Best of Part One: The Top Photos So Far…
It seems like just yesterday since we were back here on Bird Watching, now doesn’t it? Anyways, I promised you a post containing my best (and favorite) photos from the season so far, so let’s get going!
17) For the first shot of the day (and seventeenth best shot so far) we’ll go all the way back to October 26 for a game against Tri-City and a shot of center Colin Jacobs on the bench during a shootout. I think this shot is typical of many photos of Jacobs I’ve taken; in most of them there’s either a big smile or intense expression on Jacobs’ face. That really adds to the emotion of the photograph and helps our understanding of what’s going on in it.
Center Colin Jacobs is all smiles after left wing Marcel Noebels (background) converts his shootout attempt against the Americans. Despite the successful conversion, the T-Birds fell in the shootout, 2-1.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
16) Let’s stay in that same game against the Americans for shot number 16. In the first 33 games of the season, the T-Birds had three of their four home games against Tri-City, and each one was a hard-hitting matchup worthy of the rivalry. There were many notable hits between the two teams, and one of the better photos I’ve got of them happens to be this one, where two Thunderbirds combine to make an American sandwich…
Right wing Jacob Doty (left) and center Connor Sanvido (right) sandwich Tri-City defenseman left wing Marcus Messier in the first period of an Oct. 26 game against Tri-City.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
15) With number 15, I decided to go with a shot from the KING 5 taping that occurred October 12 at ShoWare Center. KING 5 sent reporter Christie Johnson down to learn more about hockey and the Thunderbirds. The clips that were filmed went out live during the morning news broadcast, and the four players there (Luke Lockhart, Brenden Dillon, Burke Gallimore, and Michael Salmon) had to arrive early in order to meet with the KING 5 crew. I snapped this gem during a break in shooting…
Center Luke Lockhart (right) and right wing Burke Gallimore (top) rest on the ice during a break between takes.
Canon 7D, 50MM, 1600 ISO, f/3.5, 1/800th, Manual
It’s not the best technical photo from the shoot, but I do find it quite humorous and there’s something charming about it so I decided to use it over the other photos from the tv shoot.
14) After each win, the team would always skate out to the goalie (normally Calvin Pickard, but Michael Salmon has taken over between the pipes on occasion) and celebrate the win. They did this a bit over the first half, as the T-Birds have accumulated 15 wins so far this year. Normally these shots aren’t that exciting as everyone is facing inwards, but I got lucky with this one when Jacob Doty looked backwards (with his helmet off! What luck!) during the celebration.
Jacob Doty joins the rest of the Thunderbirds in celebration of their Nov. 19 victory over the Spokane Chiefs.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
13) I’m always looking for new angles to shoot from. Seeing something from a different vantage point can make the most typical of things seem new or exciting. I was allowed to shoot the Red Deer game on Nov. 2 from the catwalks above the ice. I was up there for the pregame events, including the introduction of the Thunderbirds starters.
The Thunderbirds starters are introduced before the Nov. 2 game against Red Deer.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/320th, Manual
12) What would a look back on the Thunderbirds’ season be without talking about Calvin Pickard? He’s been the T-Birds’ brick wall in goal for most of the season, saving an astounding 1169 shots so far. His save percentage of .927 is good for second in the WHL, just a thousandth behind Darcy Kuemper of Red Deer. Needless to say, Pickard’s been a major part of the team, and I had to include a photo of him in this countdown. Here’s one of his 1169 saves, this one against Red Deer.
Goalie Calvin Pickard makes a stick save on a shot from the Red Deer Rebels on Nov. 2.
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1000th, Manual
11) As I’ve said before, I didn’t follow hockey before I started shooting for the Thunderbirds. All I really knew about the game was that it was really fast and players were allowed to fight (with a five minute penalty, though). Being one of the bigger teams in the league, the T-Birds have really thrown their weight around for the first part of the season, making sure to hit the opposing team and even fighting them if need be. One of the bigger fighters on the team is Jacob Doty, who is frequently making sure the opposing team leaves the game black and blue.
Jacob Doty lands a punch on Prince George center Greg Fraser during a game Oct. 29.
Canon 7D, 185mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
10) Once December rolled around, it was time to plan for the T-Bird’s Christmas Card. It was up to me to shoot the photo that would be on the card, something I’ve never done before. After scouting out the location and perfecting my exposure for the surroundings, the players arrived and we got down to business. I’ll tell you right now this photo isn’t the best team photo ever taken, but I’m quite proud of it and the way it looked on the card, so I decided to put it on this list.
Happy Holidays from the Seattle Thunderbirds!
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1000 ISO, f/10, 1/25th, Manual
9) I’m always looking for non-action photos to shoot. Not only does it give me something to focus on while the game’s not being played, but it showcases particular events that might not have been seen by everyone. One of my favorite detail shots from the half-year is this photo taken during a particularly chippy game against Medicine Hat.
Jacob Doty leans over and tries to intimidate the Medicine Hat player across from him before a faceoff at center ice during a Nov. 30 game.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
8) It’s not common to see a goalie get checked hard on a play, but it does happen on occasion. When it does, it can make a cool photo to see the two players all sprawled out. That happened in the Medicine Hat game; an action I thought was sure to lead to an all-out brawl between the teams. It didn’t but it did lead to a cool photo…
Calvin Pickard is run into by Medicine Hat center Wacey Hamilton during a Nov. 30 game.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
7) One thing I have noticed through the first 33 games is that the Thunderbirds fans are pretty good at making noise. When I went over to Kennewick for the Tri-City away game on Dec. 10, I was surprised at how quiet those fans were during part of the game. To commemorate them, I’m always looking for photos of T-Birds fans to put in the blog. Normally I have a requirement that they need to be in T-Birds gear, but I waived that Dec. 14 when the group in Calvin’s Corner kept yelling at Spokane goalie James Reid whenever he ventured to that side of the ice.
