The Filthy Mitts

Yeet, everyone stereotypes hockey as a sport that fights and hits ALL the time. This is completely incorrect. Yes, AT TIMES players will fight to get the team amped, but there isn't a fight every period of every game. They are occasional, but they aren't frequent at all. Hitting on the other hand is just a big part of the game, and it's inevitable to see a hockey game without a few big hits. This is what makes the game exciting and fun to watch (other than the sheer speed of it). It's faster than football and it's been proven that hockey hits are 17% harder than NFL hits.

Video taken from Youtube

See, hits like these make people think hockey is a barbaric sport and the people playing it are just trying to kill people. This is so wrong. Hockey takes many more things to succeed than physicality and size. The parts of hockey people usually don't see are the stick-handling, shooting, passing and other things that go into the sport.

One of my fav parts of the game is the stick-handling portion of it. If you play hockey, there are many different terms used for this segment of the game. "Oh dude, filthy mitts bruh" or "Damn you dangled the sh*t out of that kid"are both terms you would hear during a game of hockey. Over the years, I have continually gotten better at stick-handling and "dangling". To be completely honest, I used to be complete garbage at stick-handling, although I'm not saying I'm any good now.

So ya, I'm not very good, but I'm progressing! In the NHL, there are a few players that are just incredible with stick-handling and dangling. Honestly, how do they even eat with those hands (meaning they're filthy, meaning they're really good and fast). There are two main players in the NHL whose mitts are just insane. 

Player #1: Patrick Kane, playing for the Chicago Blackhawks. He's not the largest player in the NHL, but let me tell you: his mitts are crazy. They're soooo fast and agile that all you see is the blur of his stick as he dangles a defender and goes cheddar on the goalie. Right when the APX2 stick was coming out, Bauer put out a little commercial showing how great the stick was. P. Kane stick handles through other pucks, never touching one. It looks easy, but one touch of another puck is disastrous. Check it out.

Dang... Got this from Youtube once again.

Player #2: Pavel Datsyuk, playing for the Detroit Red Wings. This player has been playing longer than P. Kane but from my perspective, they're pretty equal in skill. Again, all defensemen goin' up against Datsyuk might as well be cones because they just get dangled: hard. This guy's mitts are insane. In this vid he plays keep away with a reporter who used to play hockey. This is funny to watch to be honest.

Youtube once again....

Ya, so basically hockey isn't just based off of hitting and fighting. There are a bunch of things that go into hockey, not just physicality. So maybe in a future post I'll talk about shooting or strategies. Alright well, I need to go nap so, see you all later!

An Experience of a Life Time

Yo so since I've done two photog posts in a row, it's time for a hockey post! So recently, the Utah Jr. Grizzlies U14 AA made the trek off to Blaine, Minnesota (near Minneapolis-St. Paul). This tournament was a showcase for a various amount of NAHL (North American Hockey League) scouts who were looking for new talent for the upcoming seasons. This tournament was played at the Schwan Super Rink. This was not one rink, this was a massive complex with 8 separate rinks. There were hundreds of kids playing in the tournament, all of different ages and there were teams from across the nation. We played 4 teams: San Jose Jr. Sharks '00 U14 AAA, HC (Hockey Club) Dallas '00 U14 AAA, Esmark Stars '00 U14 AAA and West Coast Renegades '00 U14 AAA. So I guess I'll just go over each game and sort of analyze it.

