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It’s been a few months since my last serious photo shoot at the end of February, but I got the call yesterday in the afternoon to come out and shoot for the Nighthawks Hockey club I used to play for and also coached.

I have a quite a long history with the team – which you can read about in this recent post over at my web development blog – and since I’m on the Board of Directors and was already going to the game anyway, it wasn’t that much effort to pack the gear and bring it with.

Up Closer

Seeing as this was just a JV hockey game in the hockey rink I practically grew up in, it was pretty easy for me to find my way over at the end of the home team bench and getting the most unobstructed view of the action I’ve had so far in any of the hockey shoots I’ve done. The majority of the photos were right from the bench area and not shot through the safety class along the boards.

Shooting with both my Canon 20D and my Rebel XSi at the same time allowed me to shoot telephoto for the far end of the ice and more wide angle for the action up front.  That, and having the extra room not being confined in single seat at the other arenas made this shoot very enjoyable. The low lighting was an issue as always, but I just left the ISO at 800 and ran with it.

Hack Job

When we last chatted, one of the primary reasons I’ve put things on hold was because I didn’t have time for processing in post. That was the case here as well which I spent a few hours on Sunday to process these photos.  Not something I had planned for my weekend, but that’s how it goes.

The saving grace was that the primary purpose of these photos was for the team’s Facebook page, so I knew going in that my post processing workflow wasn’t going to be the same as it is for my vacation and landscape shots. In fact, it was pretty much a hack job flying through about 40 of the best shots using Adobe Photoshop Elements on my Mac. For the intended purpose, it did the job.

More Photos

If you’d like to see the rest of the images, you can view the Nighthawks vs. New Trier photoset on my webnelly Flickr account. Not sure if I’ll take on any more games this spring season, but it would something I’d definitely want to pursue when the Fall season starts depending on where things are by then.

– Kris

Photo: Wolves center Johnny Pohl drives to the net looking for a rebound from Rockford netminder Corey Crawford.

The first of a few photos still be posted from my last game out to see the Chicago Wolves taken on the Rockford Ice Hogs.  Things didn’t go very well for our Ice Hogs, but it was still an entertaining game none-the-less.

Photo: Up close and personal with a body check less than 15 feet from our seats.

Sure, fighting gets a lot of attention in hockey, especially in the AHL, but as a former defenseman, I’d have to say the real action is along the boards when you’re defending your own zone.

Call it chance or just an unspoken rivalry, we experienced quite a few more crashing body checks right in front of us in the 2nd row than the previous games. One woman in front of us even received a little snow shower as a stick blade made it higher than the glass and sprinkled the wet snow down on her. Just a little, though.

The Shot

I’ve been working on a shot like this for a few games now, but this is only as close as I’ve come so far. Having the ability to shoot f/2.8 with my rental lens was a big help, but a minimal focal length on the heavy Canon 70-200mm was a little hard to position with. Plus, I was shooting in Full Manual mode, so my shutter speed was one notch too fast to get enough light here.

Timing is pretty key here, too, since these plays develop rather quickly. I think it will be a matter of time and some more luck to get where I want this to be.

And unlike my playing days, this type of practice I sure don’t mind.

– Kris

More Bonus Links

Well, yesterday I shared the Flickr Group links for both these two teams, so today I thought I’d pass on their respective Facebook pages.  Checkout the Chicago Wolves and the San Antonio Rampage on Facebook for fun and fans of the American Hockey League. And while you’re there, don’t forgot to visit my Facebook Page, too.

Photo: A Rampage defender has a wolf in his sights.

Enough with the cute stuff, let’s get to the action!

With our seats so close to the ice and to the net, I was working on a few shots in the near corner as the puck made its way from behind the cage towards us.

Part of me wishes I had the depth of field wide enough to get both players in focus together, but the other half likes the focus on the “hunter” which slightly de-emphasizes the “prey”. Definitely more intensity in the look of the defender.

Let me know what you think.

– Kris

Bonus Links

If you’re a fan of Flickr and want to see more hockey action, check out the groups for both the Chicago Wolves and the San Antonio Rampage.

Photo: A rather odd illustration made on the side of Drew MacIntyre’s goalie mask.

Okay, just this one last almost hockey photo from Sunday’s game before I get into the action shots.  Something about that potato head guy/girl on Drew’s goalie helmet really creeps me out. Of course, I had to snap a shot of it, otherwise no one would believe me.

Remember, I warned you that goaltenders a not like other hockey players.  This is just more proof of that, I believe.

– Kris

P.S.: Sorry for the bad play on words in the photo’s title. If you’re not sure what I’m referring to, say the title again but slow down for each syllable.