WASHINGTON D.C. (January 23) – The Washington Capitals defeated the hard-charging Phoenix Coyotes 4-2 on Saturday night.

Washington Capitals forward Brooks Laich (21) goes old school after having his helmet
removed by a Phoenix Coyotes check behind the net. (Pete Silver/OffWing Photo)

Click below for a slideshow of images from Saturday night’s game, and lots more from OffWing Photo!

WASHINGTON D.C. (November 25) — Semyon Varlamov, the Washington Capitals 21-year-old goaltender, recorded his first regular-season shutout by making 25 saves against the Buffalo Sabres in a 2-0 victory Wednesday night that was completed without the Capitals’ star Alex Ovechkin, following a third period ejection for a hard shoulder check called boarding and resulting game misconduct at 3:38.

Defenseman Mike Green (#52) cuts off a pass from Buffalo Sabres’ forward Michael Grier (#25). (Pete Silver/OffWingPhoto.com)

“You lose the most prolific scorer on the planet Earth, which is tough,” said Capitals’ defenseman Brian Pothier.  “But you have to kill a 5-minute penalty.  As Ovie’s skating off the ice, we’re telling him, ‘We’ve got this one for you.’  He does so much for our team.  Every night, he bails us out.  We could sure do it for him.”

Ovechkin put the Capitals up 1-0 at 6:24 of the first period, his 17^th of the season.  Shots came slowly, both teams playing aggressive, trapping defense.  There were no penalties in the first two periods.

Alex Ovechkin (#8) scores in the first period to put the Capitals up 1-0 over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. (Pete Silver/OffWingPhoto.com)

Eric Fehr scored the Capitals’ second goal with 6:22 in regulation, redirecting Brendan Morrison’s centering pass.

Foward Eric Fehr (#16) scores at 6:22 of the third period, sealing the Capital’s 2-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. (Pete Silver/OffWingPhoto.com)

Prior to the singing of the National Anthem, there was moment of silence in memory of Mr. Abe Pollin, Capitals owner from 1974 to 1999, who used his own money to build Verizon Center and revitalized the Washington D.C. Chinatown area, along with numerous other real estate improvement projects around the District. Pollin died Tuesday at the age of 85 from a rare brain disease.  Funeral services were held Friday and a public memorial service is scheduled on Decemeber 8th at Verizon Center.

Click below for a slideshow of images from Thursday night’s game and more from OffWing Photo.

This photo was taken by Scott Kelby of an IndyCar.

Scott Kelby, the author of Photoshop Insider has a great post about the opportunity he had/created to shoot IndyCar racing. For the photography insiders you might think that Scott got this opportunity through his connections from the speaking and instruction circuit, but you would be wrong. 

His post does a great job of explaining what it is like to shoot something new in general and IndyCar racing specifically.

Shooting Indy Report (and the scoop on getting media credentials) by Scott is very similar to my experiences here at OffWing Photo. So if you are interested in any of the following give it a read.

• Getting media credentials
• Shooting something new
• Camera settings
• Equipment used

• Image Research: Go out there and do an image search on the topic of your shoot. I will look at the wire services, Getty Images, Photoshelter, etc. Because of the specialty subject in this case I also checked out Flickr.
  
  
  
  • Are there special lighting issues?
    
  • Do I need special equipment?
    
  • What angles and techniques do I like?
    
  
  
• Equipment Inventory: What do I need for this assignment? I also make sure that everything is in good working order.
  
• Shoot List: I get very excited in the moment, so I need to prepare beforehand by creating a shoot list of things that I want to try on the assingment.
  

I also wanted to take advantage of the fact that this was a practice day for both myself and everyone on the bikes. So I decided to experiment a lot in the morning followed by a break when I would review the pictures and learn what worked, what didn’t, and what I liked. The afternoon was then spent focused on using what I had learned and again trying new things that I might have come up with after shooting for several hours earlier.

Here is what I learned:

• Location matters (of course). There were spots along the track that I liked more than others.
  
  
  
  • The morning was bright without any clouds so there was a lot of contrast in some corners. The afternoon became cloudy turning the sky into a giant softbox that evened out the light and made getting even light much easier.
    
  • Some locations and shots that I had pre-visualized just didn’t come together how I thought they would. Other spots turned out to be pleasant surpises.
    
  • I also kept experimenting with different locations so that I wouldn’t get bored or too mechanical in the way I was shooting. With nothing on the line, now was the time to experiment.
    
  
  
• Technique: I didn’t like the stop action shots, it works for hockey and tennis, but not in racing. Panning while shooting provided a nice sense of movement by bluring the background.
  
• If I had a lot of money, no wife, no children, and some extra time I would probably buy a Ducati.
  

Sometimes you get, only what you can get. Tonight I was lucky (but also prepared to shoot what I could). But sometimes the drama unfolds in that 60% of the ice that I can’t shoot. This carries through to other locations with their own limitations.

WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 26: Captain Chris Clark of the Washington Capitals is injured during a NHL hockey game with the Vancouver Canucks on October 26, 2007 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWing)
Being creative can overcome some difficulties, but there is little you can do when you are shooting a basketball game in a dark gym, with a lens that has a maximum aperture of 5.6. So don’t knock yourself to hard if those shots don’t come out. Sometimes the pictures just aren’t out there.
Below is a picture that includes an official’s elbow when he skated by the hole that I was shooting through. I would have loved to have that picture.

But when everything does go your way, you better be ready!
See more photos from the game by visiting our Photoshelter gallery.