Milan Olympics: Game 3 for the women of USA Hockey

Just to give you a little context on my days (and nights) here in Milan, my time zones have shifted. Almost everything I am photographing is at night now, having me get back to my hotel around 2am. I wake up at 9:30 to catch breakfast before it closes, and then head back upstairs to catch up on all my email and write these blogs.

As I mentioned before, I am running behind on the blog posts and trying to get caught up again. I have so much to share with you all.

This blog post goes back a couple of days to the first time I photographed inside the Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena. It was the US Women's hockey team skating against Switzerland.

Before the game began, I went outside to get photos of the stadium at night. It was really nice looking and better to add some USA fans too. This time I was using the Canon R1, RF 24-70mm lens and a Canon flash.

I then went inside the arena and looked for other fans (and family members).

Then I went down to the glass to get warm-up shots for the team.

As always, I sat on the side where we shoot twice.

There was a lot of action.

I love getting photos like this one, with the player shooting and the puck just entering the goal (but still very visible).

Haley Winn gave this great smile after scoring that goal.

More smiles to go around.

Here is Tessa Janecke trying to net a goal.

I love this shot too...even though it looks like a goal, I don't believe that this one went in.

The Swiss goaltender was very busy in this game.

During the second period, I stayed on the same side to get defensive photos.

Kendall Coyne skating fast and hard.

If the US scores a goal at the other side of the rink (and I don't get a shot of it), I will typically turn and get fan reactions.

I was happy to get some good action shots of backup goaltender, Gwyneth Philips, doing her thing between the pipes.

In the third period, the US women continued their scoring...

...and celebrating.

Another photo showing the puck entering the net. Two of these photos in one game makes me (and the team) happy.

I got a text message during the third period, asking me to get some photos of the coach on the bench. I moved photo positions (which is only allowed during the breaks), and got this shot.

A little stick bend...

...and another photo using the Canon RF 7-14mm fisheye lens. (BTW - I am still waiting for the epic shot against the glass!)

The US team celebrates a shut out game against the Swiss, and I celebrate another good game capturing photos. 

Please excuse any typos. Normally I try to proof read everything before I post, but here at the Olympics, time is a commodity. I definitely miss some things. :)

__________________________________________________________

• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Costa Rica, Peru, Galapagos, Africa, Iceland and more.

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
_________________________________________________________________

Olympics in Milan: Having fun at Long Track Speed Skating

In between all the hockey games, and time permitting, I like to get to other venues to capture other Olympic sports. The other day, I got up and traveled back to Rho to visit the Long Track Speed Skating venue. I thought it would be fun to capture some images from this sport and try to be a little more artistic.

This photo is a pretty standard image of long track skating, capturing the action at more than 1/2000 sec. Since I had not photographed this sport in 8 years, I had to warm up and figure out the best settings and shooting locations. Most photographers were using long lenses on monopods, but I chose to stick with the Canon R1 with just the RF 70-200mm lens, and I shot everything handheld.

This photo is also taken at a very fast shutter speed, but zoomed in a bit more. This creates a little more blur in the Olympic rings in the background.

I moved around until I found a good spot, and took most of my shots along the turn, to get the Olympic rings and colors behind the skaters.

After taking a bunch of "safe shots" at a fast shutter speed, it was time to get creative. I started shooting all my images at between 1/25th and 1/40th of a second and panning my lens at the exact same speed as the skater. It is very difficult to get a good shot when doing this, but the end results are really cool. The goal is to get a lot of motion in the background, while getting a sharp image of the athlete.

I found that the best images were taken of the skater in the inside lane. It was a little farther from me and the padded border, and also cleaner foreground and background. I also realized that I needed to concentrate on just one skater and not be distracted by the second competitor. If I tried to capture one after the other, neither skater came out well.

Whenever I see an American athlete in front of me, I try extra hard to get a good image. I was very happy to capture this shot at 1/40th of a second.

I should mention that it is a lot of fun for me to get creative like this, but easier to do when I am not contractually obligated to get an image for the team. I can push the boundaries and experiment a little more.

I hope you enjoyed viewing these photos as much as I did capturing them.

Please excuse any typos. Normally I try to proof read everything before I post, but here at the Olympics, time is a commodity. I definitely miss some things. :)

__________________________________________________________

• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Costa Rica, Peru, Galapagos, Africa, Iceland and more.

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
_________________________________________________________________

Olympics in Milan: The men from USA Hockey have arrived!

I have been shooting a lot lately and running a little behind with the blog posts. With the crazy deadlines, constant travel on the metro, lack of sleep and everything else, it is the Olympic blur. Sorry about that!

A couple of days ago, I was able to photograph the team photo and shoot the practice for the men's team. All the guys had arrived two days before and were on the ice to get their legs moving again. This was a closed practice, with no media allowed. Since I am the team photographer, I was able to be there and shoot all the images from the bench. That was a lot of fun.

