Hockey Night In St. Hubert

The sports theme on the old blog over the last few weeks continues with this little update.  Hockey season has been on for a while now, but I only got my first chance to shoot some game action this past weekend when my good friend Emmanuel told me that his daughter would be playing a game close to home.  Seeing as how I really enjoy shooting hockey games, I couldn't pass up the chance to take some photographs of Florence in action.  Sadly, my one-game winning streak came to an end as Florence's team ended up losing.  Thankfully the family likes my photographs and I keep getting invited back to take more, because I think her team has a record of 1-3, if not worst, when I'm in the arena.  I ventured out of my usual location this time.  I usually try to stick close to center ice so that I can get a good view of both nets.  Mostly because Florence is a goaltender and because I feel that most of the best action takes place around the nets.  This time, I ventured down to the corner of the arena for a period to take some shots closer to rinkside.  I had refrained from doing so in the past because, let's be honest, the plexiglass that surrounds city rinks is not the same quality, or as well kept as the plexiglass you'll find at the Bell Center.  However, lots of the pros shoot from that location, you can often see them in the corner behind the glass when you're watching a game, so I figured I should at least give it a try.  After finally making my way down there and pressing my camera against the glass, I noticed that all of the knicks, scratches and stains don't even show in the final image.  If I get the chance, I'll probably try and head down there again.  The first photograph was taken at f/4.5, 1/640sec, ISO 1000 at 105mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/5, 1/500sec, ISO 1000 at 100mm and the third photograph was taken at f/5, 1/400sec, ISO 1000 at 200mm.  Here are a few more action shots that I took over the course of the game.

f/5, 1/500sec, ISO 1000 at 70mm

f/5, 1/500sec, ISO 1000 at 165mm

f/5, 1/400sec, ISO 1000 at 110mm

Hopefully I get invited back before the season comes to an end.  I need a chance to improve my winning percentage.  That, and it's always fun to take my camera down to the arena and watch Florence play.