Good ol' hockey game!

I've been slacking on the blog posting lately, sorry about that.

My birthday was this past weekend (Jan 29th, write it down for next year :) ) and I got the chance to watch my 9 year old nephew play hockey! They were playing right around the corner from my house, and I hadn't seen him play all year, so no way I was going to miss this.

I brought along my camera and a few lenses, you know, in case I would have the chance to shoot. Never leave home without your gear! I've never shot a hockey game before, and best to get an idea of what you are doing before being asked and paid to do it. I've done some sport shooting before (water polo, volleyball, soccer,...) so I had an idea of what to expect in terms of how my camera would be set and the ebb and flow of the game.

These kids may be 9 years old, but man, do they have heart. They skate hard, they actually check (which they aren't supposed to do, but hey, it happens), they shoot, they setup plays. I was impressed at the skill level for their young age.

Here are a few tips that helped me (some I knew before, some I found out after shooting):

1- Know the game
While pro cameras can shoot in rapid bursts, nothing beats being able to anticipate the play and get ready for the perfect shot. Knowing what will happen when the puck is dumped, or when the pass is going to the point is critical in helping you time the shot. Burst shooting works fine, but to really take advantage of it, you need to shoot a bit before, during, and a bit after the play. The puck flying through the air takes a micro second to be in the right position...or in the wrong one.


2- Manual white balance
Lights have different colour temperatures. The sun has a different colour. Shooting in the shade has a different colour. While our cameras have decent auto white balance, shooting in manual white balance is the way to go. Depending on what your camera is seeing when you snap, the white balance of the shot may be slightly off, or in my case, make the ice look yellow instead of white for 10% of my shots. So find the right white balance and stick with it. I had to manually adjust the white balance in my final pictures.


3- Shoot faces and pucks
The puck are the subject of the game. This is what people are fighting for. So it makes sense that you have it in your shot. Two people tied in combat with no puck around will look a bit odd. So make sure you get the puck in your shots. There are some shots that are fine without, close up of faces for example. Thinking of a photo of soccer players jumping up to head the ball. Now imagine if there was no ball in the image and how odd they would look.

To tie in to shooting the puck, shoot the faces. This is where the interest and emotion lie. What makes a person's portrait so good? The eyes are sharp and clear and draw the viewer in. What makes a sports photo so good? The same. Some shots can work with the player's backs and names, but try and get the faces of the players as much as you can.


4- Its all about shutter speed
Keep that shutter fast. I thought 9 year old's would be slower, but there were times where my shutter was at 1/250 and it was still too slow to freeze the motion. No one wants blur in the image. I would suggest a minimum of 1/320, with 1/500 of a second being the ideal.

On the flip side (something I didnt do), use a slower shutter speed and do some panning to get a nice sharp subject, but blurry and steaky background.


5- Be ready at all times
Either keep your eye in the viewfinder or be ready to click quick as once the moment passes, it's gone. Both soccer and hockey are low scoring. The last thing you want is turning away and missing the one goal. Happened to me when shooting the hockey game. I was distracted by my other nephew horsing around and I missed a goal. No biggy, spending uncle time with the nephews is more important than getting the right shot, but if I was being paid, no distractions.


6- Have the right gear
This means a telephoto lens for most games. I had my 70-200mm f/2.8 IS. For soccer, I had the same lens, but could of used a 400mm f/2.8. Your shooting position will impact where you shoot from. I had easy access at the hockey game, but at the pro soccer game, I was limited to beside the net...in the back. So when the action was far, my shots are conveying the emotion they should.


Ok...enough rambling, here are some of the images from the game!






















Oh... just an FYI, they lose the game in overtime. :(

Thanks for checking them out!

Als 2010 Grey Cup parade

Can we call this a dynasty already? Since 2000, the Montreal Alouettes have been in 8 Grey Cup finals. They are 3-5 in the CFL finals. More importantly, they have won the last 2 Grey Cups, giving us Montreal fans 2 years of downtown parading.

