AHL Hockey, Strobed - IceHogs vs Admirals 10-30-16

First game using the strobes, and they were pretty overpowering. Normally, I shoot at 1/1000, 2000 ISO and 3.2, with these I was shooting at 1/250, 200 ISO and f8, as the lights were putting out 1200 watts each, x4. One of the packs is only firing at 1200 watts, so we are getting it replaced and will start shooting each pack at 400. People in the stands were actually complaining about the lights being too bright. I'll give some details on the lights if requested. So here we are:

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I am interested in the details about the strobes. A buddy and I are thinking of trying to use some for local WHL games.

That looks like fun. I'd definitely be interested in more details of your setup.

The packs we have are Speedotron 2401sx and Speedotron 105 2-cable heads. We have four total, and each one points at each face-off circle. We have a cord, basically a lamp cord, connecting each pack to one another via a male E101 connector into the sync port, and in the middle of the wire we have a pocket wizard connected with a male E101 as well. It's basically a cheaper way then getting 4 pocket wizards, one for each light, and a fifth for the camera itself.

It would be ideal if we had six of them, because the center ice is about 5 stops darker since the lights do not reach out that far, but from behind the net to that zone blueline we metered 1/250, 200 iso f8 about every two feet in that zone.

We have a game tomorrow, so I will go into the rafters and take some shots down on the ice so you can see the coverage of each light.

Did the strobes bother the players at all?

Where were the strobes located, were they firing diagonally across (and down) on the ice. More straight down?

deveraux wrote in post #18189713
First game using the strobes, and they were pretty overpowering. Normally, I shoot at 1/1000, 2000 ISO and 3.2, with these I was shooting at 1/250, 200 ISO and f8, as the lights were putting out 1200 watts each, x4. One of the packs is only firing at 1200 watts, so we are getting it replaced and will start shooting each pack at 400. People in the stands were actually complaining about the lights being too bright. I'll give some details on the lights if requested. So here we are:

1.

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …3134_5949-X2.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

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You can see two of the lights in this picture

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …3164_5974-X2.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

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IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …3172_5981-X2.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug


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IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …3200_5999-X2.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

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https://photos.smugmug​.com …3273_6067-X2.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

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https://photos.smugmug​.com …3226_6029-X2.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug


Probably wont be using them too much, but it does work nicely down on the ice. Maybe once we get the pack replaced and the lights are shooting at 400 each it may be a little better.

C&C always welcomed, and thanks for looking.

holy CATS!

Todd those are some bangin' shots...

theyre definitely different than the usual style lighting and those settings are nuts for hockey!

the shadows are pretty strong so maybe 400 watts will be better...

Here are some images of the lights from the rafters. The first one I purposely under exposed so you can see the spots on the ice a little easier, as well as how much darker the center is. The light you see on the wet part of the ice on the right is coming from the strobe farthest to the camera position:

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With that much spill into the stands, I would suggest finding a way to flag the strobes.

Were there no catwalks to put the strobes more overhead to limit the angle and spill?

Seems like a lot of work for a place you're already delivering top notch images. Hopefully it is worth it. Regardless, I look forward to the coming season and your photos.

Thanks for the details and setup pics.

What kind of reflectors? Standard or some kine of long throw?

how much of the darkness in the neutral zone is shadows from the scoreboard?

thats what i thought of in the first pictures you posted...

Dude! Love #2!

I think if we drop the power on the strobes, that will help. I'm not sure how we can flag the strobes, but there's probably some kind of tape or something we can put over the cover on the strobe to cut some of that out. Unfortunately, we don't have much room above because there are so many beams going back and forth, coupled with the scoreboard, that we don't really have a good position to place the lights. Also, we'd probably have to get a lift to access the lowest spots, and run some cables around the arena, not to mention have power brought to those locations.

I honestly don't plan on using them much unless it is for a situation where we have the lights out, or low, like intros or ceremonial puck drops where they don't have the spotlight up. If I were to shoot from ice level more often, then it would help because our glass is absolute crap after 4 seasons. Not sure what it is, but it just doesn't wear very well.

I've got about 4-5 more games to put up so I'll get some more posted soon.

Thanks for the feedback, and maybe we'll get something worked out with the lights soon.

rdalrt - They are long throw reflectors, and are a pretty good size. I would consider getting some smaller ones, but since these were basically gifted to us, I'm not really looking to change. I think it would help with the excess spill we are getting, but I could always control that with flagging a bit as mentioned and suggested above.

Dave, the darkness is all from the shadows from the lights. The scoreboard is up pretty high compared to the lights, so it really doesn't interfere very much. At the UC, they have four strobes on each side for a total of eight, so if we had two more strobes, one on the center of each side, that would disappear.

Thanks for the compliment mdripper!