More Hockey (Critiquing welcomed)

Well went out to a faster paced hockey game tonight and got some decent shots. I used a 1D mIIn and 70-200 2.8 IS II. Settings are 1/500, F2.8, ISO 3200. I had brought the 135L in case I needed the faster shutter speeds but it stayed in the bag.

Anyways any comments are appreciated as I want to improve. I adjusted my white balance to whatever looked right on my laptop. Let me know how I did.

1.

very good, really like 5,6 and 7.

2,4, and 5 for me. At 1/400s f2.8 and 3200 you pushed that IIn to its limit and still have some noise. I mention this because I honestly feel like you still need 1/3 - 2/3 more. I think the 135 might have been the better choice personally. Still, you got some great action and very usable shots from this so you should be pleased.

great shots! It's nice to see some fellow SJHL pics on the site.

as mentioned already.... the images are grainy from the 3200 ISO.
On my rebel I shoot at max 800 ISO here in Nipawin. Most of the time it's 400, that way there isn't too much problem with cropping. The grainy images can be helped in post... I usually do some noise reduction in lightroom.

I look forward to shooting the Hawks playing Melville on Friday night.
Here's some shots of the Hawks vs Bombers on Tuesday night.
https://photography-on-the.net …p?p=13849285#po​st13849285

Thanks for the comments. I probably could have done a little better in the noise reduction area but yeah the camera was maxed out. May have to try out the 135 next time.

You must have some good lighting in your rink beretta! The lighting here is pretty bad as at f 2.8 and ISO 3200 the majority end up being slightly underexposed already. What kind of shutter speeds do you get?

I really like your shots from the playing surface. You've done a great job at capturing the eyes which is a real big deal. I'd rather have a well composed shot like what you have done... and then work on the technical side of things with equipment.

When working with RAW pictures you can get away with adjusting the white balance and exposure in post. I wasn't a believer in RAW for a long time and now I am. It bogs down my computer like crazy but it definitely pays.

As an added bonus I get to shoot above the glass right at the face off circle which helps with the shots because I don't have to shoot through the glass. I wish I could play with your setup to help you out. Most of my shooting is at 1/400 F2.5 ISO 400 or 1/500 F2.5 ISO 800 maybe playing with the F down to 2.2 or 2.0 to get a little more light in. It's what works for me. The lighting isn't that great in the arena... all my shots are underexposed and I have to bump them up in Lightroom.

I wish I could experiment with your setup. If I could this would be the first thing I would try:
I would get that 1D ISO down to at least 1600. I would start there anyway. Of course run the F stop down at 2.8 and then start the shutter at 1/400. Some would say that's not fast enough.... you may get some motion blur from the sticks...and you would definitely get some motion blur with the pucks. But I would see if I could get away with it. I personally don't mind a little motion blur in the sticks/pucks but I know that's not everyone's opinion. Watch the histogram on the camera to get as close to overexposing as possible without crossing that line.

That's just sharing my expertise shooting hockey for a couple years.

Here's a re-edit I did for ya. Some pretty heavy noise reduction and a bump up in exposure. Anything for a fellow SJ photog.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/57367859@N02/6​844514975/

beretta5spd wrote in post #13852938
I really like your shots from the playing surface. You've done a great job at capturing the eyes which is a real big deal. I'd rather have a well composed shot like what you have done... and then work on the technical side of things with equipment.

When working with RAW pictures you can get away with adjusting the white balance and exposure in post. I wasn't a believer in RAW for a long time and now I am. It bogs down my computer like crazy but it definitely pays.

As an added bonus I get to shoot above the glass right at the face off circle which helps with the shots because I don't have to shoot through the glass. I wish I could play with your setup to help you out. Most of my shooting is at 1/400 F2.5 ISO 400 or 1/500 F2.5 ISO 800 maybe playing with the F down to 2.2 or 2.0 to get a little more light in. It's what works for me. The lighting isn't that great in the arena... all my shots are underexposed and I have to bump them up in Lightroom.

I wish I could experiment with your setup. If I could this would be the first thing I would try:
I would get that 1D ISO down to at least 1600. I would start there anyway. Of course run the F stop down at 2.8 and then start the shutter at 1/400. Some would say that's not fast enough.... you may get some motion blur from the sticks...and you would definitely get some motion blur with the pucks. But I would see if I could get away with it. I personally don't mind a little motion blur in the sticks/pucks but I know that's not everyone's opinion. Watch the histogram on the camera to get as close to overexposing as possible without crossing that line.

That's just sharing my expertise shooting hockey for a couple years.

I shoot RAW as well which I really like the flexibility you get. I'll definitely try your suggestions next time I'm at the rink.

beretta5spd wrote in post #13853041
Here's a re-edit I did for ya. Some pretty heavy noise reduction and a bump up in exposure. Anything for a fellow SJ photog.

Umm wow! I really need to up my photoshop skills! Thanks man, I now see what can be done.

If I'm ever in Nipawan again I may send you a message to see exactly how you edit your photos. Now I have to go through my photos and see if I can achieve the same results.

I think you did an outstanding job on the shots given the ISO you were at. Pretty impressive. The critique by beretta5spd was pretty much spot on and is more then likely going to help you as much as anything I could share.
I shoot everything in RAW and once you start doing so I think you will see why most people do since it makes a big difference in pp no matter which program you use. Photoshop, of course is the old standard but used in conjunction with Lightroom 3 or the 4 Beta is, IMHO, unbeatable.
Just keep playing around with shooting and post production...the more you experiment the better you will get. Remember, the day you think you know it all is the day you stop learning.

Rob573 wrote in post #13853263
I think you did an outstanding job on the shots given the ISO you were at. Pretty impressive. The critique by beretta5spd was pretty much spot on and is more then likely going to help you as much as anything I could share.
I shoot everything in RAW and once you start doing so I think you will see why most people do since it makes a big difference in pp no matter which program you use. Photoshop, of course is the old standard but used in conjunction with Lightroom 3 or the 4 Beta is, IMHO, unbeatable.
Just keep playing around with shooting and post production...the more you experiment the better you will get. Remember, the day you think you know it all is the day you stop learning.

Definitely agree here. It seems the more I read and practice, the more I feel I still need to learn.

I'll work on a re-editing a couple photos and post them.

Alright edited a couple of them again and think there's a definite improvement. Thanks for the input everyone.