Fans in Calvin’s Corner try to get Spokane goalie James Reid to lose focus during a Dec. 14 game.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
6) This fan, however, showed his T-Birds colors well during the Medicine Hat game. The more I look at this photo, the more I like it. Not only is it taken at a cool angle (from the catwalks), but the look on his face—particularly that smirk—adds some nice emotion to it. He looks proud to display that Thunderbirds scarf, and in turn I’m proud to call this photo one of the six best shots I took during the first half.
A fan displays a Thunderbirds scarf during a timeout in a Nov. 30 game against Medicine Hat.
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/400th, Manual
5) Here’s my favorite photo of Calvin Pickard I’ve taken so far. This might be ranked higher on this list—and would definitely be the best shot of a Calvin Pickard save—if this was in fact a save; this is actually a shot of a Tri-City goal. I took this early enough in the play, however, for it to look like a decent photo Pickard doing well. No matter what the result of the play, however, it’s a nice looking photo and nice enough to be number five.
Tri-City center Mason Wilgosh sneaks a shot past goalie Calvin Pickard during an Oct. 26 game.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
4) You may have noticed that so far all of the action photos on the list were either taken from above (the photos with a background that consists of ice) or from the box in between the benches (where the background is the goal or the boards around the rink). Well, coming in at number four is my first action shot taken from behind the glass at one end of the rink (#7—the photo of the group in Calvin’s Corner—was taken from the side, but I don’t consider that an action photo). It was taken fairly recently, at the game where I finally realized how to shoot from behind the glass ((Home) Game 12: Thunderbirds Unlucky Against Americans). You’ll also notice that three of the top four photos were taken in December, further suggestion I’ve finally realized how to shoot hockey. It took long enough, now didn’t it… 😛 Anyway, here’s number four!
Left wing Marcel Noebels evades an attempt to dislodge the puck by from Tri-City center Brooks Macek during a Dec. 11 game.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
3) When I saw number three happen I immediately became excited. I immediately knew I had this really cool play when it happened; once the puck was cleared from the Seattle end and there wasn’t a danger of missing a play, I chimped the photo (photographer jargon for looking at the LCD screen) to see if I really had got it. A wide smile crept along my face once I had; I think that was the most excited I’ve ever been over a photograph. It really is a cool photograph, and important, too. Check out this goal-saving grab Dave Sutter made on the puck.
Defenseman Dave Sutter saves a goal by grabbing the puck out of the air just before it crosses the red line during a game against Medicine Hat Nov. 30.
Canon 7D, 90mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
2) I remember telling you I had a portfolio-worthy shot during the blog post I first shared number two with you. It is also one of the few head-on offensive shots I’ve taken this year since I haven’t found much success shooting through glass yes. I’m really happy with the way this shot turned out, although I do wish the shot featured in the photo was just as successful.
Left wing Chance Lund takes a shot on the Tri-City goal during a Dec. 11 game.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
1) And now for the moment we’ve all been waiting for and the best shot I’ve taken so far this year… As I said before, three of the top four photos were taken in December, and we can expand that out to a whopping eight of the top ten. That means throughout the year I’ve really improved my hockey shooting, so it’s only natural to guess my top photo is from December, right? Well it’s not from December. Or November. Or even October for that matter. That’s right, the single best photo I’ve taken came from the one home game in September and the first regular season hockey game I’ve ever shot. Crazy, right? I’ll let you see the photo before I talk about why I picked this as number one…
Colin Jacobs celebrates a goal in front of the Portland bench during the home opener against the Winterhawks Sept. 25.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
This photo shows just about everything you need to know about that opening night game: that the Thunderbirds were fired up and playing well enough to celebrate (visible in Jacobs’ face) and it shows some dejection in the Winterhawks’ player behind Jacobs. Furthermore, the spotlight on Jacobs makes him jump out at the viewer and the stick and shoulder in the foreground give a nice frame to Jacobs to really draw your eye to him. That is why I’m calling this the best photo I’ve taken this season, and a photo I’m proudly displaying in my portfolio.
Well there you have it: the top 17 photos of the Thunderbirds’ season so far! What plays will there be for me to capture during the second half? Find out tonight when the Thunderbirds take on the Spokane Chiefs at 7:05 at the ShoWare Center! I’ll be there, will you?
Do you agree with my selections? Did I miss something that deserves to be in this post? Let me know in the comments section below while you wait for 7:05 to come!
‘Til tonight, go T-Birds!
Tri-City Away: Road Trip, Anyone?
I hope everyone had a great Christmas (I know I did, I got a lens!), but now it’s time to prepare for the second half of the WHL season! I hope to get you in the mood for more T-Birds hockey with two posts in two days; today I’m (finally) writing up a post about my road trip to Kennewick to watch (and shoot) the Thunderbirds take on the Tri-City Americans on December 10 tonight/today (again I’m working past midnight), and a recap of the first half of the season in photos featuring the best images I’ve collected so far this year. Check back tomorrow for that best-of post, but for now continue reading about the
As with my post about the catwalks, I have a video for you guys to watch and hopefully to enjoy. Also like my catwalks post, the video is quite short in relation to the drive over as I didn’t film enough content to make a longer one. I need to remember that for next time (maybe that’s why I need an assistant…). Anyways, how about we start the video in the most natural starting point I know, in the middle of the trip!
