe l.]

Went to another Pens practice, this time also rented a better lens (all the local shop had was a Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 ). I think I'm still by far the "weak point" in the set-up, but definitely noticed a difference for the better with the f/2.8 Still had to deal with really dirty and scuffed glass, etc at the rink, but oh well.

Anyway, here are some of the "keepers" from the day (keepers at least, for my skill level, albeit low :P ). Ended up with I think it was 35 OK photos out of about 150 taken. Still need tons of improvement, but I think these are better than my earlier photos in the other "Pens Practice" thread. As always, comments criticisms are more than welcomed (good or bad, it's the only way to learn!)

1) Jordan Staal
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/jdl1020/2_24_09%20Pens%20Practice/Staal.jpg


2) Ryan Whitney
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/jdl1020/2_24_09%20Pens%20Practice/Whitney.jpg


3) Marc Andre Fleury
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/jdl1020/2_24_09%20Pens%20Practice/Fleury.jpg


4) Mathieu Garon and Eric Goddard
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/jdl1020/2_24_09%20Pens%20Practice/GaronGoddard.jpg


5) Ruslan Fedetenko
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/jdl1020/2_24_09%20Pens%20Practice/Fedotenko2.jpg


6) Jordan Staal, Evgeni Malkin and Marc Andre Fleury
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/jdl1020/2_24_09%20Pens%20Practice/MalkinStaalFleury.jpg


7) Evgeni Malkin, Hal Gill and Marc Andre Fleury
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/jdl1020/2_24_09%20Pens%20Practice/MalkinGill5.jpg

8 ) Evgeni Malkin
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/jdl1020/2_24_09%20Pens%20Practice/Malkin4.jpg

[canonnoob]

not bad.. You know there might be some 5x7 squares cut in the glass near the ends of the rinks for photographers... check that out next time. get a lens with better AF also.. the tammy is terrible in that regard. Also looks like you missed focus a few times..

#6 is your best though and I really enjoy it!

[deeslk]

What iso were these shot at?

[900spg]

Love to see these Pens shots. Big improvement over the last set. Keep it up you are on your way.

[joe l.]

Thanks for all the comments folks, they're appreciated :)

What iso were these shot at?


Most were at ISO 800. I was apprehensive about bumping up to 1600 due to noise, I tend to have a fair amount even at 800 (most of these these were processed in Canon's DPP, using the luminescence reduction)

The rink they practice at has absolutely terrible lighting for photos - it's just a local public rink. I actually play in an adult league at this rink, and before my games kind of scouted, looking for photographer holes... none to be found :(

I'm at least encouraged, cause they are certainly an improvement over my first shots from last week's practice. The comment about the lens having bad AF is interesting, as when I was using it, it just seemed slow and difficult to lock on a subject at times. I had gone to the local camera shop hoping to rent a Canon f/2.8, but the Tamron was all they had available. It was still an enormous improvement over my 70-300 f/4 though.

[gdusek84]

Pictures look pretty good, I'd recommend working with the RAW files and adjusting the white balance a bit in photoshop if you have them. I've shot 3 different hockey games and it's definitely a challenge.