Well, I have kept quiet about it, probably because I’ve been in denial, but last week I finally couldn’t ignore the truth any longer.
While we were at Disneyworld, a tragic thing happened: DS#1 dropped my camera.
😮 <–me, horrified
It wasn’t really his fault, and the truth of the matter is that I knew I was taking a chance in transporting the camera a thousand miles to Florida and then for seven days straight around Disney, so it’s as much my fault as his. But the fact remains that it was dropped, and afterwards, the auto-focus mechanism just never worked right. I discovered it as I was taking hockey pictures during the month of December, where a fast focus is critical. However, it actually seemed to get worse, and even just standard picture-taking was becoming difficult. So, last week, with a heavy heart, I took my camera in for repair. I’m not sure what hurt more: the minimum $300 price tag (to be finalized when they actually open up the camera and look at it) or the fact that I would be without my camera a minimum of 2-3 weeks. {sob} It’s only been 8 days, and I’m already well into withdrawal.
My mom was kind enough to loan me her old Canon Rebel, but beside the fact that I can’t figure out how to change many of the settings, I discovered, to my dismay, that the ISO only goes up to 1600. The minimum at a hockey arena is 2000, with the average being around 3200! Thus, my hockey photography has come to an abrupt halt while I await my camera’s (hopefully) safe return.
So, to tide me over, I’ve been going through hockey photos from this season. Here are a few from DS#1’s team. Several of the moms have given me permission to post their sons’ hockey pictures on my blog, and I am very appreciative! These shots were taken after the camera was dropped, so they aren’t great, but they’re better than nothing, which is all I’ve got right now. 🙁
I hope you enjoy looking through this photos. My blog may center mostly on running and weight loss right now, but hockey photography is how it started, and it will always be my passion!
Thanks for reading!
I love number two and number 5 great action shots!! Are you happy hocky is back????
Thanks, Joy–and YES, I am! Though I wish the Wings were doing better… 🙁
Aww, Steph! That royally stinks. I hope that your camera can be fixed quickly and, hopefully, for not too much. I must say, however, that your “bad” hockey shots are better than my best action shots. Hugs!
LOL, thanks. I wish my good hockey shots could be as good as some of the pro’s bad ones, lol! xoxo
Hi Steph! I’ve just found your blog (through links that you left on the disboards – in serious catch up mode planning for our next trip). Anyways, when I read this post and your talking about the ISO on some of your pictures – it got me curious. I take hundreds of pictures at my kids different sporting events – and hope for a few good ones. I typically use the sports mode on my camera. In summertime, when it’s softball and baseball weather, that’s fine. But come volleyball season, I’m lucky to get any good ones due to the lighting in gyms and the motion of the girls. So my question is… Is upping the ISO the key?? I’m curious if that would help me out:) Thanks for any help you might be able to provide!
Hi, Kacie! Thanks so much for stopping by–hope you’re having fun planning your trip!
I’m no expert, but I definitely would say that you would want to try using manual mode when doing the volleyball pics, which will allow you to adjust the settings yourself. Outside, you’ll have plenty of light to make the action shots work, but inside, the low light won’t be enough and will most likely cause the blurry shots on the automatic/sports mode. For hockey, I use the Tv (time value or shutter speed) setting, so that I set the shutter speed myself, as well as the ISO, and the camera then chooses the correct aperture for me. It’s not always perfect, but it results in better shots than the sports setting in the hockey arenas, which are notorious for poor lighting! I usually set my shutter speed at around 200-500, and my ISO anywhere from 2000-3200.
Hope that helps!
Making note of that now!! Now I’m looking forward to having an opportunity to try it out! Thanks so much!!!
Kacie
Good luck!! I hope it works out for you! Let me know!