Alright, everyone awake from your slumber and check out some photos! Unfortunately there’s not too many—I had a really bad game in Tri-City—but there were some blog-worthy shots I’d like to share with you. But first, here’s a photo I took from that vantage point off I-82 and an explanation on why I only shoot sports…
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1000 ISO, f/22, 1/500th, Manual
Now let’s fast-forward about 90 miles and five hours for our next photo, which takes place in the first period of the game (note: yeah, I’m skipping a lot of time. Next time I travel to a game, I’ll be sure to take more photos and video of the stadium). That night, December 10th, was the night of the American’s Teddy Bear Toss, when fans throw teddy bears onto the ice after the home team’s first goal. Being new to hockey, I had no clue what was going on when all of these teddy bears were flying onto the ice, so I asked the fan I was sitting next to for an explanation. Luckily she filled me in on the situation and I decided the oddity was worthy of a photo.
Goalie Calvin Pickard (left) chats with defenseman Erik Bonsor (center-left) while teddy bears are being cleaned off the ice during the Americans’ Teddy Bear Toss on Dec. 10.
Canon 7D, 145mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The game was delayed for ten minutes while the bears were picked up off the ice. Overall, I think 3,000 or so teddy bears were thrown onto the ice (and later donated to charity). Not a bad number, but I’m pretty sure we can surpass that for our own Teddy Bear Toss Jan. 29! And since I won’t be able to use this joke then, I might as well say it one last time here: that game was the first hockey game I’ve ever seen that was delayed by bears.
You guys can stop groaning now.
Seriously, you can.
Any time now.
Ok, you might as well let it all out at once….
Now that we’re done with that, let’s move on with the photos. From my vantage point in the stands, I had a nice view of the Tri-City goal and plays on it from the left side. In this photo, left wing Mitch Elliot tries to get a better angle on Tri-City goalie Drew Owsley.
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1000th, Manual
From my vantage point, I also had a nice view of the Seattle goal. Here, Pickard makes a nice stick-save of a Tri-City shot.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1000th, Manual
By now you’ve probably noticed that I have a lot of photos of certain players and less of others. I’m always looking for more shots of the players I don’t have and managed to get one over in Kennewick. Here, center Brendan Rouse battles for position to control the puck with Tri-City defenseman Drydn Dow.
Canon 7D, 170mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1000th, Manual
And unfortunately here’s the last photo I have for you guys for this post (told you I had a really bad game). Anyway, here’s defenseman Travis Bobbee (center) shielding the puck from Tri-City center Mason Wilgosh.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1000th, Manual
Sorry for the short post, but the video took a while to piece together (I’m still new and slow at working with videos). Remember to check back tomorrow for the best photos from the first half of the season!
‘Til next time, go T-Birds!
Game 13: T-Birds Fall to Chiefs
Welcome back to Bird Watching where in this edition, we’ll take a look at photos from the game Dec. 14 against the Spokane Chiefs (yes I know I’m running massively behind, but I should be able to catch up soon). Before we dive into the Spokane photos, though, I’d like to remind you all to check out the video T-Birds videographer Nicholas Kocan made from the Christmas card photoshoot a few weeks ago. It gives a good look into how we managed to fit 23 hockey players and one bird onto half a carousel (without it breaking, might I add) long enough to grab a photo. There are even some clips of me in action in there, something I’m not used to seeing since I’m normally behind the lens! In case you missed it, here’s the video link: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1248832318432&oid=88453342812&comments.
Now onto the photos! The T-Birds were again without goalie Calvin Pickard who was trying out for the Canadian National Junior team for the upcoming World Junior Championships. Between the pipes for Pickard was backup goalie Michael Salmon, who was making just his third start of the year. Salmon and the T-Birds played well in the first period, keeping even with the Chiefs at one goal apiece and Salmon made more than a few nice saves and plays on the puck. Here’s one of them now, where he (center), along with defenseman Dave Sutter (left), and left wing Marcel Noebels (center left) blocked an early attempt from Spokane.
Canon 7D, 140mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Just a bit later he made another save, this one unassisted. Need help finding the puck in this one (like I originally did)? Hint: look in the crease in Salmon’s leg pad.
Goalie Michael Salmon stretches his leg out to block a shot from Spokane left wing Colin Valcourt in the first period.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
The Thunderbirds didn’t just play defense in the first period; they were on offense for a good portion of the period and earned 10 shots on the Spokane goal. Here’s one of those shots, this one by Marcel Noebels.
Left wing Marcel Noebels takes a shot on Spokane goalie James Reid. Reid blocked the attempt with his stick.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Here’s a shot of a nice play by defenseman Scott Ramsay. Despite having falling to the ice, Ramsay was still able to get his stick through Spokane center Kenton Miller’s feet and poke the puck away. The angle I have for this isn’t the best (behind the goal and to the left of it would have produced the best shot of the play), but I still like the photo. Check it out for yourself…
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
A bit after Ramsay’s poke, Seattle scored their first goal. Center Travis Toomey collected a rebound off James Reid and buried it in the back of the net, tying the score at 1-1. Unfortunately I didn’t get the goal itself—I couldn’t find the puck during the rebound—but I did get the celebration afterwards.
