Since 2022 the Hoosier Hockey Invitational has brought together adult recreational hockey teams to raise money for the Indianapolis Youth Hockey Association (IYHA) to help purchase equipment, provide coaches with training, and fund events for youth hockey players. Hosted at The Fuel Tank in Fishers, Indiana the competition lasts an entire weekend and provides players with a chance at the trophy, spectators with dozens of exciting hockey games to watch, and everyone with free beer from a local brewery! This year saw 24 teams grouped into 4 different tournament tiers to battle it out.
I was fortunate enough to be asked by one of the HHI organizers to photograph the 3-day tournament. Having never shot hockey, this was an exciting prospect for me. I spent the first day playing around with lens options and exposure to dial in the ideal look for such a fast-paced sport on such a stark white surface. I ended up working primarily with a big and heavy Sigma 150-600 on my Canon and a Sony 18-105 on the Sony camera that I borrowed for the event. The Sigma telephoto lens produces some excellent focal compression that made the elements of each game feel a little closer together.
I think if I had the resources, I would prefer to be working with a camera that can better work in low-light. Despite the ice being well-lit, my shutter speed had to be at 1/200 minimum to freeze the action and I found myself seated at around 1/320 for most photos of gameplay toward the end. So with such a high shutter speed needed to capture the fast action, I relied on a higher than normal ISO which made clarity a challenge in my photos. Being that I don't currently shoot full frame, anything over about 1600 ISO is going to introduce noise.
All-in-all I think I was able to pull of some really great shots and learn quite a bit about how to shoot fast, indoor sports. I had a great time and can't wait to attend next year.
