November 9, 2009; dodging pucks at the UC.Monday night I shot the Blackhawks vs Kings for the Chicago News Cooperative.
Hockey is a challenge to shoot, with a three inch puck traveling at over 100 mph the game moves pretty fast. I have always loved covering the Hawks, they had a great season last year and are playing even better this season.
The 2 main positions to shoot from in hockey are on the glass or up in the stands. The ice level shooting positions make some nice pictures but there are limited positions at that level and some of the glass positions are better than others that only allow a partial view of the ice.
Since one of my assignments was to get features of head coach Joel Quenneville getting one of the prime holes was not a big deal. I shot the first period from an open glass position across from the bench.
The closer you are to the action the more alert you have to be.
All the time! Early in the game I was switching cameras and turned my head for a moment when I heard a loud bang on the glass. When I looked to the ice I saw a fresh mark about a half inch from the open hole where a puck slammed into the glass. Camera up or down if the puck were a half inch to the left I would have been done for the day with a broken camera or worse.
I worked some coach photos from the glass and moved up to the higher position for the next two periods. Access is very limited on game day and coaching shots are really not that exciting so I shot a little action as well. It is easier to cover more of the ice from the high position but some corners are blocked by the nets, glass and fans. You have to be ready for every fan in the stadium to jump up when the Hawks score a goal.
I played with the distortion in the glass but I think there is a better photo there.
Here are three game shots from the high position.
-Jonathan Toews moves the puck around the goal and LA Kings Drew Doughty.
-Andrew Ebbett celebrates his third period goal.
-Brian Campbell moves the puck up the ice.
-john
All photos © 2009 John Konstantaras / Chicago News Cooperative
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