The day started with me capturing images of them hanging out and getting ready for the team photo.

Everything got set up, all the guys were grouped up, and away we went. I took this photo (and many others) with the Canon R6 MK III and RF 24-70mm lens.

While I was on the ice, I tried to get some group shots of the guys.

These guys are all NHL players, so they are used to getting those photos taken.

Right after this photo was taken, the guys went and changed from the game jerseys into their practice jerseys. I also changed...to the Canon R1 and the RF 70-200mm lens.

Here is a shot of me working from the bench.

I leaned over and captured this photo of Mike Sullivan (the head coach) instructing the guys. 

Then it was just me trying to capture the fast action.

I saw John Tortorella (assistant coach) watching from the side and got this portrait of him.

I wanted to get some nice portraits of the guys.

I liked this front / back shot of the goalies.

Jake Oettinger was sitting on the bench with me. We were talking and I had him give me a smile for a portrait.

More players in action...

...and coaching moments.

The goalies were having a good ole time.

This was my last shot before the 45 min practice concluded. I wanted to get one big group shot of everyone together on the ice.

Here is an interesting fact for you all. This rink is MUCH colder than the other hockey rink. I could shoot hockey at the other rink in a T-shirt, but here, I am wearing a jacket with a sweatshirt underneath.

Please excuse any typos. Normally I try to proof read everything before I post, but here at the Olympics, time is a commodity. I definitely miss some things. :)

__________________________________________________________

• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Costa Rica, Peru, Galapagos, Africa, Iceland and more.

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
_________________________________________________________________

Olympics in Milan: Men's Ice Skating - The Quad God And my BIG OLYMPIC MISTAKE!!!!

To finish off the blog posts from the team figuring skating event, it was up to the men to complete the competition and see who would ultimately take home the gold medal.

I started photographing some of the men, and then took a short break to get something to eat. 

I missed all of the Matteo Rizzo's performance (which I heard was really excellent), but got back to my photo position just as he finished up, and I caught his reaction.

What a great moment for him and all of Italy.

Like many people in the arena, I was really there to witness Ilia Malinin, otherwise known as the "Quad God", doing his thing. As soon as he started his routine, I got into my zone and started looking for the best shots.

The goal was to capture him with good backgrounds, but also capture him doing his signature quad jumps.

As always, it was best to catch him doing his quads in front of the logos.

He laid back on one skate, right on top of the Milano Cortina logo, and I knew that this would be a really nice composition. 

More photos of his routine in the best spot.

I saw him jump in the air and he was perfectly framing the "2" in the 26 logo. Good stuff!

Ilia finished his routine and knew that he had done really well. This was his reaction.

This is a tighter crop of the same image.

This is a shot of the "waiting area" where they wait for the judges score. 

Just like the women's and pairs competitions, Shun Sato (the Japanese skater) was really strong, and made it a nail biting ending.

Myself and a couple of other photographers thought that maybe Japan would win the gold medal, but once the scores were announced, it was Team USA for the Gold! This is the moment that they heard the news.

I looked around the crowd for some great reactions, and knew that these young ladies were the perfect choice.

I stayed to watch the medal ceremony, and enjoyed watching the Italian team celebrate in front of their home fans.

Then it was the Japanese turn to celebrate their silver medals.

Last but not least, it was Team USA jumping onto the platform to celebrate the gold medal win.

This was my 70mm wide shot, showing all three teams on the podium.

It never gets old watching the American flag get raised at the Olympics.

Lastly, the teams got together for a group shot.

THEN I MADE A TOTAL ROOKIE MOVE!!!

I packed up my gear, removed my credentials to add another layer of clothing (preparing for the cold weather outside), and made a run for the metro station. I was trying to beat the crowd to the metro. I was almost all the way to the station when I realized that I did not have my credentials around my neck!! After a couple of seconds, I remembered that I had hung my credentials on a railing, when putting on my extra sweatshirt. To say that I panicked would be a complete under statement! My heart was racing through my chest.

I quickly ran back (which was not easy against the massive crowd trying to get to the station), and then had to figure a way back into the venue without any credentials. I saw big crowds coming out, and ran through the middle of them, making my way back up into the arena. Luckily, nobody stopped me and I made my way back up to the photo position on the third level. There, hanging on the railing was my credential. What a HUGE relief!!! 

At that point, I knew that I would be packed in with all the people trying to get on the metro, but I didn't care. I was just happy that I did not make an Olympic sized blunder here in Milan!

Let's hope I don't do anything like that again!

__________________________________________________________

• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Costa Rica, Peru, Galapagos, Africa, Iceland and more.

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
_________________________________________________________________