Center Travis Toomey (back) and right wing Burke Gallimore (front) celebrate Toomey’s goal late in the first period.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
True to the rivalry between the Thunderbirds and the Chiefs, there were three fights during the game. The first one came 18 minutes in, and it featured Scott Ramsay and Spokane left wing Darren Kramer.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Now for the second period. The Thunderbirds earned 14 shots on goal, two of which I’ve captured below.
Marcel Noebels takes a shot on Spokane goalie James Reid early in the second period.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Defenseman Brenden Dillon fires a slapshot towards the Spokane goal before Spokane center Steven Kuhn can block the attempt.
Canon 7D, 80mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Left wing Mitch Elliot (right) has the puck stolen by Spokane right wing Matt Marantz before Elliot while approaching the Spokane goal.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here’re a few more photos from the second period. And yes, this is the second game in a row where I’ve gotten good stuff from behind the glass. Dare I say it I’ve finally figured out how to shoot this lovely game?
Charles Wells (left) and Travis Toomey (right) battle for the puck with Spokane defenseman Tanner Mort.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Burke Gallimore uses his stick to prevent Spokane’s Matt Marantz from getting to the puck.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That night, there was a group in Calvin’s Corner, a section of seats to the left of the north goal that sits right on the glass. When there’s no group in that section, I’ll generally sit in there with the other photographers since it offers a good view of the north half of the ice and the T-Birds bench. Anyways, the group in Calvin’s Corner was an active one that night. Here’s a shot of them yelling at James Reid for him to go back to his goal…
Canon 7D, 195mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/500th, Manual
And here’s one of them voicing their opinions of Spokane players while the Chiefs went back to their locker room for the second intermission.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/500th, Manual
Thanks for being so loud that night, Calvin’s Corner. You guys were great!
With that second intermission over, it’s on to the third period. I took my usual third period spot—between the benches—and started firing away. Unfortunately, so did the Spokane Chiefs. Here’s one of their goals during the period, where Spokane left wing Collin Valcourt snuck a goal past Michael Salmon.
Canon 7D, 145mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here’s a small series of photos (two to be exact) of Burke Gallimore doing everything possible to avoid Spokane defenseman Reid Gow, who was lying on the ice after knocking the puck away from Gallimore. Gallimore gets some pretty good air on his jump over Gow; I’d rate it about a 7.5, don’t you think?
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here, defenseman Erik Bonsor knocks the puck away from Spokane right wing Mitch Holmberg.
Canon 7D, 180mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The third period wasn’t an easy one for the Thunderbirds. They allowed Spokane to take 15 shots on goal, of which five of those shots ended up in the net. After the last goal, Michael Salmon was pulled. While skating back to the bench, center Colin Jacobs had some words of encouragement to the T-Birds’ netminder.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1250 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Now, apparently to keep me from getting a big head, the Photo Gods decided to have the Chiefs block my view down the ice with their sticks. Naturally, my autofocus picked the sticks to focus on instead of the players beyond them. This photo wasn’t an intentional artsy-type photo; it was just an accident. You can barely tell that Mitch Elliot is checking a Spokane player into the boards.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Being down big didn’t keep the T-Birds from fighting back. Here, Burke Gallimore sends a late shot towards the Spokane goal.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
That’s It for the Spokane game. Now a couple of blog notes…
Hopefully I’ll be getting the photos and video up from my trip to Kennewick for the Tri-City game there on the 10th up just after Christmas. That’s the next post going up. Also, there won’t be any shots from the Portland game on the 18th, unfortunately. I was shooting at Seattle U during that game so I missed all of it. Don’t worry, however, for I will be at the game on the 28th and will have shots from that soon after.
Also, is there anything different you guys want to see? Do you have an angle you’d like me to shoot from or is there a story you’d like me to tell? I want to hear some feedback from you as to where I should take this blog. Let me know in the comments section below!
‘Til next time, go T-Birds!
(Home) Game 12: Thunderbirds Unlucky Against Americans
Center Charles Wells takes a shot on the Tri-City goal in the second period.
Canon 7D, 98mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Hello again everyone! It’s been a while since the last post (about a week, in fact) so it’s time for another roll of photos. Sorry for the layoff; I’ve been shooting a lot in the last week, both for the T-Birds and Seattle University all while taking the GRE and getting my application for grad school together. I’ve finally found time to write up a game thread. I know I told you guys I’d have photos from last Friday’s away game in the Tri-Cities, but I want more time to put together the videos for that post. Instead, here’re some photos from the home game against the Americans on Saturday the 11th.
Let’s start in the second period, shall we? (Note: we kind of have to as I didn’t arrive at the ShoWare Center until just before the first intermission. I had to come down from Key Arena and a Seattle U. men’s basketball game) Walking into the media box at the ShoWare Center, I was met with the nasty surprise that the Thunderbirds were down 0-4 late into the first period. Now I’m sure you guys will be ok with skipping straight to second period photos, where the T-Birds seemed to come out with a new energy and ended up matching the Americans’ one goal during those two periods. Let’s dive straight into the shots, shall we?
