Speedlight Ice Hockey

What's the difference between this...

Nikon D3, AF-S 70-200mm, f/8, 1/250s, ISO 200, WB6100ºK, +1.85EV added in raw conversion

and this...

Nikon D3, AF-S 300mm, f/3.2, 1/640s, ISO 1600, WB 3850ºK

Those who have tried their hand at photographing ice hockey will spot the difference immediately.

Wow, the depth of field, the lack of noise, the rich colours, the sharpness.

Why???  It's the same camera.  It's the same arena.  To make things even more confusing.  The first image was taken from the penalty box with no glass to shoot through.  The second image was taken through the glass.

What's the difference?  It's the light.  In this case, 7 of them.  I brought my collection of Speedlights and clamped them up in the rafters and fired them remotely with Pocket Wizard Plus II radio triggers.

Nikon D3, AF-S 70-200mm, f/8, 1/250s, ISO 200, WB5700ºK, +2.45EV added in raw conversion

Nikon D3, AF-S 70-200mm, f/8, 1/250s, ISO 200, WB5650ºK, +2.65EV added in raw conversion

Nikon D3, AF-S 70-200mm, f/8, 1/250s, ISO 200, WB6200ºK, +2.55EV added in raw conversion

The red team is my daughter's novice house league team and I will be shooting them a fair bit this winter.

More posts to come...