Testing Nikkor's 200/400 ƒ4 VR2 in Hockey Arena

[Kodiak]

•
A beautiful Sunday. The boys are having their first practice game of the
year… and I have no better to do than trying out the new lens bought last
spring. New? Well, I used it for wildlife, people, and winery photography
among others but not yet for shooting an other passion of mine: hockey.
I will let you judge the lens and I will comment the hockey

1. My son Bénédict can ignore all cameras but mine!
It is hard to get candid shots of that gentleman! …even during the warm-up.




2. Playing centre on the first line and very confident.




3. He lost this face off in the opponent's zone.




4. Olivier at the end of an LW effort that yield nothing but frustration.




5. …and getting ready for the next face off.




6. Face off in our zone…
this one he won and a defence man scored our second goal from the point.




7. Working hard for a third goal to bring the score to 3:3… didn't work.




8. It is quite normal to see the black jerseys around their own net but
where are our other players! …strange strategy.




9. Leaving their position, the centre and a defence man are rushing to get
a puck in the corner. The defence player stands no chance since, as he's got
his two hand riveted on his stick, he can not deploy a maximum stride




10. From not bad to horribly wrong: ok, the centre got there first and the
defence is opposing skates and stick blades against a clear pass
but the defence man opposed the wrong side and…




11. now, with a simple movement, he is out of the play having is back to the action!




12. Olivier striding to support our defence as an attack is threatening our goal




13. Bénédict counter attacking and passing to the blue line




14. …the pass receiver missed and it's fetching it behind the goal… swiftly.




15. In the last minute, this effort was concluding a 2:5 lost.

Again, I had to repeat them that they can not be the team alone.
The team as lost the game but in my book, they won theirs!

C&C welcomed.

[deetheturk]

Great series Kodiak, you have managed some cool action shots and I love the way you have captured different emotions on your boys faces, well done!

Cheers David

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured.

[John 2]

Nice series Kodiak and well lit. Did they need much PP?

[Polar01]

Loved the play by play, lighting seemed more even that most of the rinks here, and where did the Ref get that funny looking hat?

Cheers: Allan

[Kodiak]

Nice series Kodiak and well lit. Did they need much PP?

Hey John, no, no PP at all… just cropping out the half or even quarter players.
The SOOC character is clearly visible through the inconsistent rendition of the
takes. You can observe some exposure and WB differences.

[Kodiak]

Loved the play by play, lighting seemed more even that most of the rinks here, and where did the Ref get that funny looking hat? Cheers: Allan

My fetish hat is a béret with a red maple leaf on it, his has an edelweiss metal
flower on some… I don't know how to call it. The ref's daytime job is fashion
designer. And a good one I was told.

[Kodiak]

Great series Kodiak, you have managed some cool action shots and I love the way you have captured different emotions on your boys faces, well done! Cheers David

That's the only reason I had to be there: to take pictures of my sons. Yesterday,
I was just a daddy having a free day… with good gear.

My sons learned hockey the canadian way, that gives them a better understanding
of the game and quite sharper skills. For the rest of the team, as austrians, ski
and soccer are more their national sports. Hockey is, here, more for marginal and
weird individuals.

Thanks David.

[Stagecoach]

Good series Kodiak, thanks for sharing.

Looking at the shadows it suggests pretty even balanced lighting, can this be a downside when shooting indoor events such as this?

[Kodiak]

Good series Kodiak, thanks for sharing. Looking at the shadows it suggests pretty even balanced lighting, can this be a downside when shooting indoor events such as this?

Thanks Grahame.

Downside? I do not see any downside to such shooting conditions except
maybe that it is going darn fast and there always seems to be someone
in the frame that I would prefer not being there!

This is a four year old arena with the most modern equipment and lights.
The rink is well lit and one has the great advantage that the ice itself is a
huge reflector at no extra charge! This explains the sharp but not so deep
shadows everywhere… imagine if the ice was black!

… or did I misunderstood your question?

[Stagecoach]

Thanks Grahame.

Downside? I do not see any downside to such shooting conditions except
maybe that it is going darn fast and there always seems to be someone
in the frame that I would prefer not being there!

This is a four year old arena with the most modern equipment and lights.
The rink is well lit and one has the great advantage that the ice itself is a
huge reflector at no extra charge! This explains the sharp but not so deep
shadows everywhere… imagine if the ice was black!

… or did I misunderstood your question?

Kodiak,

My question was based upon my general understanding that lighting direction and it's intensity ratio between each side of a subject helps to give the subject depth and so wondering if such equal lighting from all sides would be detrimental to the photographer.

Understanding of course that the lighting is not there for the photographers benefit but for the players.

As an example, in a studio to light a model for best effect you would not illuminate equally from all sides.

It's just something that came to mind looking at these images.

[Kodiak]

Understanding of course that the lighting is not there for the photographers benefit but for the players.

Correct! … and so is the rest as well!