Left wing Marcel Noebels evades an attempt to dislodge the puck by from Tri-City center Brooks Macek on his way down the ice towards the Americans’ net.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Centers Justin Hickman (right) and Brendan Rouse (center-left) both try to force the puck through the Tri-City defense and into the net.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Left wing Chance Lund takes a shot on the Tri-City goal, but Americans goalie Drew Owsley stops the puck before it can cross the red line.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Now I know what you’re thinking… “Wow, Kyle actually has good-looking photos from through the glass for once,” and you’re right! I have no clue why all of a sudden I could actually get good shots from behind the glass. It might be due to the fact I actually stepped away from the glass; normally I press my lens up against it to reduce glare from the lights, but I was moving around a lot more than normal. It may be because the hockey and the photo gods got together and decided to smile on me, I have no clue. I just know I got some killer shots from that position. Those four aren’t it, either. Here’s some more from the second period I’m quite pleased with…
Wells checks Tri-City left wing David Conrad into the boards behind the Tri-City goal.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Center Colin Jacobs battles tries to knock the puck past Tri-City defender Paul Sohor and into the Tri-City goal.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And we’ll end the second period photos there. I still can’t believe how lucky I was to get all those shots. I think I’ll put either the Noebels photo or the Lund photo—maybe even both of them—into my portfolio. It’s not every day you get a portfolio-worthy shot, and somehow I got two of them in a span of about 40 minutes. I was feeling pretty good and ready to continue my streak of good luck—and good photos—into the third period.
And before I went out to the box between the benches (they call it the Suicide Box over in Kennewick and most other hockey arenas; for some reason, I’m not too fond of that name…), Ashley, the intern that has the horrible job of going through every single one of my photos (I really feel bad for her, there’s a LOT of horrible photos from each game and she has to sort them all) caught up with me. She asked me to get a few photos of defenseman Erik Fleming since I hadn’t gotten any at all this year. You’re probably tired of reading my ramblings, so here’s that photo of Fleming and a couple other ones.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Defenseman Dave Sutter checks Tri-City right wing Jordan Messier in the third period.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Noebels skates around the Tri-City goal hoping to find a better angle for a shot while Tri-City defender Zachary Yuen follows in pursuit.
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Here’s another photo I really like. I think it’s one of the better shots of a defensive play I’ve gotten this year.
Defenseman Brenden Dillon throws himself to the ice in an effort to block a shot by Tri-City leftwing Justin Fesser.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Being not only a rivalry game, but the second game against the Americans in two nights, there was plenty of late hits and hard checks into the boards. Here, right wing Jacob Doty slams Tri-City defenseman Sam Grist against the boards.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
During one of the media timeouts in the third period, the team gathered at the bench to strategize. After the strategy session, but before they were called back out onto the ice, Jacobs (left) and Doty (right) discussed matters between themselves as well.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
In keeping up with the rivalry, Lund and Tri-City defenseman Brock Sutherland found themselves in a fight with about five minutes to go in the game.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Although the two fighters were escorted off the ice, their dropped gloves, sticks, and helmets were still strewn about. For the Thunderbirds, it was Hickman who received the task of collecting Chance’s gear and bringing it back to the bench.
Canon 7D, 78mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Here’s a photo of Defenseman Erik Bonsor trying to steal the puck from Tri-City center Connor Rankin.
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Despite the game being decided, both sides kept up the pressure on the goalies and tried to earn one more goal. Here’s a shot on goal for Tri-City.
Tri-City’s Messier (left) fires a shot towards the Seattle goal, which is being defended by defenseman Scott Ramsay (center-left) and goalie Michael Salmon (right).
Canon 7D, 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
The Thunderbirds also had their late-game chances on goal. Here, Dillon brings the puck down the ice with a defender in tow.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Noebels controls the puck in the Tri-City half.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And here center Luke Lockhart tries to brush the puck into the net and past Tri-City goalie Chris Driedger.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Alright, that’s it for this post. I have no idea how I got so many good photos from just two periods, but hopefully my lucky streak will continue! Check back for my next post to see if it does and, as always, let me know what you liked or didn’t like in the comments section below.
Til’ next time, go T-Birds!
A Very T-Birds Christmas Card Photo
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1000 ISO, f/10, 1/25th, Manual
Hello again everyone! I wanted to get a new post up before the games this weekend, but unfortunately I don’t have time to do a full post of 20+ game photos (it takes me upward of three hours to find the photos, edit them, type out an explanation, and post it all online). So instead here’s a smaller post about the photo for the Thunderbirds’ Christmas card we’ll have for you all.
Last week I received an e-mail from Director of Media Relations Ian Henry asking me to shoot the card. He told me the club wanted it shot at the Morford Family Holiday Carousel in downtown Kent, off 2nd Avenue and Harrison Street, so we checked out the location to make sure we could get a decent photo.
Director of Media Relations Ian Henry scopes out the Morford Family Holiday Carousel as a potential location for the T-Birds Christmas card photo.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 800 ISO, f/2.8, 1/8000th, Manual
(Note: I didn’t try to make this photo look good. I just wanted a basic idea of what the background may look like.)
We came to the consensus that we could get a good photo as long as the fence along the front of the carousel was moved aside, allowing me to get a clear view of the players that’ll be in the front row. With the location picked out, we were ready to go ahead with the shoot, scheduled for last Monday.
Finally Monday rolled around and I felt (somewhat) ready. I had never shot a large team portrait before and I was kind of nervous since my ‘expertise’ is in sports and not portraiture. Regardless of that fact, I knew I had to find a good exposure that A)allows a high-quality photo to blow up or edit (requiring a lower ISO) and B) will get as much in focus as possible (requiring a bigger aperture to give a larger depth of field). So in my efforts to find the perfect exposure—and since my best photo assistant is in South Korea at the moment—I put on my camera’s 10 second timer and used a rather dashing model: myself.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1000 ISO, f/9, 1/25th, Manual
After a couple times running back and forth between the camera and the carousel, I began wishing for someone to help me out and be my test subject. Luckily at that time, the Thunderbirds’ videographer Nicholas showed up and graciously allowed me to use him to test out some exposures and focal points. I was also able to bounce ideas for the group’s pose off of him. Thanks Nicholas!
