UPDATE: unfortunately, it looks like I’ve jumped the gun on promoting the final material, as my client is looking to launch the campaign at a later date. I hope you enjoyed the brief sneak peek!
Since I could walk, hockey has been a big part of my life. I’ve played it since I was 4, and it’s taught me bravery, camaraderie, humility, and most importantly, loyalty. As many friends and family members can attest, I’ve been loyal to the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club for my entire life: when I was growing-up, I had a life-sized image of Michel ‘Bunny’ Larocque painted on my bedroom wall, I traded away Wayne Gretzky hockey cards for Maple Leaf cards, I thanked Wendel Clark in my wedding speech, and I’ve fiercely defended their reputation at home and abroad. Yes, there, I’ve said it: I love the Leafs.
So it was my extreme pleasure to mix business and pleasure a few weeks back, and photograph the 2009-10 roster of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The shoot was held at the team’s new practice facility, and the images are to be used in this year’s TV and Air Canada Centre arena broadcasts, as well as next year’s print material.
To help give a sense of the size and scope of the job, I recorded a time lapse of the set-up and shoot. Enjoy:
As a hockey fan, a budding photographer, and an audio guy that does big production like this. I am amazed and entertained by the video and the shots.
Wow!! This is amazing! I can’t believe the work that went into this … oh wait, MLSE, I CAN believe it.
I think I saw Leafs TV hovering around to get some behind the scenes I hope!
What a fantastic project, and such a dynamic shoot! Thanks for making our Leafs look so SLICK
Nice work Finn. First time I’ve seen your work. Your time lapse video was featured on “the strobist” blog. I’ll keep your blog on my favorites and check in on your continued work. esp like your devotion to these other compassion projects. keep it up!
Wow, that’s an amazingly huge production… viewed from the point of view of an amateur photographer.
Do you mind if I ask about the gear you’re using? I see you use the Canon 5D Mark but I’m mostly curious about the lenses and lighting (position, power, difusers…). The video is awesome btw.
As a long time Leafs fan (from Calgary, talk about goin’ about it the hard way), living in the UK it was an absolute joy to watch the creative process involved in setting up a mammoth shoot like this.
Thank you for sharing. (now, if only I could get the games streamed to my ISP)
Kris
Love your stuff. I actually live close to the MC Centre, and it was great to see your video. All the best.
wow!! and I think of the difficulty of setting up one speedlight.
These shots are killer- seriously, they must have been thrilled. Well done Finn!
Nice time lapse. I can’t say I’ve ever worked that hard to produce that kind of scale. I admire the effort and thought that goes into making this happen. Just one question though, with all of that great lighting and the ability to shoot it however you want, why not just a little fill on the eyes? I totally get the idea of it being gritty, and showing off how athletic these guys are- that completely comes across (in fact the rim lighting on them is so beautiful I could cry) but even just a touch of life in the eyes on some of these guys would have been my only change. Chalk it up to a difference of opinion. Besides, no one is hiring me to shoot a hockey team so I don’t have much room to talk. Thanks for sharing a great inside look into your work. Great blog.
That setup looked massive! I like the way it turned out, very cool. I loved being able to see the behind the scenes timelapse.
Excellent … really nice shoots and it was a great idea to make the making off in stop motion !
I was really impress by all the gears used but once we see the final result we understand all that. Really great idea of shooting. I’ve already done hockey shooting but not at this level
Really great job.
Thanks for sharing this good moment !
JB
WOW…I saw the time lapse on strobist. what a huge undertaking. And they look AMAZING. Great job.
That’s a lot of work. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the kind words Cati.
I used four cameras on four tripods over all: the Hasselblad H3D-39, the Hasselblad H3D-50, the Canon EOS 1D Mark III, and the Canon EOS 5D Mark II (time lapse). We had to use so many cameras, as we didn’t have a lot of time with the players, and had to shoot their three different positions very quickly.
As for lighting, we used a bunch of Profoto Pro-7a Generators, a lot of flash heads, and many head extension cables. To shape the light, we used Profoto FresnelSpots to light the flag, and Profoto Softlight Reflector and 4 x 6′ Softboxes to light the players.
The Softlight Reflectors were positioned above the players to give that harsh, tough looking light, and the 4 x 6′ Softboxes were positioned to the side to give some definition to their bodies.
Wow, what a seup!
Maybe a strange question, but next to photography, music is also my passion: what’s the music that’s playing with the video? (-:.
Carool
Diemen, The Netherlands
Sorry, setup…
Thanks for the kind words. The song is noted at the end; it’s by LCD Soundsystem, ‘Us v Them’.
Great video. It’s always a pleasure and a privilege to see real pros at work. Thanks for posting.
Also, I really dig your high arctic landscapes … reminds me of some of the places I have to go for work. And I feel you on defending the Leafs everywhere you go. GO LEAFS GO!
this is insane. I can’t wait to see the final product!
Wow.. great work! I can say i have not seen this much dedication for any work before. I can’t believe > I do believe now
. Its a great inspiration!
Love the lighting part and great music. Great teamwork!!
Thankx for posting.
Ns’