First time post of hockey action shots!

C & C welcome! Thanks to Brickwall for the many tips!

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Nice and clear with great detail and color. The white balance also looks very nice. The timing is nice on both shots but it is also nice to be able to see the puck. Looking forward to seeing more hockey shots from you.

I like the second one for the horizon not looking as off, but the first for the action part, and the snow flying off her (I think its' girls hockey?) glove... It's almost impossible to get a decent horizon with the curved end-boards of course, but I like the way the net looks straighter in the second one.

I was going to ask where the goaltender's help is on the second also but I do see the hint of a player in white

LOL... boys hockey!

I see you're putting that new lens through it's paces, Tim. I take it you don't regret the purchase!

OOPS

Looks good! Like mentioned, watch the horizons. It's hard to do when you're trying to focus on the action. I straighten a lot of them in post when cropping. The WB looks a warm to me, but that's probably just my preference. I tend to want the ice a bit too white and bright.

Thanks for the comments. I'm still practicing and getting lots of great tips from Brikwall. Also from DHMN, I never considered the horizon until now, I'll keep that in mind for future photos. I've updated my profile to include my flickr page, lots of photos here; www.flickr.com/photos/​tggreene.

It's hard to get a straight horizon with the curved corner boards so I figure just try to make the net more level and that should do it.. open to opinions on that though!

DHMN wrote in post #9034938
It's hard to get a straight horizon with the curved corner boards so I figure just try to make the net more level and that should do it.. open to opinions on that though!

Simply use the dividers (stantions) between the glass panels and ensure they are vertical ("plumb") and your horizon should be OK.

Tim:
Photos do look nice and sharp, but on my monitor they are a bit dark and the WB seems a little reddish? I think you could boost your exposure a bit more in post, as well as perhaps the blacks (make them a bit darker) and they would "pop" more. I find that I need to boost contrast/blacks a fair bit in many of my through glass hockey shots.

Also action wise, the lack of the goalie's face makes these uninteresting shots for me. Looks like they were both nice saves but try and get the goalie when he is facing you for more dynamic shots.

Cheers!

Chris

Agreed on the above...to get that ice real white, you pretty much need to over expose it by a stop and a half or so. I spot meter the ice then set the exposure accordingly. Overexposing the ice gets it white while getting the faces and players pretty close. Obviously, tweak as needed.

cstewart wrote in post #9036967
Simply use the dividers (stantions) between the glass panels and ensure they are vertical ("plumb") and your horizon should be OK.

The only shop class I ever took was in 8th grade.. so I never thought of fixing them like that! DUH!

I like the first picture. the horizen dosn't put me off, stil a good action photo,

It's hard to get correct whit balance in some of the rinks out there, lots of yellowish ligth.
I think you have a good one here, it's pleasent to watch, and that's important to.

I have taken almost the same picture as you myself. and I spent hours trying to get the WB correct, but sometimes you just have to settle for OK.

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horizons and color are all off
as well you need to follow the 'no face no place" rule a little better
As good as the action is in the shots, I can't see anyone's face.

Not bad for your first post. A few rules to follow though.
1. horizons, use the goalposts to set you image plumb. if you have none in the photo, use the sanctions between the glass.
2. color/wb, some do custom, some do auto, either way works just make sure if you do auto you correct it in PS later.
3. again, no face no place.