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1000 ISO, f/5.6, 1/25th, Manual
Just a bit after 1:30, the players started to arrive. I gave them instructions on where they could and couldn’t stand and be seen by the camera and I largely just let them situate themselves in the beginning. While they were doing that, I was adapting and perfecting my exposure.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1000 ISO, f/5, 1/25th, Manual
This was obviously out of focus (not worried about that yet), but also much too bright and didn’t have a great depth of field, so I increased the depth of field and the shutter speed and tried again…
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1000 ISO, f/8, 1/30th, Manual
Within five minutes, most of the players and even Cool Bird had arrived. After telling them what I was looking for, they all filled onto the carousel and I kept checking my exposure and focal point.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1000 ISO, f/8, 1/30th, Manual
By now Ian had arrived with his assistant, Ashley, and they helped make sure everyone was there and get everyone situated to where they could see me and the camera. Thanks for the help you two!
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1000 ISO, f/8, 1/30th, Manual
Finally we were off and running! Here’s one of the better takes that we had, although I still think the photo I ran first in this post is the best.
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1000 ISO, f/10, 1/25th, Manual
After getting a good string of photos from that, I (with the help of some of the guys) rotated the carousel to try and get a new background. Unfortunately with 25 guys you can’t really see the horses or sleds they sat on, but it was worth a shot at something different. For the record I actually did prefer the arrangement this rotation give, none of the photos taken from there came out very well, though. Why, you ask? Well I’ll show you…
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1000 ISO, f/10, 1/25th, Manual
Looks blurry, huh? Well I promise you I didn’t adjust the focus at all; the fuzziness of the photo comes completely from motion blur. Any shutter speed slower than 1/60th is prone to motion blur, even if it’s on a tripod. Well it just so happens that the one string of shots I took in this pose all had motion blur. Some had a lot, like the previous photo, and some had a little like this next one…
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1000 ISO, f/10, 1/25th, Manual
These last two photos were actually taken from atop a ladder, so I didn’t have the camera on a tripod like I did earlier. That last photo actually looks pretty good for handholding the camera at that slow a shutter speed. Unfortunately, however, I didn’t notice the bottom edge of my frame; I cut off the hands of most of the bottom row. This is a massive failure on my part, but luckily I was covered by the decent shots I had on the previous pose.
Since Ian and I thought we had enough photos to ensure a good one, we decided that we were done with the shoot. The guys returned to the ShoWare Center for practice, and I packed up my gear, thankful that my first major team portrait didn’t result in complete failure.
I’d also like to send out a special thanks to the city of Kent for allowing us to shoot at the carousel. It was a good venue for the Christmas photo and I encourage you all to ride the carousel on Friday afternoons and weekends when it’s opened. It’s free to ride, although they do accept and encourage donations. Also, another thank you goes out to Victoria Andrew for many things, including having the fence moved, being there for the whole shoot, and putting up with my requests. We couldn’t have done it without you Victoria!
Stay tuned to this post. I’ll try to get a link up to Nicholas’ video from the shoot (where you’ll see me ordering the players around. I can’t believe someone as small as me can direct so many hockey players around…). I’ll also try to get a photo of the card up on the blog as well…
And stay tuned to the blog in general because in my next post, we’re all taking a road trip! Yay!
Til then, go T-Birds!
EDIT: Here’s a link to that video Nicholas made of the shoot. It’s a great vid, so check it out! Thanks for making it Nicholas!
Game 11: Thunderbirds Topped by Medicine Hat
After a wonderful sports weekend for me—the T-Birds got four points, the Seahawks won handily, and the Huskies made their first bowl game in eight years with a big win in the Apple Cup—it’s time to get back to work on the photoblog. For this entry we’ll look back at the game against the Medicine Hat Tigers.
I thought the T-Birds played pretty well during that game: they got off 30 shots (the most they’d had in a handful of games), they held one of the higher scoring teams in the league to three goals, and they got back to a more physical game than we’ve seen since the Eastern road trip. Combined with me shooting from the rafters for two periods, those all came to produce an enjoyable game, not only for me but for the fans as well (although I’m not sure you guys really cared that I was shooting from the rafters). So let’s take a look at some photos from it, shall we?
