Hockey with 85mm 1.8

[Maritimer1]

I've been taking all your advice into account and have been getting nearer to what I think I can achieve with my camera (Canon 40D) and lens/no flash (These were all with the 85mm 1.8).

Critiques always appreciated. When uploading to TinyPic, I noticed a pinkish tinge that is not there when I look at the photos straight from my files. Not sure what is going on, but something for me to watch for.

Myra


Trying to start something…



Looking for the net



Ready

[Shadowman]

Myra,

They're nice, I would do some cropping to zero in on the action presented. Did you try any with a smaller aperture?

[Jim B.]

Hi Myra,
I like them all.They look a bit flat on my screen.I did a little processing on the 1st two.I raised the white point up a little and did a bit of sharpening and they "pop" a bit more.
Maybe give it a try and see what you think.
I have the 85 and it's an outstanding lens.Were these shot at f/1.8?

[Donald]

Myra

Good stuff. I love seeing sports action images. The 'golden rule' about the ball (puck) being included in ball (puck) sports is very ably demonstarted in #2 & #3. Probably 1/1000 later for #3 would have put the puck even closer to the goalminder's hand (keep practising!)

In terms of (hopefully) constructive criticism:
#2 - A clone job on those couple of dark bits bottom right would be good (you can't crop them as it would leave the puck too close to the edge of the frame). It's also a pity that the goalminder's legs are coming in at the top just at the player's head. But that's just about practicing and shooting lots of frames in such a fast action sport. You can't arrange them so you've just got to keep firing in order to get the perfectly composed image.

#3 The umprire's head is cut off half way up. I think you either need to have it all in the frame, or crop it much tighter so that we see only part of his torso. That would give us enough to know that he was there, but wouldn't distract us in the same way as a half-cut-off head does.

I'm impressed that you're able to get so close up with the 85mm.

[wilgk]

Really nice work Myra!
They're great, all i can add to Donald's advice is maybe on # 3 try a clone out of the red line where the sponsors boards join and the sign that's at that side....it may help accentuate how well you have caught the fast moving puck...as at the moment my eye gets that sign a wee bit.
This may of course not work at all and leave too much white making the puck harder to see??, but might be worth a try.

I look forward to more

[Maritimer1]

I'm having a good time learning more about shooting sports this year, as I also had the opportunity to do a couple of soccer games in October. Easy to see why the pros have those huge lenses!

Jim, the first two were shot at 1.8 . 1/500 for the first and 1/400 for the second (shutter priority mode). ISO 1600 for all. The third (goalie) shot was 2.8 and 1/400. The levels were raised and USM used in PP, but I will try more the next time. I tend to hold back in the processing dept.

Donald, I have lots of cut off heads in my sports stuff<LOL>. When I upped the levels, I had to go back and brush out the end of the hockey stick as it was lost in the ice. If a parent wants a copy, as much distraction as can be taken out will be removed. The problem with sports, I think, is that if I change too much, people may start wondering if other parts, like where the puck is, are real. In two other shots, I have a player winding up and then firing the shot. In the firing shot, I lost the end of the stick!! I was not happy as it would have been a very nice sequence. It's not only the practice, I need to learn the game better. If A is happening, then B is about to

With the 85 I have to take what I can get and try to crop later. There is a lot of cropping done so I can "zoom" in on the main action. As these just go up on a team website, I have to get them done quickly and I crop for either 4x6 or 8x10 in case the parents want to make a print. That limits the type of cropping I can do.

Thanks all!

Myra