Hockey Questions

I've been shooting more hockey recently and wanted to get some help. The facility I shoot the majority of my hockey is a small well lit (fluorescent) rink. The biggest problem is that I must shoot thru glass all the time. The players benches don't have glass but I haven't been able to gain access. The glass is higher than most of the other rinks I shoot and has netting on both ends. I have included a photo of the arena.

My question is what do you do when you must shoot thru glass. Any tricks or tips that may help. Thanks!

At most places I have shot, not much changes when shooting through glass other than you lose a few stops of light, depending on the type of glass. Anywhere from 2-4 stops is what I have typically seen.

A few things you can do to help yourself is to try and gain access to both sides of the glass prior to the game. Bring along some Goo Gone, or some other type of residue/sticky substance removal and clean both sides of the glass. This will ensure you are not getting any rubber or tape marks on your images. I would also recommend a lint-free cloth to make sure you do not get any fuzzies stuck on there as well.

You can also use a razor blade, carefully, to remove some of the marks on the glass, but check with your arena before doing so. May want to test this on a very high-up spot first.

Good luck!

devaraux: Thanks for the reply! I have been getting to the rink early to clean glass this season. Haven't used goo gone though. Will give it a try. I am able to use a razor blade and that certainly shortens the work on some of the marks. I'm using rubber hoods on my smaller lenses to try and decrease reflections off the glass, I think it helps. I'm going to bring along my 300mm f2.8 next week. Do you ever use yours for hockey?Do you utilize the lens hood? Thanks for your help!
Ben

Went to a photo seminar, and the hood improves your images. So since then I always used a hood. I shot with a 300mm before. It depends what you are shooting. If you are shooting in the corner of action near the net. It's going to be too close. But if you are shooting in the middle of the rink, then the 300 works fine. Just make sure the class it clean. But have shot through glass that wasn't cleaned. It just like shooting through a fence. I can shoot through a fence, and may image is clear as day, without the fence.

Amato wrote in post #16605201
devaraux: Thanks for the reply! I have been getting to the rink early to clean glass this season. Haven't used goo gone though. Will give it a try. I am able to use a razor blade and that certainly shortens the work on some of the marks. I'm using rubber hoods on my smaller lenses to try and decrease reflections off the glass, I think it helps. I'm going to bring along my 300mm f2.8 next week. Do you ever use yours for hockey?Do you utilize the lens hood? Thanks for your help!
Ben

You're quite welcome. I do use the 300 2.8 mk2 for most of my hockey shots. If you look a few posts down, you can see a thread of a recent game, or click here.

However, I use my 300 over the glass and get much better quality over shooting through. When I shoot through the glass, I use the 70-200 2.8 mk2.

Also, I am fortunate to shoot in a pro arena, so my results are partially because of the arena. We also have brand new LED lighting this year, which helps tremendously.

On my siteI have about 4 -5 seasons of images if you'd like to check them out.

Czbrat271: Thanks for the info. I will give it a try with the hood. I want to get some sportrait type shots for the athletic department.

devereaux: I have checked out your shots and am impressed. I wish I had the ability to shoot my 300 over the glass but no such luck in this arena. I do plan on hitting some away games and am in the process of seeing what arenas have that ability. LED lighting… don't think that's in the near future!