We’ll start off with a photo of a save, something we’ve seen a lot this year. This save, however, is a bit different: this one was made by defenseman Dave Sutter rather than goalie Calvin Pickard…
Sutter blocks a shot by Medicine Hat in the opening minutes of Tuesday, Nov. 30’s game.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
As I mentioned before, the T-Birds played pretty physically, making sure to hit the Tigers often. The hard checks started early, in fact, as center Tyler Alos knocks Medicine Hat defenseman Scott McKay to the ice shortly after the Sutter block pictured above…
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And here’s one of the typical saves we see: one by Calvin Pickard. Here he’s making a stick save of a shot from Medicine Hat right wing Cole Grbavac.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Now as you all know this is my first year following and learning about hockey. I like to think I’m picking it up well—I’m no longer thinking of it as a faster version of soccer, for one—but there’s still things I find odd and that throw me about the game: how players can use their hands to stop or even catch the puck. For some reason I think it’s odd to see the puck flying though the air past the red line and all of a sudden be caught by someone or to see a player bend down and stop a puck sailing along the board with his hands. Why am I talking about this you ask? Well for one thing it’s about 2 am as I’m writing this and my thoughts aren’t as lucid as normal at this time, but the main reason is I have a photo of defenseman Scott Ramsay stopping a puck along the boards with his hand which I will show you now…
Canon 7D, 155mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
And to go even weirder on you guys, here’s a photo of a couple of fans with food I took from above. I must have been really hungry when I took this photo. To be fair, though, that burger looks mighty tasty…
Canon 7D, 140mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/200th, Manual
For the first ten minutes or so, I was on the catwalks just off the ice on the south end of the building, meaning I was just above and to the right of the Medicine Hat goal. That meant any play that happened along the right side of the goal I had a nice view of. That includes this chance right wing Jacob Doty had on goal. Note: the random black lines are from the net behind the goal and above the boards. Yes it played havoc on my focus, but I did luck out with some things focused properly…
Doty has the puck knocked away from him by Medicine Hat left wing Kale Kessy near the Tigers’ goal in the first period.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Halfway through the period, I moved down to my vantage point above the Seattle goal in hopes of some cool saves from Calvin. He didn’t make me wait long as he made this gem shortly after I got down there.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
When the puck was up the ice and down by the Medicine Hat goal, I’d take a step and a half behind me and shoot from about above the hashmarks. This gave me a nice view of center ice to about the far crease and allowed me to get this shot of center Luke Lockhart trying to disrupt Medicine Hat defenseman Matthew Konan’s pass.
Canon 7D, 105mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
It seems like since the Eastern swing, the refs had been focusing on stopping fights before they happened. I don’t remember seeing any fights in the last three weeks; confrontations were broken up before they could escalate. Last Tuesday, however, we had a very large scuffle (not a full-blown fight, however) by the Seattle net. Luckily I was in position to capture it…
Center Justin Hickman (top middle) shoves Medicine Hat’s Kessy (middle right) while Ramsay lands a punch on Kessy’s chin. Sutter and Medicine Hat left wing Dylan Bredo are also involved in the fracas. Both Ramsay and Kessy received two minute penalties for their involvement in the situation.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
After the refs got everything straightened out, play resumed. Soon after, the Tigers controlled the puck at the Seattle end. In fact, Medicine Hat nearly earned a shot on goal here, but center Travis Toomey knocked the puck away before Pickard had a chance.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
Just after that shot, the Tigers managed to get the puck in behind Calvin but still in front of the goal. Sensing an oncoming Medicine Hat player, Sutter made a goal-saving grab for the puck and caught it. I caught the play on film, about which I was very excited about. Check out the play for yourself…
Canon 7D, 90mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1600th, Manual
That awesome photo of Sutter grabbing the puck (I think that might be my best photo this year; it’s easily in the top three at least) ends photos from the first period. A lot happened in it, seeing as half the photos from this game are from the opening period (by the way the score’s 1-0 Medicine Hat. In all the excitement my photos I forgot to mention the goal. Oops.). So on to the second period!
I spent all of that period along the catwalk that runs above the team benches. That’s where I got this shot of Gallimore trying to force the puck past Medicine Hat goalie Tyler Bunz. Bunz wasn’t having it, however, and blocked the puck’s passage of the red line.
Canon 7D, 90mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
You can classify this next photo as nothing else but good luck and taken at the right time. It shows right wing Marcel Noebels (top), center Luke Lockhart (bottom) and Medicine Hat defenseman Thomas Carr (middle) all going after the puck. Their sticks somehow align themselves, however, into a triangle and the puck is nearly dead-center in that triangle. Who knew geometry was used in hockey?
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
From the catwalk over the benches, I had a nice view of fans in the middle and tops of each section. It just so happened that one of the fans below started showing off a Thunderbirds scarf during a timeout in the second period. Too bad we can’t see all of his face, but it’s still a pretty cool shot…
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/400th, Manual
Let’s just skip ahead to the third period now… The Medicine Hat Tigers scored three minutes in to make the score 2-0. Before the faceoff at center ice to open play again, right wing Jacob Doty made sure to talk smack to the Medicine Hat player next to him.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Doty later continued his duties as a bruiser by checking Kessy into the boards.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Later on in the third period, Noebels found himself on a breakaway to the goal with only the goaltender in front of him. Medicine Hat defenseman Sebastion Owuya tried to get back to Noebels and the puck, but ended up falling to the ice and sliding into Noebels, knocking him down.
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Noebels buried the penalty shot that resulted from that play, cutting the lead to 3-1. There was still plenty of hockey left to be played, though.
Before the faceoff that resulted from Noebels’ penalty shot, Doty was again jawing at a Medicine Hat player, this time being Cole Grbavac.
Canon 7D, 75mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
With all the hard checks and the smack talk from both sides (I’ve only shown Doty, but players from both sides were doing it), I was expecting a fight to finally break out. After Medicine Hat center Wacey Hamilton ran into Calvin Pickard and was called for interference, I was sure there’d be a last-minute fight.
Canon 7D, 160mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
One never materialized, however. What did happen is the T-Birds pulled Pickard with a few minutes left in an attempt to score a couple goals and equalize the game.
Center Colin Jacobs (left) fires a slapshot towards the goal in hopes that Noebels can tip it into the net.
Canon 7D, 130mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Unfortunately the T-Birds didn’t get anything else past Bunz and the game ended 3-1. It was an entertaining game, though, and one I had a lot of fun shooting. And, as you all know, they went on to win their next two games. So that was nice…
As always, let me know what you liked, didn’t like, etc., in the comments section below. Or you can debate the merits of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. Your choice.
