I find Hockey to be one of the hardest sports to photograph for a few reasons. First and foremost the speed. That puck just flies, and in what can seam totaly random directions. Second, locations. All photographer spots are assigned at the Wells Fargo Center. For a game I am usually assigned to 3 different places, one for each period. Often I am on the first level (concourse) with a big lens. Which has the advantage of being able to photograph about %75 of the action on the ice. The remaining quarter happens to low so the glass/boards covers the action, but this is where you would want to be to make sure you capture the winning goal. There is a spot that I like on floor level behind (but just to the side of) the goal. The catch is that I have to photograph through the glass. This sounds easy, but it's very tricky because of the way the glass interacts with the camera. The glass is very thick (to save people from high speed pucks and crashing players) so and angle between the lens of the camera and the glass distorts the images and creates strange coloring. Even keeping the camera perpendicular to the glass means only having a limited distance range that the camera can focus correctly, which is about 3 yards in front of the wall out to the blue line (roughly). Any further then that and it's just chance if the camera gets a crisp in focus image. Lastly there are a few holes around the rink that are specifically designed for photographers. These are the best places to capture dramatic hockey pictures. These are the spots I crave. They are given first to the senior members and senior photography companies, so I might get one hole per game for a period. I try to make the most of it when (and if) it happens. Well that's enough of me whining. Please enjoy my top picks from 2016.
