advice for shooting indoors at ice arena

[oldguy]

Looking for some advice for shooting at a hockey game in a couple weeks. Nikki and Bucco are coming into town for a tournament and I would like to try shooting at it
for equipment I have the RebelXTI, sigma 70-200 2.8, sigma 28-105 (not even sure on f stop ), and a canon430EX speedlite. I have never really shot indoors and definitely not action (I hope girls hockey is action :boss: ) so really have no idea where to even start.
Chili gave me great outdoor advice with the start at 400ISO and 4.0 then work from there but how do you overcome the dismal mercury vapor lights (or whatever lighting they might have)?
I don't expect any cover shots but would like to get a couple keepers

 

[Chili]

To start read your manual on how to set a custom white balance and then set your white balance off a patch of ice prior to the game starting. I've never used a flash successfully for any of the hockey (very little) that I've shot. Depending on the rink you will likely end up shooting at 1600 ISO and F2.8. If you shoot any bursts you will noticed definite color shifting due to the cycling lights.

I know I have a few hockey shots somewhere on my web server, I'll look them up tomorrow for you as my site is blocked at work :laugh:

 

[oldguy]

OK I was thinking that was where I see the different lightbulb type icons. The white balance I am guessing is the more important setting to get some realistic shots.
You know I can't read and then you make me read the manual- why don't you just come down here and show me how?

 

[nikki]

Dave - wish you were there last weekend to get an action shot when I threw my broken stick at the other team's bench.... yeah I ended up in the penalty box for 9.5 minutes, but at least the girl on the other team got tossed from the game plus a 1-game suspension for kicking me with her skate.... cat fight! ;)

 

[Chili]

Dave - wish you were there last weekend to get an action shot when I threw my broken stick at the other team's bench.... yeah I ended up in the penalty box for 9.5 minutes, but at least the girl on the other team got tossed from the game plus a 1-game suspension for kicking me with her skate.... cat fight! ;)

Kicking someone with a skate should result in a long term suspension. I also see no mention in this post as to how your stick got broken? :p

 

[Chili]

Ok Dave here is a few, exif is still intact, looking at these I did not even set the white balance although I would recommend it. The first couple are taken in a reasonably lit arena when I shot a game for the local University paper when they had no shooter available.

The next couple are of my Brother who wanted me to get some shots of him, these were taken in one of the dingest, worst lit rinks around and it was a real challenge. No exif on these, but they were also shot at ISO 1600 and F2.8.

 

[oldguy]

Nikki just replay the scene next week and I'll get it

Thanks Doug, at least now I have a starting point to muddle my way from

 

[Squid31]

I agree with Doug, set a custom white balance off of the ice. When I shot hockey (like 2 games) I would keep changing my white balance throughout the period as the ice surface changed color with snow build up.