Ice Hockey

Guildford Flames vs Basingstoke Bison
Originally uploaded by Photo Plod

Ice Hockey is one of my favourite sports, and the season in the UK runs from September - April. I used to be able to get to see Elite League matches regularly (albeit I could never get a good enough vantage point to take photographs), but since the drop of Basingstoke Bison into the English Premier League, I have contented myself by being a regular visitor to the Guildford Flames.

Ice Hockey is a tricky sport to photograph. A quick trip to the galleries hosted over on NHL.com show stunningly clear images, shot by the best photographers in the business, with access to press boxes and team benches that amateurs like me could never hope for. Unless you're armed with a D3 and have negotiated a special vantage point, you're going to have to "cheat" your shots.

The first problem in Ice Hockey is the light; without exception, games are played indoors in artificial lights. The crowd are usually kept in semi-darkness to enhance the brightness of the rink. Secondly, there is a great big white rink in the way, throwing your exposure settings and white balance into chaos. This gets even more fun when you consider that many teams play in largely-white kits as well. Combine this with a necessarily-fast shutter speed, telephoto lenses and a requirement to hand-hold the camera, you have all the ingredients for a sports photography nightmare.

I tend to use these settings for my shots, which I find time and again give me reliable output - they may not always be perfect, but they work more often than they fail, leaving me with the important business of seeing the action and grabbing the shot.

Camera Mode: Aperture Priority. You don't need to be fiddling with manual settings while working at high speed.

Aperture: f/2.8. Anything more and you'll lose the shutter speed you need.

Shutter: 1/500. You can get away with slightly slower, but hockey is a fast moving game. 1/200 will frequently give you blurred pictures.

ISO: 1600.

WB: Auto. I have never found a WB setting that accurately captures the colours of an ice hockey rink, but I find that a colour temperature of somewhere around 4800 - 5100 generally works well.

You will have to adjust your vantage point depending on the rink you go to. I find that the best views can be obtained by standing up to the glass at the corners of the rink - usually a handful of supporters are allowed into these positions, so you have to arrive early and be prepared to stand for a long time in order not to lose your place. It doesn't generally matter which end you stand at, as there will usually be a fair share of action all over the rink. As a solo photographer, you won't be able to "chase" the action all over the arena, so don't try.

Later, I will discuss shooting tips and then move onto post-processing.