The NAHL Showcase Tourney in Blaine, MN

Game 1:
One word: stress. We knew it was a AAA tournament (highest level of hockey) and we knew it'd be an uphill fight from the start. The first game didn't go so well because of all of our stress. We played the San Jose Jr. Sharks U14 '00 AAA and they acted like their team mascot. They were ferocious, and played incredible defense as well as offense. They used their speed like crazy and their passing was crazy compared to anything in Utah. The Shark's strategies were different from Utah and they were veryyy effective. This was an overall good team, although we didn't test the goalie very well. I played pretty well but couldn't get anything going. Final score: 8-1

Game 2:
The next game our team was completely different. We came out very hard against HC Dallas U14 '00 AAA and we really should've won. It was 1-1 for the longest time, and then 2-2 closely after. HC Dallas had a few good players, but otherwise were quite average. I'm not gonna lie, they had some pretty dope jerseys. In the last 5 minutes in the game, they scored to make it 3-2. We pulled our goalie to try and tie it back up and failed, and they scored again to make the end score 4-2. I played pretty well with a goal to tie it up 1-1. I felt like I had good speed and read the ice well too. Final score: 4-2

Game 3:
There really isn't too much to talk about in this game. The Esmark Stars U14 '00 AAA were the best kids from around Pittsburgh and Cleveland and it showed. They were very fast and had incredible mitts. They set up in the offensive zone very well and moved the puck like crazy. To put this game into a one sentence summary, it'd be "We got wrecked". I played okay but wasn't moving my feet very well so... Final score: 10-1

Game 4:
The final game we played was against the West Coast Renegades U14 '00 AAA. This team is also from Utah, (and isn't good at all to be honest). We played okay against them, scoring 3 goals and letting up 2 in the last 2 minutes. Our speed was okay, but we really played down to their level. But, a win is a win right? I played alright with an assist. Final score: 3-2

So this weekend was a lot of fun. It was a great experience and fun to play at the highest level of hockey. I hope to do it again soon.

Photo taken by Mr. Anderson (father of Ammon Anderson)

Lenses: So Many Choices, Yet So Much Money

Yo, I gotta 'nother decision for you guys to make. Ya, this post will be similar to one a few weeks back. I NEED a new camera lens. Christmas is coming up, and hopefully I'll get a ton of camera stuff to mess around with throughout the rest of winter and the rest of the year. Similar to the skis, I'm stuck between two different types of lenses. Both lenses would be quite fun to play around with, but you know me; I can't decide which one to get. SO PLEASE HELP ME.

The Macro:
These types of lenses seem like a ton of fun to play around with. If you didn't know already, this type of lens (in simple terms) is a super-duper-up-close type of lens. If you look off to the side of my page you'll see a leaf with some agua on it. This would be a "macro shot" although I didn't even use my camera for this. In fact I actually used my phone with a magnifying glass (which is a great alternative if you can't afford a macro lens). Anyways, there are many different macro lenses, varying in quality and price. Of course I won't be able to afford the nicest lens, reaching over $1,400 (yes, I live in Park City and I can't afford everything, crazy right). So for me I'd like a lens that is a good quality, yet also not going to make me broke. I've recently been looking at the Canon EF-S 60 mm f/2.8 Macro USM. This lens is a pretty good lens, and has a few nice features. It has a floating optical system that can focus down to full life size. Also, it's a good multi-purpose lens not only good for macro shots, but for portrait shots and available light shots. This lens' retail price is around $470.

Canon Macro Lens

The Wide-Angle:
The other lens I was looking to invest in was a wide-angle lens. This is a lens that can shoot, well, at a wide angle. So in a sense it's sort of a panorama-type lens. There really aren't too many specs on this specific lens, but it's an ultra wide-angle and pretty light-weight. It also has a rear floating focusing system. Solid quality images are captured at all subject distances.

Canon Wide-Angle Lens

Soooooo.... Which should I buy? Both seem to be a ton of fun to play around with, but which would be better for a Park City-area kind of photographer? I literally can't even right now. I don't know which one to get. Help me out homies... Please.

A Sample Photo from Canon with the Wide-Angle Lens

HELP ME....PLEASE

How to Capture a Winter Wonderland

Oh my God the SNOW HAS FALLEN. And we all know what that means: HOCKEY, SKIING AND SOME DOPE PHOTOGRAPHY SHOTS. Every season has its cool photos, but to me winter has some photos that are just flat out amazing. Recently, I've been studying hard on how to get the perfect winter wonderland shot. I've found that the New York Institute of Photography has some incredible tips to almost every type of photography and they've helped me a ton with writing this blog post (so basically I'm telling you to check them out).