So as with last year, a few of us headed down before our lunch hour to setup to snap some images of them going by. I know these aren't Pulitzer prize winning shots. I know I only get half the team and probably miss a few here and there. But its about having pride in our home team.

You know, I'm liking this tradition...keep it up boys.

Here are a few images, more up on my flickr (link to the right). Not as many as last year, the parade was smaller and went by fairly quick, with the threat of raining over our heads the entire time.

Our #1 QB and all around great guy, AC. Best of luck with your next battles


Home town cheerleaders


and uh...more cheerleaders


The mascots, Touché and Blitz
















Almost missed the cup going by, it was on the other side of the truck.

Fast as fast can be....

I was invited by my friend Reneau to shoot the boat races at the Beauharnois regatta a few weeks ago. We had a great weekend, nice sun shine, just a spot of rain on Sunday.

Reneau had the chance to try out his shiny new Nikon D700 and I went along with my Canon 7D. Both equipped with 70-200 lenses, our VIP and pit access passes in hand, it was a fun shooting day.

I'm not a fan of boats or boat races, but I must say that these things go freakin fast. To gain access to the pit, you had to sign a waiver. See, they would lift the boats in and out of the water by crane. When you are in the pit, you have boats going over your head, people going all over the place. It was organized chaos.

Here are a mix of images, from boats, people, cranes, pilots,... Click my flickr on the right hand side to check out more of the set.

Hook 'em up!






Swinging around, ready to go!












This guy's back end wasn't fixed on properly when he left the dock..

Shooting from the field at the Impact game!

I had the opportunity last week to shoot a pro soccer game with a press pass. My wife was great in securing me the pass for the Montreal Impact game against the Toronto FC. My only issue was that the game was on the same day as the Montreal Canadians game 7 against Pittsburgh, but hey, its a chance in a life time for a new photographer like me.

My first thought was to gear...or lack there of. I was going to be able to spread the 7D's wings as this camera was said to be built for sports and wildlife photography. 8 fps, good AI servo focusing, 19 cross type AF points, various focusing modes, good high ISO handling. What I lack was lenses. I know sports photography requires some fast glass... f/2.8 or faster. Why? Well, you need to capture motion...and very fast motion. In order to freeze soccer, you need approx 1/400th shutter speed. And when you are shooting at night, the light just isn't there.

So I asked a good friend, Didier, who is ever so generous in loaning his photography gear, and borrowed a 70-200 f/2.8 L IS and a 300 f/4 L IS. I also brought along my XSI and a 28-75 f/2.8 for when they got close. Soccer is played on a big field, so you need long lenses. Ever watch a football game and see all these photographers on the sidelines with these giant lenses that look like bazookas? They need those if they want to get up close and emotional shots. But one of those is about $8,000, so they normally have their companies pay for them.

Emotion is what sports is about. Just as with any other people photography. You want to capture faces, you want to capture emotions, triumph, struggle. You don't want the back of someone's head (although that can work for some shots). Heh, look at me, thinking I'm a pro. This was my first time shooting pro sports, and I have minimal sports shooting experience. On to the game!

I show up early (I'm anal about that) and get my press pass. My wife was meeting some friends and her dad, so we went our seperate ways. Having the pass was pretty neat as I was able to skip over the lineups to get in. When I got near the field, the security guard opened the gate to let me on the field. "Cool! I'm a superstar!". Then reality hit...where the hell do I go? Its a big field, lots of people. And yet, there were no photographers there (the bane of being early).

The Impact staff on the field where great. The Field Coordinator gave me the ins and outs of what I can and can't do. I was basically limited to one of four spaces between the corner kick line and the goal post. No sideline access, as this is reserved for their staff photographer. Hey, I'm just happy being there.

