Shooting Ice Hockey

Ice Hockey: Mustangs V Bears - Melbourne Icehouse

© Phil Taylor

On the back of a talk by member Tania Chalmers at our last meeting Phil joined Tania this weekend to shoot some of the action at Melbourne Icehouse. His notes, which build on Tania's advice, and photos appear in this article. I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say Phil has done and awesome job, especially given it was his first time out.

ETTR! (Expose To The Right) - I never usually do this because I like to preserve the highlights but in this case exposing to the right works. The light is best in the centre of the rink, although there are a couple of dodgy globes, but it really falls off at the edges. TV mode would work for most people.

Don't chase the puck! - The puck moves extremely fast and you'll miss a lot of action behind and in front of the puck. Sometimes if the puck was in the area I would just focus on the goalie and listen for the shot as a trigger to start a burst.

Zoom Zoom - Because the game is so fast end to end the zoom ring gets a massive work out. I had a 70-200 and was constantly adjusting it to get the framing right. That stick is long so if you get a side on shot to a strike, the follow through will be out for frame if you've been too tight on the player. 70-200 is perfect if you are rinkside although 300 is better if you are at one end. If you're in the stands you might need a longer lens and you'll likely be shooting through the netting that sits above the plexiglass.

Click on any image above to see a larger view.