NAHL Fighting Falcons and Jets

well ive been studying and studying the great examples here and my work and i THINK i might have figured out what a lot of my troubles are with the blown out ice and dark players...

im shooting from a rather high angle (over the glass, by the face off circles) and the angle to the ice is fairly steep so im getting a more direct reflection...

anywho, here are a couple from tonights game. seemed to have an issue hitting focus on what i thought was good action...

5d3, 70-200 f2.8L IS, 2500 ISO f2.8 1/800 on them both...

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You should talk to the rink management and request some glass cleaning take place. If they decline, volunteer to do it. That is a pretty horrible level of puck marks and if even from a fan perspective, the rink should be maintaining that. At a minimum, get even one panel in a key location cleaned.

problem here is thus:

city owned barn with a tight tight budget (arent most?) and the ice is used for NAHL, High School, SilverStick (Atom/PeeWee/Bantam/Mi​dget/ etc "little league" hockey for lack of a better term), the recreational mens and recreational womens leagues...

there is one piece of new "glass" put in place 2 home series ago and is pretty much mark-free BUT, like i mention, it must be the cheapest because there was quite a bit of distortion and i had a hard time getting a good focus lock and it was really giving me crappy results...

this glass IS on the end and its up above where one would normally shoot from but i was trying to get some different angles from behind the nets...

im not sure what the best way to clean this would be. its lexan/polycarbonate so im CERTAIN nothing abrasive and definitely not using a scraper...

Your first shot shows the potential you have for getting that good exposure. I think you're on the right course with that combo.

What you may want to try to do is get some Goo Gone in combination with a razor blade. I know you mentioned not scratching the glass, but if done properly, you can get rid of some of that mess with a very steep angle and downward motion with a new blade.

You can also look for some anti-fog plexi cleaner as well, since that should get rid of some of the haze as well. Also, if haze is an issue you can use toothpaste to get that clear as well.

I will try to take some before and after pictures the next time I get to the rink early enough to be able to clean off the glass.

Let us know what works for you!

Ltdave wrote in post #16580433
problem here is thus:

city owned barn with a tight tight budget (arent most?) and the ice is used for NAHL, High School, SilverStick (Atom/PeeWee/Bantam/Mi​dget/ etc "little league" hockey for lack of a better term), the recreational mens and recreational womens leagues...

there is one piece of new "glass" put in place 2 home series ago and is pretty much mark-free BUT, like i mention, it must be the cheapest because there was quite a bit of distortion and i had a hard time getting a good focus lock and it was really giving me crappy results...

this glass IS on the end and its up above where one would normally shoot from but i was trying to get some different angles from behind the nets...

im not sure what the best way to clean this would be. its lexan/polycarbonate so im CERTAIN nothing abrasive and definitely not using a scraper...

deveraux wrote in post #16580870
Your first shot shows the potential you have for getting that good exposure. I think you're on the right course with that combo...

i was really starting to get frustrated because i started at 3200 1/800 and f3.2...

one shot would look all blown out (rear screen) with clipped ETR histogram. the next shot with the same exposure would look 'correct'. i think the small size and the amount of ice in the shot was fooling me...

i bumped the contrast and saturation on these a little bit but so often the exposure seems inconsistent even though i shoot the Big M (manual)...

still pondering taking you up on your invite to the Icehogs for a tutorial from you!

I typically clean the glass where I'm going to shoot at my local rink with spray glass cleaner and a rag. The puck marks usually come right off. Every couple of weeks I show up a little bit early before a game and clean my spots. I've found it makes a difference in overall image quality.

900spg wrote in post #16581194
I typically clean the glass where I'm going to shoot at my local rink with spray glass cleaner and a rag. The puck marks usually come right off. Every couple of weeks I show up a little bit early before a game and clean my spots. I've found it makes a difference in overall image quality.

since i have free reign of the rink and can shoot over the glass from a ladder, and i get much better images, i dont usually worry too much about the glass, but i might try this before the next game...

one issue is the number of scratches though...

the Michigan Warriors (flint michigan, in Perani Arena) had glass that looked like it had been cleaned with a brillo pad. they now have glass that came from the Minnesota Wild. it is very nice!

Ltdave wrote in post #16581157
still pondering taking you up on your invite to the Icehogs for a tutorial from you!

It's always open, just let me know. Although I think you would be spoiled by the lighting, lol.