So I start taking out my gear. I mount the 70-200 on my 7D and attach the monopod. I take out the XSI and mount the 300. I prepare the 28-75 for quick access, put the lens hood on, and ready it in case I need to grab it. I set the empty memories cards in the bag for easy access. Then the big guys show... the Associated Press and the Reuters photographers. They walk by me, giving me a little glance as I guess I'm the new competition. But man oh man, did I have lens envy. They each had these ginormous lenses slung over their shoulder, shooting with 1D Mk IIIs (2 of them) and 70-200's on their second body. When you tally up the cost of the two bodies and two lenses, you hit just over the $20k mark. This is why they say sports photography is the most expensive type of photography.

The game started, I shot away. I had a 1.4x extender on the 300mm lens which was mounted on the XSI, which made it more like a 420mm on my 7D (which also has a crop factor of 1.4). However, it cuts 1 stop of light, so the f/4 is not an f/5.6. I was only able to get a shutter of 1/100 at ISO 800, which was useless. So I quickly switched on the 28-75 for the really close shots (which didn't happen).

I spent most of the game shooting with the 70-200 on the 7D. The game is so fast, its insane. One moment, you are zooming in on the winger running down the line and within an instant, the ball is flying to the goalie. You have to know the game and anticipate shots. I would sometimes wait with my camera pointed at the goalie to capture a save or a goal. I probably missed a few shots in doing so, but I did manage to get a diving save (which the AP and Reuters guys, sitting opposite me, had a great shot of the goal post and the goalie's butt haha!)



I would assume that hockey is the same style of shooting, but on a smaller surface. The gameplay is fast and hectic and can change directions at anytime. Basketball is on a small court, but a different shooting style as one team is on offense, one on defense. Sure, that can change quickly, but generally, you can get in a mindset for a certain shot and wait for it. With 80+ points in a game, you have many opportunities for layups and dunks. Football would be a mix of soccer and basketball... the field is huge, but the play is a little more straight forward. Knowing each sport is key though. If you are shooting an NFL game and its 3rd and 1, I wouldn't really focus on the receivers as chances are its a run play.

All in all, I had an amazing time. I would do it again in a heartbeat. You can view the set of 50ish images on my flickr and here are a few of my faves from the game. I have plenty more to say on the game, but I feel I've gone on long enough

In closing, I have to say that I chose the correct place to shoot from as I could see the TV sets in the boxes not too far and was able to zoom in to watch replays of the Habs game! haha :)

Go Canada Go!

I'm a proud french canadian. So when I was told that our amazing olympic and paralympic athletes were coming to downtown Montreal for a parade, I made sure to book an extra long lunch, packed up my new 7D and headed out with a friend to capture the event.

The parade was from 11:30am to 1:30pm and went through most of the downtown core. We got to the end of the parade around 11:15am to ensure we have a decent vantage point, up on some stairs, above the crowd.

Ste-Catherine street was packed, office workers, families, kids...everyone was out waiting to cheer on their favorite athlete. Kids got one of the better seats in the house, sitting on top of their parents shoulders, patiently waiting. The first few people to parade down were the local radio stations and other event sponsors (got to love marketing), followed by some people who were simply trying to get the crowd excited. But trust me, Montreal rarely needs encouragement to be loud.

The first few athletes were carrying flags. They were right close to the crowd, and taking the time to give high fives and sign autographs. I managed to find John Montgomery (gold, skeleton) being his typical excited and happy self. All he was missing was a pitcher of beer in his hands.

Joannie Rochette was an inspiration to all during the olympics. Having lost her mother but a few days before she performed, and still managing to go through it all and bring home a bronze was just amazing. She was the first to come through behind the flag bearers, in a car with the mayor of Montreal

I There are just about 50 photos up on my flickr set , I won't go through them all here. The athletes were really gracious, taking the time to let people touch their medals, talk with some people, pose for pictures. While the crowds were so loud that I couldn't hear a friend of mine calling my name from 5 feet in front of me, I'm not sure who was more excited, us or the athletes

Here are a few images from the parade: