Southern Youth Hockey League

KMCC

I've come to the conclusion that trying to shoot amateur hockey is one of photography's greatest challenges.

First of all, these guys don't play in brightly lit arenas like the NHL. And then there's the joy of shooting through 1/4 inch plexiglas covered with scratches and marks of various colors left over from collisions with helmets, pucks, sticks, and sweaty jerseys. Before the game, I walk around looking at each plexiglas panel trying to find clear spots at eye-level for somewhat clear views of the action.

(Click on image for EXIF)

goodcrna

KMCC wrote:

I've come to the conclusion that trying to shoot amateur hockey is one of photography's greatest challenges.

First of all, these guys don't play in brightly lit arenas like the NHL. And then there's the joy of shooting through 1/4 inch plexiglas covered with scratches and marks of various colors left over from collisions with helmets, pucks, sticks, and sweaty jerseys. Before the game, I walk around looking at each plexiglas panel trying to find clear spots at eye-level for somewhat clear views of the action.

Yes, Hockey is very difficult to shoot. Its also rather dangerous. I shoot from inside the penalty box on our home ice. There are no plexiglass panels for protection. No plexiglass is much easier to shoot through. I can't believe your shooting through the plexiglass and getting such great pictures. Last night I purused each panel of plexiglass and couldn't find one clear enough to shoot through. I "WILL" give it a try though. Here are a couple shots from the penalty box.

High School Varsity Game...



I found I can stand on the back corner on the boards and lean against the plexiglass protecting the scorers box. I'm away from flying sticks and elbows.

Steve Cavigliano

Kent,
Despite the obstacles I think you did a very nice job You may be right about the toughest shooting gig. What with poor lighting, white ice and shooting through scratched (and blood-stained....) plexiglass :uhoh

As your first shot illustrates, at least you don't have too many worries about distracting background fans...


Steve

Frog Lady

give me outdoor fields
ugh, I sure wouldn't want to shoot in those conditions. But you did a really nice job. The uniforms look really white, what type of pp did you have to do?

cariad

I think you did a very nice job considering the lighting. Sunday I tried to shoot my son's indoor soccer game, and the photos were atrocious. Compensated a little for the light but there was so much grain on the photos and they all had an orange tinge to them.

I should have bought the pure SLR instead of the fuji slr (like)

KMCC

Frog Lady wrote:

ugh, I sure wouldn't want to shoot in those conditions. But you did a really nice job. The uniforms look really white, what type of pp did you have to do?

Thanks for the comments (to everyone).

I didn't do a lot of post-processing. I used Photoshop Elements 2.0 to tweak Brightness and Contrast, Levels, and USM.