This is Finals Photography

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We were given 2,160,000 chances to find it.  Buried somewhere in the AIHL 2024 finals series would be the perfect moment.  One that captures the quintessence of a league.

Perhaps it would be an exquisite display of athleticism and technical skill. Or the unglamourous gnash and grind of a battle against the boards.  Maybe it would be found in stillness: as an invisible hand taps gently on a player’s shoulder, bidding him to look up at the clock and appreciate that the game is about to be won. Or the nanosecond after that, when the siren washes over the arena like a tidal wave, uniting all in disbelief and then cleaving the masses in two: one half ordained in glory, the other left wanting.

Somewhere, somewhere – buried in 2,160,000 chances – the perfect moment.  We photographers are 5 in number, tasked with finding it.  And this is finals photography.

final
adjective

1. Coming at the end of a series
2. Allowing no further doubt or dispute

 
photography
etymology
         From the Greek roots phōtós (“light”) and graphé (“drawing”),
         meaning “drawing with light”


All killer, no filler. Nick Christensen (left) warming up in the tunnel while Jacob Carey (right) contemplates the battle ahead.  Both taken 23 August 2024 with Sony a7iv.  Photo left: Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GMii, 110mm at f/2.8, 1/320, ISO 2500.  Photo right: Tamron E 28-75mm, 28mm at f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 12800. Photos: Verity Griffin.


Canberra Brave Captain, Kai Miettinen, as an invisible hand taps him gently on the shoulder. Sony a7iv, FE 70-200mm F2.8 GMii, 103mm at f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 4000. Photo: Verity Griffin

Cue: Semi Final 1 – Ice v Lightning

Alas, it did not. The first thing I noticed was the image quality suffered terribly. I shoot RAW. I see the difference. That is a hill I will die on. But the wireless transfer from camera to phone converted images to JPEG and compressed files.  I felt my post-processing didn’t pack the same punch and my images seemed soft and lifeless.  The second thing I noticed was I missed shots. Trying to keep one eye on the game, the other on the file transfer, and a third on my phone just didn’t quite add up.  It dawned on me I would have to embrace Plan B: utilising the period breaks to edit in the media room.

And with that realisation came another: I definitely should have skipped leg day that morning.


Melbourne Ice’s Tatsunoshin Ishida creating a bit of his own magic during the semi-final match up against the Brisbane Lightning. Sony a7iv, FE 70-200mm F2.8 GMii, 70mm at f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 2000. Photo: Verity Griffin

Our domain

The media room was up multiple flights of stairs and felt a mile away from the ice.  Tucked away down a dimly-lit corridor behind the upstairs bar, it was an empty ballet studio with a few large tables and not enough power boards.  Our perfect little base camp.  The shared domain for the many species of creative personnel devoting their time and skill to promote the league over the finals series: photographers, videographers, bloggers, comms, media, marketing. 

We were a melting pot of experts and enthusiasts, industry pros and ice hockey diehards.  We filtered in early and left late, fitting ourselves into whatever free space we could find. Our workstations were a tapestry of cords, chargers and gear arranged tightly around us like a bower bird’s nest.  Each of us perched proudly in the middle, beaming at our acquisitions and oblivious to the chaos it communicated.  This is where the magic happened.


Tempers rising during the Ice v Lightning game.  Sony a7iv, FE 70-200mm 2.8 GMii, 84mm at f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 5000.  Photo: Verity Griffin

15:00, 14:59, 14:58... Run.

As first period came to a close in the Ice v Lightning game, I started a timer on my phone. I would start my dash from the Zamboni end of the ice: a mile away.   I ascended the stairs surprisingly quickly only to be caught behind a gaggle of fans filtering out of the stands.  At the first sign of a clearing, I broke into a gallop through the bar. Hands scrambling to eject my SD card in preparation as my hair bounced wildly in my wake. (Note to self: braid the mane.)

