donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

I stumbled upon a lost (or so I thought) cd of a hockey game I shot between the Knoxville, Ice Bears and the Mississippi Riverkings of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) a few years back. So I thought I'd share a few of them here. They are not as sharp as the could be, because the Landers Center in Southaven, MS doesn't have hole cutouts for photographers to shoot through. So these are shot through dirty, scratched up glass . They do look better if you download ...

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MikeMck Loc: Southern Maryland on the Bay

Great shots. I shoot youth hockey through dirty class, drives me nuts. Thanks for sharing.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

They look pretty good to me!

Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

Great shots especially shooting through glass. Settings, camera, etc. lens?

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

Thanks for the kind words Mike. As a player and a coach, here's a tip: See if there's a chair or a bench that's handy and shoot over the glass. Most rinks glass tapers right around the face off circle which allows me (you) to shoot over it. The other thing to do is shoot from the bench. Talk to the coaches, they'll will most likely let you shoot there. Some rinks, or refs may want you to have a coaches card to be on or around the bench. Hope this helps.

Best of luck.

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

Thanks for your feedback, Jules. These were shot with my Canon 1D Mark III, 70-200mm f/2.8. My settings differ as all arenas aren't created equal. NHL arenas are lit for television, these minor league barns aren't. I always shoot manual, 3.2 for a good bit of depth, especially around the net, shutter speed of at least 500 and then I'll start adjusting my ISO to get the right exposure to match my f-stop and shutter speed. In NHL arenas, I can get and ISO of between 400-800, in these smaller arenas, I'm usually around 1600-2000.

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

Well, I appreciate that. Thanks!

MikeMck Loc: Southern Maryland on the Bay

Thanks for the tip. At the rink when my grandson plays the most games that is a net at the top of the glass. I have tried to shoot from the balcony, but sometimes the camera focuses on the net rather than the players. I try to manually focus, but sometimes I am too slow.

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

That net you speak of usually stretches from face off dot, to face off dot. Slide down along the glass to where the net ends and you'll get your shots. Also, just outside of the players bench you could put a chair and shoot over the glass there, as the glass is lower in the middle of the rink than it is on the ends.

MikeMck Loc: Southern Maryland on the Bay

I will certainly try that. The season is over now and he is playing lacrosse. Its his first year. I am taking videos of him doing that. Having a 7 year old keeps a 72 year old young!

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

Lot's of hockey players crossover to lacrosse after the ice season. I never did, I was always on the ice year round. Good luck with your video work!

MikeMck Loc: Southern Maryland on the Bay

Me either. In Boston hockey is a 12 month sport. We didn't have nice inside rinks, the city flooded the tennis courts and that was our rink. If it was too warm, we played in the street with a squash ball and since I was the goalie (couldn't skate that well), I wore all my pads, hot as hell. Great memories.

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

I grew up in southern California, but spent my summers at the rink instead of the beach. I played juniors, college and minor-pro back in the day. I was a goalie and a goalie coach as well. This is me back in the glory days ... LOL! ;-)

MikeMck Loc: Southern Maryland on the Bay

When I first played goalie in about 1952 (age 7). My goalie pads were two pillows with cardboard on the back held together with string. That was long before Jaque Plante came up with a goalie mask. Only broke my jaw twice and lost a couple of teeth, but it was worth it. Hung up my skates when I went in the Navy. I did some refereeing in the 70's with some youth hockey clubs around here. Now I watch my grandson. Who skates much better than I ever did. You looked very intimidating.

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

When I first stared playing in the mid-70's, I used to hear and read about all those stories about what goalies used to wear for gear. I don't know that I ever could have played without a mask. I think back all the times I was hit point-blank -- I would have looked like Terry Sawchuk! ;-)