I brought the 400mm 2.8 out of hibernation this evening to try and capture some different angles. I managed a couple fairly clean frames of goalies making saves. c/c welcome and always appreciated.
John, I must have loaded the wrong ones. I had a handful that were taken from the back of the arena with the 400mm and some that were taken from my usual spot with the 70-200 2.8. I agree about the 1st set lacking pop. I'll tweak it a bit. Thanks!
Thanks Paul. I know, and it pains me to be forced to shoot in there. I spoke with the rink manager last week and he said they only replaced 2 bulbs prior to this season. He didn't believe me when I told him the lights were putting out AT LEAST 30% less light than last season. He asked how I could tell this for sure and I simply showed him my settings (which I had wrote down from last years playoffs and kept in my bag) and where I was sitting currently with my exposure. His reply was, "Hmmm, I never would have guessed it." Go figure!
I wonder just how expensive new lights could possibly be? I know they had discussed converting over to the newer type flourescent bulbs, which would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath.
Billy two Rinks I shoot at converted over to the new banks of Flourescents. And while one improved the lighting the other was very close to before, I think it depends on the bulbs they put in them.
Now the older lights those bulbs are upwards of 60-80 dollars each. And after a certain number of hours they start providing less and less light, they also begin to change color temp. Go into a gym halfway through the school year and use your photographers eye and look at how many of the same bulbs have different output and color temp. Those are some of the worst bulbs for a photographer!
Yup Matt, that's what I'm dealing with over here. You really have to bring your D3s rig over here and we need to shoot some hockey before the season is over in the next couple of weeks.
Let me look at my schedule for next week. What time do they start and where is the rink? I can bring my D3s and 200MM F2 and see how they do with hockey. Or I can bring some strobes and we can really have some fun.
The rink manager hasn't opened up to letting me strobe the place yet. Maybe I can soften him up before next season. They usually play 2 playoff games most nights starting at 7 and 8:45. The rink is is East Alton, IL
I think my schedule is free on Tuesday from what I remember. I'll check and let you know. Can you verify they have games there? What kind of access do you have at that rink? Shoot from Benches? Boxes? Any remotes?
Thanks John. Such is life for a sports shooter trying to capture hockey in a town dominated by football and baseball. My buddies in Chicago and surrounding areas have light at least 2x better in nearly every rink they go in.
My buddies in Chicago and surrounding areas have light at least 2x better in nearly every rink they go in.