For a split second I wondered if I was taking this far too seriously, but before I could finish the thought I almost careened into Cass Edwards as we simultaneously reached the bottleneck corridor to the media room.  I looked at her with what can only be described as the dumbfounded surprise of a contestant on the Amazing Race who is, time and again, genuinely flabbergasted when confronted with the reality that other contestants are in fact racing to the same destination.
13:45, 13:44, 13:43...

That first edit in that media room was rough for me.  I thought I had my workflow planned: I had presets for metadata and edits prepared in Lightroom, I had folders set up on my hard disk and in collections.
I had been culling and rating photos in-game so by the time I did the import, I was really only choosing between about 30 photos. 

But the adrenaline was pumping, the energy in the room was electric, and it was tough to concentrate. “All killer, no filler”, I whispered to myself like a silent prayer as I flicked through each image.  The selection was ruthless, and the edits fast and dirty. No masking. No point colour mixing.   
Shared moments

So come on in, pull up a seat and share in some moments that were never mine.


Cassandra Edwards distilling a game’s worth of tension into a single shot.  Nikon Z6iii, 200mm at f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 2500. 

Cassandra Edwards

The Brave v Thunder game was one of the most hard-fought in the series.  After 35 minutes of play, Brave still only led 1-0 and the atmosphere in the arena was tense and volatile.  When Jeremiah Addison tied the game with a power play goal in the final minutes of the second period, that tension erupted.  It was Cassandra’s photo of Addison’s reaction that nailed the mood and intensity of the entire game and showed us what a peak moment in sports photography looks like.


Willie Krause reminding us that the players are just flesh and bone during the Northstars v Ice battle. Nikon Z6ii, 28mm at f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 6400.

Willie Krause

The Northstars v Ice game was an example of the “full contact” nature of ice hockey. No doubt the big hits are terrifying for the players’ loved ones.  And yet the way the players put their bodies on the line – pelting full speed down a frozen arena while teetering on freshly sharpened blades – it’s one of the reasons the sport is so exhilarating for many.  This image by Willie transcends a single league and reminds us of a universal truth about the sport: the pads really aren’t that thick.


Jamison O’Malley’s capture of Casey Kubara’s grand final celly. Canon R6 Mkii,190mm at f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 3200.

Jamison O’Malley

When Casey Kubara scored his second goal in the grand final, I was shooting from the corner pocket. As he turned rapidly toward centre-ice to celebrate, I knew the angle made the shot impossible.  But Jamison was roaming the arena and exactly where one needed to be.  It was never a capture meant to be taken rink side.  It was a moment with, and for, the fans.  Only a top-down shot from the stands could convey the grandeur of the spectacle. We are but the mob in the colosseum, looking down at gladiators.  Are you not entertained?


Phil Taylor’s iconic shot of the Canberra Brave with the Goodall Cup. Canon 1Dx Mkiii, EF 15mm f/2.8 fisheye at f/5.6, 1/1000, ISO 10000. Manual focus set to hyperfocal distance

Phil Taylor

I wasn’t on the ice for the medal ceremony.  And even though I stood closer than anyone else at the rink, something about those on-ice celebrations felt private, just out of reach to the rest of us.  But Phil cashed in some of his well-earned trust to beckon the boys over to his net cam.  And in doing so, he created an image that not only captured the essence of that ceremony – the victory, the Cup, the game – but one that let us all into the bosom of that team celebration.

My perfect moment

We were given 2,160,000 chances to find it.  Or were we?  What you might have noticed about that rough calculation is that it only accounts for ice time.  And my favourite shots have always been found in the lesser places. Drawn out of the nooks and crannies of the game. 

And that was where I found it.  At the end of a series.  Crouched on the floor of the Brave locker room, drenched in beer and getting knocked about by skates and pads: I came eye to eye with Mr Goodall.  Unphased by the hurricane whirling around him, he stood proud and tall.  A flag captured.  A prize won.  My perfect moment.  It was like he’d been waiting there the whole time. 

I knew I had only seconds to rescue it.  Not the Cup – the moment. To claw it back from the fickle, ethereal nature of memory and etch it into eternity.  And so I lifted my lens.  And I drew with light.

This is finals photography.




























Verity Griffin
AIHL photographer | Lover of moments