I need some help next week I get to shoot some curling only problem is:
#1 What should I be looking for as in terms of shots?
#2 would bringing my 135L f/2 and my 17-85mm f/4-5.6 lenses be enough or should I rent another lens I'm expecting the lighting will be similar to a hockey arena so pretty low. Both are on a 50D
The first link is from Todd Korol's site, he's a Canadian sports photographer who's got a lot of experience under his belt (SI, Reuters, Time, NYT, Globe and Mail, etc). There are three curling shots in his portfolio, one of which is a montage of shots.
The second link is just a basic Google image search for "World Curling Championships".
Between Korol's shots and the World Championship shots, it would appear that facial expressions and emotion from the curlers is really big when shooting curling.
Other shots I can think of, getting shots of them coming out of the hack with the rock, shots at the release point for the rock, sweepers busting a gust sweeping, team huddle's at key times, measurements for key rocks, and lots of screaming shots...lol.
As for the lighting, I guess a lot depends on the venue, some rinks are very bright, while others are right up there with the worst hockey arena's I've seen. Lens selection - I've heard good things about the 135L and I see several people on various forums use it for sports, plus at f/2 it's good for low light. Again for lenses, over and above lighting, it really depends on how close you'll be to the rink.
Caveat to all of this, I've never shot curling myself; I played for a number of years when I was younger.
300mm f/2.8 is a great lens for curling and worth the rental, IMO. Great for zeroing in on faces and emotion.
The 135mm f/2 is also good but it depends on your access for the event. 135mm is fine shooting from the sidelines but a 300mm allows you to shoot from one end of the ice to the action on the other end.
Also I recommend watching the movie Men With Brooms, they do a good job of explaining the game... assuming you don't have a handle on it (maybe you do). One of my first matches I was attempting 1/20th second pans from the sideline and didn't realize it was the final end... The winners celebrated and I missed it all because I was on the complete wrong settings.
I've also seen some good overhead shots with a remote camera but I've never had the opportunity to do it myself. The rings are very iconic and can make for some interesting overhead photos.
Not sure how much use a fisheye will be but if you find a use for it good on ya'.
