i have a hockey game to shoot this week at a new arena in town. i know for a fact the rink is glass all the way around, and i dont think they have and cut-outs to shoot through.
for those that shoot through the glass.... lense hoods on or off?
Get a screw on rubber hood then secure it further with gaffer tape. Specially if they have cut outs. Nothing more embarrassing than to lose a hood on the ice.
Hood on, right up to the glass, try to keep as perpendicular as possible, and use your left hand to shield excess light from getting between the glass and the glass.
Mark Speight wrote:
Also boost your saturation and contrast in camera.....
Mark, I am curious why you suggest this. Whether shooting through glass or a fence (baseball), I have found that make adjustments in processing yeilds better results than trying to do something in the camera (other than getting exposure).
april tse, do you really shoot through glass that bad? I wouldn't even consider it, but now you have me thinking differently. Is there a way in post processing to bring out contrast in one area of an image where it would blend with the rest of the image? Has anyone tried it? If you got an amazing shot, but had a big smudge from the glass on it, could it be corrected?
Thanks,
Jim
jkanaly wrote:
april tse, do you really shoot through glass that bad? I wouldn't even consider it, but now you have me thinking differently....
I’ve been realizing that about me lately – I shoot when other people give up.
If given a choice, I don’t want to shoot through glass like this, but sometimes, I have no other option other than to put the camera away. I’m just hobbyist who has learned to shoot hockey in non-ideal conditions, and sometimes, I just can’t move to a better spot. In this case, it was a San Jose Sharks pre-season practice and filled wall to wall people and security. And most of the panes of glass in local rinks are not in the best condition, especially behind the net and around the corners, but this is one of the worse rinks because the pro practices here. The glass is usually the clearest/cleanest around the red line, but the angles are not as favorable.
YES! But I also do the following, as others say find a "clean" piece of glass, do a CWB as usual, but I also boost the contrast (3/4), sharpness (3/4), and saturation (max) on the 5D. It is very important to be as perpendicular to the glass as possible else the glass will act as a very bad filter/front element, so be sure to wear a DARK jacket, note the CWB balance will be sensative to how clean the glass is. I use a sunshade on my 70-200F4 and press it right up to the glass, holding the lens by the shade with my left black fleece gloved hand. Note for the bigger kids who check make sure you are not in contact with the glass when this happens .
Some other hints, if you are able bring a small step ladder or over turn a garbage can upside down (ask the rink manager FIRST), the glass tends to be cleaner the higher up you go . DO not shoot with soft drink / snack machines or exit signs behind you, ditto make sure they are not in front of you either on the other side of the rink. Hopefully there is minimal light behind you this will also help with reflections.
well, i had my first hockey experience tonight.. i was pretty much give 2 ice level spots to shoot from, and up top, in the rafters as well (not really good for action).
one thing i was REALLY fighting with the focus. through the glass my 300 2.8 was useless.. the focus kept fluttering on it. i tried it on the IIn and the III and it did it with both bodies.... from up top, it was spot on....
the 70-200 did it as well.. but just a tiny bit.. wasnt tooo bad... i just struggled with keeping played backsides out of the action.. it was really tough.
My shots through glass never satisfy me, so I avoid it unless it's my only option. If the stands aren't too full, sometimes I just stand about 3 rows up in the stands (about half way between blue line and goal line) and shoot just over the top of the glass with a 70-200. If I had a 300mm lens I would probably use it from this position. I get much sharper photos, but the problem with this approach is that I can't catch any action on the near side because the near side glass gets in the way.
A lot of rinks in our area have taken to putting netting up over the glass as well. It's kind of like trying to watch a baseball game through the fence. At these rinks, there is sometimes a gap in the netting over the zamboni door that you can shoot through with a step stool or a chair.
The other night, I watched the guy from the local newspaper stand with one foot on a railing and his other foot on the little ridge just outside the glass. He perched himself to shoot just over the top of the glass. He could have used a stool and I have no idea how he was able to steady his camera, but the shots in the morning paper were pretty nice. Just goes to show that there are plenty of ways to get the job done.
I keep the hood on when I shoot through glass, however.
well this was a canadian OHL game.. with like 5000 fans... i was pretty much crouched right down to the edge of the glass/boards.. almost inline with the net. i attempted to move more center, crouched in a isle right at the ice.. and the 1st row season ticket holder wasnt too happy with me so i said screw it
Jkovack wrote:
well this was a canadian OHL game.. with like 5000 fans... i was pretty much crouched right down to the edge of the glass/boards.. almost inline with the net. i attempted to move more center, crouched in a isle right at the ice.. and the 1st row season ticket holder wasnt too happy with me so i said screw it
Was it just pick wherever you want to shoot, or assigned spots?
Reason I ask, is that the seat behind the section we're supposed to use ... is supposed to be unsold, and empty. Even for the World Junior Championships, the shooting spot seats weren't filled with people, aside from those of us shooting the event.
Might want to talk with the media co-ordinator about that, for the future.
Jkovack wrote:
well, i had my first hockey experience tonight.. i was pretty much give 2 ice level spots to shoot from, and up top, in the rafters as well (not really good for action).
one thing i was REALLY fighting with the focus. through the glass my 300 2.8 was useless.. the focus kept fluttering on it. i tried it on the IIn and the III and it did it with both bodies.... from up top, it was spot on....
the 70-200 did it as well.. but just a tiny bit.. wasnt tooo bad... i just struggled with keeping played backsides out of the action.. it was really tough.
Depending on the rink, find a chair or a small ladder when shooting thru the glass. Often the glass is much cleaner when you get above skater shoulder height. Our home rink has all the seating on one side so it's easy for me to do.
kiz5 wrote:
Was it just pick wherever you want to shoot, or assigned spots?
Reason I ask, is that the seat behind the section we're supposed to use ... is supposed to be unsold, and empty. Even for the World Junior Championships, the shooting spot seats weren't filled with people, aside from those of us shooting the event.
Might want to talk with the media co-ordinator about that, for the future.
no assigned spots, i was just told, you can shoot from here, here, here, and try here.. i was told to try to stay out of spectators, and try not to block them. kinda impossible.
there was only 1 other photog from the local newspaper there... he shot maybe 10 minutes from an isle, then went up to the balcony.
green dots are where i could shoot from, red dot is where i wanted to shoot from, but couldnt really stay out of the way from spectators.
I think I would take any of the green dot spots over the red dot. In fact, I can understand why the PJ headed up top as that's where I prefer to shoot hockey.
What was the reason you didn't like the green dot locations? Not that there's a right or wrong shooting location (other than staying out of the way of spectators!)...I'm just curious.
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. DO not shoot with soft drink / snack machines or exit signs behind you, ditto make sure they are not in front of you either on the other side of the rink. Hopefully there is minimal light behind you this will also help with reflections.