Hockey on the Sea8

CASE STUDY #8 Hockey on the Sea

CAMERA: Hasselblad 503c LENS: 120mm macro

FILM: Kodak Plus X

EXPOSURE: f/8 at 1 / 15 second

LIGHTING: Luz 1200 pack with medium Chimera light bank OTHER: Gitzo tripod

Assignment For my “Fathers and Sons” project, I contacted Gordie Howe. He and his sons agreed to a session on their boat in the New Jersey shore. Visual Objective Gordie and all but one of his sons were professional hockey players, but I wanted to capture them away from the ice. I wanted a clean background with just a suggestion of the environment—the fishing rod.

Posing Group portraits always pose logistical challenges. Since this photograph is about the patriarch, I placed Gordie in the center, surrounded by his sons. The fishing chair presented the perfect way to accomplish this. Once I placed Gordie in the chair I arranged his sons. Marty held the top of the chair, Mark placed his left hand on Murray’s shoulder, and Murray placed his right hand on Gordie’s shoulder. This created a visual flow of hands that leads to Gordie’s face. I had Gordie rest his hands on his lap, anchoring the group.

My assistant and I set up in about an hour, worked out who should be where, and did several test shots before bringing the family to the boat. At that point, I knew I had only about twenty minutes of good background light. Because of my preparation, though, this was more than enough time. The Howes liked the short session and seemed to have fun. (The real treat was when they asked my assistant and I to have dinner with them. They were cooking up the fish they had caught that morning—and it was a great meal.)

The Story Not knowing what to expect, I brought all my equipment to the family’s condo on the ocean. When they mentioned that they had caught some fish early that morning, a light bulb went off: I realized I had to photograph them on the boat at dusk.

sunset behind subjects

Tips Extension cords were key to this successful shoot. I didn’t own a portable pack at the time, so I ran a 100- foot extension cord from the boat to the outlet on the dock. Today I still travel with extension cords, giving me an option if my portable pack dies (provided there is an outlet nearby).

medium softbox

LIGHTING CASE STUDIES 39