San Jose Sharks Hockey Pre-Season Scrimmage

aktse

Holy Cow. I can honestly say that this was my hardest hockey shoot for many reasons even though I have shot at this rink before. This was the Team-A/Team B scrimmage.

1) Lots and Lots of people.... five/six deep around the boards. And the bleachers were full. I got stuck on one corner of the boards and really couldn't move for most of the session.
2) In general, the corners and behind the net are the WORST place to shoot for hockey since the glass is completely scratched up. Imagine taking a rubber shoe and hitting it about a thousand times on a surface. Repeat. And Repeat again.
3) Being short doesn't help. You can't see over people, you can't nudge people out of the way. I had to shoot between bodies and I have a smaller area of glass in which I can search for a small un-scufffed part (centermeters). I would get a part of the frame in focus, and then have a band of fuzzy grey.

How did I do? Better than I expected, but not what I wanted to get. The bulk of the frames ended up grey and I had some focus issues. At the same time, I got some usable frames which did surprise me.

1. Joe Thornton and Kyle McLaren


2. Ryan Clowe and an unkown skater



3. A very full blench in black. There was a similar bench filled with people wearing white jerseys... About half the people will be either let go or sent to the minors.

4. Cheechoo


Lessons learned? I don't really know. I just know that I hate scratched glass and crowds.

And I wished that I skated like them... :-) They're so fast!

ian408

Next time, stick your lens right up againts the glass. But not behind the
nets--there's way too many puck marks there

You can use your hand to help shield the lens from the back light.

aktse

ian408 wrote:

Next time, stick your lens right up againts the glass. But not behind the
nets--there's way too many puck marks there

You can use your hand to help shield the lens from the back light.

There were way too many pick marks in the corner as well.

Thanks for the tip... I'll shoot without the hood. I'm will be back there in the morning, and hopefully this time, there will be less people and I can move around a bit. Last time, I was pushed to the side of the side.

ian408

aktse wrote:

There were way too many pick marks in the corner as well.

Thanks for the tip... I'll shoot without the hood. I'm will be back there in the morning, and hopefully this time, there will be less people and I can move around a bit. Last time, I was pushed to the side of the side.

All the parents of kids playing will be there as will the same bunch of fans.

I always loved being there at the start of the NHL season. There's such an
energy in the air.