Til next time, Go T-Birds!
Game 10: T-Birds Cooled off by Kootenay Ice
First off, yes I know this title is a terrible pun. It works for the game, though, and it keeps with the format I’ve been using for the game threads so it’ll stay unless I hear something better in the comments section below.
Now about the game? It certainly wasn’t the prettiest of games—I’m not sure a 6-2 loss ever is—but at least it was the first game all season the T-Birds haven’t had a chance to win or tie at the end. To be fair, however, I didn’t have the best game either. I was often a second late on good shots and couldn’t really get anything in focus. Oh well, it was just one of those nights. Let’s just dive into the photos from it then…
We’ll start off with a shot of goalie Calvin Pickard saving one of 17 shots from Kootenay in the first period, this one from Kootenay center Steele Boomer.
Canon 7D, 125mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
A few minutes later center Luke Lockhart fired a shot past Kootenay goalie Nathan Lieuwen to give the Thunderbirds an early lead over the Ice.
Canon 7D, 150mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
For the second game in a row, Cool Bird appeared in a suite right by where I was shooting in the first period to throw t-shirts into the crowd (I think he might be following me, hmm…). Naturally, for the second game in a row I grabbed a photo of him throwing shirts. Check out how fast he’s throwing them: it’s just a blur to the camera!
Canon 7D, 75mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/200th, Manual
Here’s a photo of left wing Marcel Noebels controlling the puck…
Canon 7D, 185mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here, defenseman Brenden Dillon fires a shot towards the Kootenay goal .
Canon 7D, 100mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
(Game timeline: somewhere between the Cool Bird photo and this next photo, Kootenay scored two goals to take the lead. Sorry I have no photos from them, but they were both blocked by players in front of the net)
The next photo is further proof that Saturday just wasn’t the T-Birds’ night. Pickard came out to diffuse a run by Kootenay left wing Kevin King. Instead of going backwards, though, the puck went off to Pickard’s right (which is what’s pictured below) and was quickly taken back by King, who then fired at the open net.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
The T-Birds tried to get one of those back in the end of the period, but they couldn’t get one past Lieuwen. Here’s an attempt from right wing Tyler Alos that gets blocked by Lieuwen.
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
During the second period, I didn’t get anything good for the first 10 minutes or so. Any shot I tried to get was either out of focus, blocked by a player not involved in the play, or taken at a bad angle through the glass and made blurry by that. I was easily the worst thing in the arena during the second period…
Luckily I was thrown a bone during the second period’s media timeout (the one with the Zamboni Dance) and fans tried their best to earn a seat on the zamboni for the second intermission. All four of the pictured candidates put up a valiant effort but unfortunately none of them were selected to ride the zamboni. I hope it’s a consolation for them to be included on this blog…
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/800th, Manual
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/400th, Manual
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/400th, Manual
Canon 7D, 120mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/400th, Manual
About five minutes into the second period, coach Rob Sumner replaced Calvin with backup goalie Michael Salmon. The Ice scored two more in the second period, making the score 5-1. While it’s too bad Calvin couldn’t finish out the game, it was nice to see Salmon get some playing time, especially at home. That gave me a chance to get some photos of him in action, so I moved down to the T-Birds’ defensive half to get better photos of Salmon.
Being in a new location, I was excited to get some photos I normally don’t get. But of course my bad period continued when a player brushed up against the glass just to my left. He picked himself off the ice, but unfortunately some water from his jersey remained, block my view down the ice…
Canon 7D, 50mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Luckily I could still see out through the glass in front of me and to my right, which worked to my advantage when defenseman Scott Ramsay came skating past trying to take away Kootenay rightwinger Brock Montgomery’s path to the goal.
Canon 7D, 70mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Thus ends the second period, by far my worst 20 minutes of shooting this year. Yeesh.
When I moved into the box between the benches for the third period, my luck—and my shots—improved greatly. Here’s a shot I really like of center Travis Toomey trying to sneak past Kootenay defender Joey Leach and take control of the puck.
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
And here’s defenseman Dave Sutter trying to disrupt Kootenay left wing Drew Czerwonka from passing the puck to a teammate.
Canon 7D, 93mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Here’s center Charles Wells racing to control the puck in the T-Birds’ defensive end.
Canon 7D, 165mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
During a break in action, Coach Sumner drew up a play for the T-Birds to use. I like this detail shot of just his hand much better than any other shot from the series.
Canon 7D, 200mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Remember earlier how I was excited to finally get a game photo of Michael Salmon? Well my worst period of shooting ever hampered that goal. I came out ahead, however, when I grabbed this frame of Salmon making a stick save on a Kootenay shot.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
By the middle of the third period, the score found its’ way to 6-2 in favor of Kootenay. Despite being down four goals, though, the Thunderbirds never stopped fighting for pucks or playing hard. Here Wells tries to knock the puck away from Kootenay center Max Reinhart despite having fallen to the ice.
Canon 7D, 175mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
To end the post, here’s a series of three shots of Dillon giving Kootenay’s Steele Boomer (ok I have to say this: what a great name) a hard shove over the puck late in the third period.
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Canon 7D, 108mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.8, 1/1250th, Manual
Alright that’s it for this post. As usual, leave any comments or questions for me in the comments section below. Is there anything you want to see more of? Less of? How about any photos or videos you’d like to see?
Til later, go T-Birds! And Huskies (that’s right, I went there…)!
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