With the ice hockey season upon us again, I spent time between May and July photographing the English Ice Hockey Association conference in Sheffield and Hull. These days are fantastic to photograph with kids from under 10 to 18 years old taking part.
With ice hockey the action is fast and furious and as a photographer you always have to be ready to capture the action, these are long days and hard work as you photograph match after match throughout the day, but the reward of seeing and photographing these amazingly talented kids play is more than enough.
Being in an indoor setting calls for different lighting and also a very different equipment set up for me. Instead of having a variety of lenses with me to capture varying distances and types of scenery I am able to focus on the action shots ensuring the white out of the rink doesn’t distort the images.
With this being a children’s event the timetable can vary considerably and I have to be able to flex my other work commitments to ensure if matches run over I am able to accommodate this and do not have to leave to attend another event. This level of flexibility has been something I have been able to ensure this year with this now being a full-time career for me.
The detail shots I am able to capture at ice hockey are without a doubt some of my favourites – everything from the pucks flying the full length of the rink to the ice spray as two players tussle with each other to the sight of a team celebrating together after scoring the winning point.
