Nor Pac Hockey - Rogue Valley vs. Seattle Jr. Totems

[RonnieA]

The wife had to put in some OT on Saturday to get ready for a business trip to Buffalo on Monday, so while she slaved away on the computer, I slipped to the local rink and caught a game.

Combination of Mark II and 300 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 through some beat-up glass; with the exception of the couple with the pure ice backgrounds, which were shot from the top of the stands. All at ISO 3200. Dropped the shutter to a marginal 1/400 to suck in as much light as possible and still had to increase exposure by 1/3 stop or so in post.

Not totally happy with my pics, but had a great time nonetheless. Tough to beat nearly full rink access for $5 admission.

1. Fending him off at the blue line
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2613/4162675142_6481dfa9eb_o.jpg

2. Penalty shot
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2568/4162675156_78db5c6f00_o.jpg

3. Battling through traffic
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2528/4162675182_ef19333665_o.jpg

4. Putting the puck on net
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2520/4161914961_e8c27bf963_o.jpg

5. Open ice
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2708/4162675408_042f944b50_o.jpg

6. In your back pocket
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4002/4161914865_2f43d03083_o.jpg

7. Looking for the back of the net
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2569/4161914903_cf36e323e9_o.jpg

8. Between periods entertainment
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2804/4161914995_b7c1a054df_o.jpg

[DHMN]

They all seem to look good as far as color and ice..too bad you couldn't get a little more shutter speed on the ones with the puck flying.. Every time I try and get one like #2 the shooter comes in too close or moves towards the net and blocks the shot! #1 and #3 I'm not fond of the angle but what can ya do if/when you are in the stands shooting sometimes, I've taken plenty of those.

[RonnieA]

They all seem to look good as far as color and ice..too bad you couldn't get a little more shutter speed on the ones with the puck flying.. Every time I try and get one like #2 the shooter comes in too close or moves towards the net and blocks the shot! #1 and #3 I'm not fond of the angle but what can ya do if/when you are in the stands shooting sometimes, I've taken plenty of those.

Thanks for chiming in ...

faster shutter speed would've been nice, but at the same time i think a little motion blur can add to the shot. i am hoping to get a 580ex II for christmas and with the rink's white ceiling, bouncing would probably improve things.

i agree about the angle on #3, but i think it works in #1. i spent most of my time behind the net but decided to creep up into the stands to experiment with angles, get away from the beat-up glass and clean up the backgrounds.

cheers!

[dlpasco]

Thanks for posting these. Other than the local rink (outdoors) I struggled with the same lighting issues for years. The closest Junior team for me is the Yellowstone Quake. I'm glad to see other NorPac action.

[RonnieA]

You're welcome, Dan. Glad I could share NorPac action from Seattle.

I have shot hockey twice, both times at this rink. It's not the best lit place, but I haven't noticed any cycling of the lights - which is always a welcomed sight.

Next time out I am going to drop my shutter speed to 1/320 when I am setup behind the net to better expose in camera. With the action coming towards me, I think 1/320 may do reasonably well at somewhat stopping the action.