It’s July, It’s hot and sticky in River City

CINCINNATI, OHIO – It is predicted for the temperature outdoors to reach

Photo by Rob Huelsman

100°F and I have to write about hockey. The ice at US Bank Arena melted a long time ago after a season of missing the playoffs, for the first time under Coach Jarrod Skalde. There is the protected list of players announced by the league. And the Florida Everblades get the target put on their backs for the upcoming season. But what I really want to write about is how to get those memorable moments from a game or a season captured with your camera.

PREPARATION- Depending on the type of camera you bring to the arena your success is in being ready to shoot in the blink of an eye. If you are lucky enough to be a seasoned fan you will find following the game with a camera easier. First time fans don’t despair because I will tell you later on how to set up each type of camera for the best chance of success.

Photo by Rob Huelsman

     Know your camera and what pictures it takes best.
     Know when to make an image at the height of the action.
     Know basics of the game in order to follow the action.

PRIOR to GAMEDAY- make sure the camera battery is charged to 100%. Make sure to look for dust or spots on your lens and clean the lens if needed. Your next task is to make sure that you have your camera with you on Gameday at the arena. Nothing ruins a shoot faster than a dead battery with no spare to change over to. Or a camera left on the sofa means no pictures whatsoever.

GAMEDAY- teams warm up then take a twenty minute break before the start of the game.GET TO THE ARENA WHEN THE GATES OPEN one hour before game time. Scout out some locations in the stands that offer a view above the glass. Warm up is your time to warm up too. I can’t emphasize enough how a bit of practice shooting prior to gametime can get you prepared for just how fast you will have to react to the action in the goal crease. Skip your usual beverage if it contains alcohol. Very simply you will need to hold your camera steady to get a sharp image. Advanced photographers should consider using a monopod.

Photo by Rob Huelsman

Review your warm up pictures on your digital camera screen to see how you did. If they are dark or fuzzy your task will be to reset the settings such as shutter speed or lens aperture(opening), this may not be possible with the simplest point and shoot cameras. Are you holding your camera steady-this may be your reason for unsharp pictures. High end point and shoot as well as bridge models often have the capability for user adjustments to the ISO (if dark-increase it, if light- decrease it ) Shutter speeds below 1/400^th second result in a very blurry puck at high speed. Lens opening- Most of these cameras have variable aperture ( there’s that word again ) zoom lenses. The closer you zoom the less light gets to the sensor- resulting in brown ice and a dark image. Start by shooting at the widest opening the lens will give you. This is your wide angle view/lens setting.

Photo by Rob Huelsman

Next slowly zoom taking a series of three pictures at each zoom setting and you will find out as the images get darker there will be a cutoff point where you should not go beyond in order to get good images. This is where knowing your camera and what it does best pays off in being able to make the needed changes in settings.

PRE-GAME CEREMONIES- The honor guard, the singer of the National Anthem, and the ceremonial puck drop(s) all are usually spot lit for good exposures and help make the game more memorable afterward.

GAME ON! from your seat try to catch the opening face-off. From that moment on the action can happen at any time. If you have a favorite player(s) concentration on them during their ice time is your next task. In following a player or two you may miss other opportunities for images. C’est Le Guerre.

IN BETWEEN PERIODS- Mascot antics and fan participation contests are fun to photograph, depending on the need to get through the line at the restrooms.

Photo by Rob Huelsman

POST GAME- Stick around for the Star Of The Game on-ice interview and get some shots of that too.

Camera Settings- If your camera offers a manual mode start with a shutter speed above 1/400^th second to around 1/640^th second in order to “freeze” puck motion. ISO set between 800 to 1600 is adequate in most hockey barns. Lens openings of f-stop 4.0 or wider are optimal for this type of indoor work. WHITE BALANCE-Set to auto or indoor. More experienced users can fiddle with the fine adjustments in the color temp of the arena lights. AUTO MODE- some will have a “sports” pre-set program and you can try this to see if it gives you good images, if after 3 -5 frames it isn’t doing the job maybe the manufacturer was thinking of badminton and not quite up to the speed of hockey.

Aperture Priority Mode- set your lens opening for as wide as it will give you while not slowing your shutter speed too much below 1/250^th of a second.

Shutter Priority Mode- Set 1/400^th to 1/640^th of a second and the camera will choose the aperture for you.

Face Priority Mode- newer models of some cameras now include a smile or other face recognition software. Good for player portraits during warm-up or face-off.

Photo by Rob Huelsman

DIGITAL SLR OWNERS- Ah the advantages you enjoy as the result of being able to change lenses. If you are the owner of fast glass you will find sharp, well exposed images more often than not. For those with variable aperture zooms the technique I described earlier offers you a method for testing the limits of your lens during player warm ups. Constant aperture lenses perform well in this environment at f 1.8 – 4.0 for primes as well as Zooms.
Anticipate the action so that you fire the shutter a split second before the impact to capture the moment. Shoot on full manual with the suggested settings and adapt them to your particular arena.
Advanced shooters will find the game challenging to capture as well as richly rewarded by recording an image that you would want to hang on your wall. In the beginning Practice and each game you will get better.

Now that I’ve got you thinking about ICE- don’t you feel cooler already ?