Speed Skating - Richmond Olympic Oval
The leader - speed skating at the Richmond Olympic Oval
Fujifilm X-Pro3, XF 33mm f/1.4 R LM WR @ f/4, ISO 160, 1/15s, 50% crop
Slow Shutter Speed Sports Photography
It seems as if we have had weeks of rain it is making me go bonkers as I am finding I shoot less these days. I miss the flow of shooting, editing, and sharing content.
I guess there is no good excuse for not venturing out in the rain but reluctantly admit I am a creature of comfort. Last week I said to Di; “Let’s go check out the Richmond Olympic Oval”?
Pack of five, speed skating at the Richmond Olympic Oval
Fujifilm X-Pro3, XF 33mm f/1.4 R LM WR @ f/4.5, ISO 160, 1/15s
I recall watching the long track speed skating events from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics but had never paid a visit to the Richmond Oval. I fully expected to see the full-length track and perhaps a skater or two training on this dreary day.
Instead, we found a jam-packed Richmond Oval with hundreds of kids in various activities as it was spring break. This venue is so impressive with a giant climbing wall, countless volleyball and basketball courts, ice rinks, an area for table tennis, and a huge gym.
Number 1, in the lead, short track speed skating at the Richmond Olympic Oval
Fujifilm X-Pro3, XF 33mm f/1.4 R LM WR @ f/4, ISO 160, 1/15s
I used to shoot sports all the time and was drawn in by the atmosphere at this event which we had stumbled upon by chance. I dialed in a few settings on my X-Pro3. AF mode was set to “Zone”, Shutter priority mode at 1/15 of a second, auto ISO, and I put the lens in the A position which makes the camera pick the aperture automatically.
I caught myself being a bit rusty having mostly shot street, travel, and landscape photography for the past few years. I accidentally put tracking to M for manual focus on the front of the camera instead of C for continuous autofocus and ended up with a series of useless shots. Doh!
Away they go in all blurryness. Short track speed skating at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
Fujifilm X-Pro3, XF 33mm f/1.4 R LM WR @ f/4, ISO 160, 1/15s
The autofocus setting was, however, fairly quickly adjusted and the keeper rate went up about 100% :) My usual approach would have been to dial in a manual exposure at an event such as this but I was only at the rink for about 30 minutes shooting different scenes.
As a quick manual adjustment for these photos, I used a +1 exposure compensation correction as the white ice would otherwise have caused an under-exposed meter reading.
I certainly got the itch to shoot more sports and it was wonderful to see this amazing venue put to good use.
The photos in this post are made using the following photography gear.
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