Utah Warriors, 2021
I travel to Las Vegas, Nevada where the Utah Warriors compete at the Armed Forces Hockey Association Las Vegas Hockey Tournament. Veteran’s Day Weekend, 2021
My setup: Nikon D750, Tamron 70-200 F2.8 G2
Download the photos here!
Anyone that’s watched Disney’s Mighty Ducks trilogy knows that hockey is quite possibly one of the greatest sports ever invented. As one player once said in an interview, “We need to have the strength and power of a football player, with the stamina of a marathon runner, and the concentration of a brain surgeon.” In early July, I was invited by a couple of co-workers that planned on playing to watch the three day tournament. “I’ll do you one better - I’ll photograph it for you too,“ I said. Little did they know that I had never shot hockey before.
This tournament was unique for a few reasons: It was the first tournament in 2 years since the start of the pandemic. Many of the players in this tournament treat this as a reunion of sorts - not only are they bonding through a sport they all enjoy, but they were all connected by their service as military veterans and first responders. It was also my first veteran’s day after leaving the Air Force, just a few short months earlier. As I got to know the players in between matches, we all shared stories of our time in uniform, people we served with, and shenanigans that make being in the profession of arms so unique.
Of all the shoots I’ve done, hockey is the most difficult. It also didn’t help that my only exposure to it was completely different than how it’s done in real life. A few lessons learned the hard way:
1: It always feels like you’re on the wrong side of the action; be prepared to miss shots. There’s no way to guarantee that you’ll be shooting in the right place at the right time.
2: If you’re not shooting in an NHL arena, you’ll be shooting through the glass. This can be mitigated in post-processing, but nothing is worse than missed shots of the perfect moment, tarnished by glare or scuffs on the glass.
3: Hockey is a cold sport, for obvious reasons. If you think your tolerance for the cold is low, wait till you see how quickly your camera’s battery life will drain after just one match.
Four days of photographing hockey was an absolute blast, and being able to watch it for the very first time from behind a camera brought an entirely new appreciation for the sport. Who knows, I may end up wanted to learn to play someday…
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