A beautiful winter shot found on Dreamatico

Unfortunately, winter is a season that takes a lot more skill to take the perfect shot. There are many different obstacles to hurdle to take a decent shot. Unfortunately for all of us, most of the time we'll rack ourselves on those obstacles.

A large problem with winter photog shots is that the majority of the photo is one color: white. This is a very boring shot, so try to add a variety of things. This could be a person with some colored clothing, or add in some trees and other shrubbery. Without contrast or any movement, winter shots could be quite bland. Another thing that could add some color is either sunrise or sunset. Everyone loves sunsets (if you don't like them get off of my blog fool). Like the picture above, sunrises/sets add contrast and lots of color. In this specific photo, the sun adds some yellows and oranges while it also creates a nice contrast with the snow being different shades. Although to get a quality picture with snow, you can't just go out and straight up shoot. Snow is a b**ch, so you have to adjust to get the right photo you want. Without adjusting anything, the snow will turn out to be gray. To compensate and get the right color NYIP says to add 1 or 2 to your exposure level. This should level out the light and give you a solid white color. 

Another problem that I have already started to witness is that in the cold, batteries die like they have Ebola. They die sooooo fast it's unreal. I'm sure you've witnessed it with your iPhone or whatever, and it sucks. Picture it (no pun intended) you're about to get the perfect shot, and the battery dies. Wow. Just wow. What's the lesson here? BRING A SECOND BATTERY. When you're not shooting you could even wrap it in an extra blanket or something to keep it somewhat warm. 

So. Lots of tips for one season huh. Well, hopefully they pay off. I'll be honest I haven't gotten very good shots so far, but I'm still experimenting. Do these tips help? Please comment if you have other suggestions, reviews on my tips, or anything else! I'll hopefully be posting some of my winter photos soon!

Adios!

'Tis the Season to be Skiing

Hello Internet! Sorry I haven't posted in a while but it's been hectic the past few weeks! Since I've posted last, many things have happened! The main great thing is that the snow has finally fallen!! It's sooo close to ski season it's unreal; six days and counting! I'm so ready to ski and this year I'm getting a few sweet things to shred the gnar with. I know, this blog isn't about skiing, but since it's almost opening day, I thought it was necessary to post something on skiing.
The first item I'm getting happens to be the most necessary, but also the most expensive. They're skis of course, and I've frantically been scanning the internet for a pair perfect for me. So far I have found two pairs of skis, both being Armada: the Armada Al Dente's and the Armada B-Dog's. They're both an incredible ski for what I love to do, which is terrain park and powder. Both skis are a wider park ski and have positive cambers (good for jibbin' rails). So I'll describe both skis to you, and hopefully you guys can comment back on which I should get!
So the first ski I've looked at was the Armada Al Dente. This ski is an amazing all mountain ski but also a great freestyle and park ski. Like I said, it's a wider ski for park, but it it still quite buttery and flexible. This ski was designed by Henrik Harlaut himself, who is known for his nose-butters and baggy clothes. To be able to pull off those steezy nose-butters, the Al Dente's are made with a front tip rocker, which makes buttering much easier and much less sketchy. The graphics have changed for the 2015 model, but all of the Al Dente models have been inspired by graffiti art. This ski has been named quite well; it's been cooked to perfection.

Armada Al Dente's: Courtesy of Armada Skis

The next ski I have been researching on is the Armada B-Dog. This ski is also a mainly freestyle ski, but it also has some width to it. It's a medium-width ski but performs very well in the park. It's pretty much got the same body of the Halo 2's. This is also a custom ski, like the Al Dente's. Phil Casabon created this ski to be very playful and buttery. The B-Dog's have twin tips and a positive camber. Also, unlike the Al Dente's, the B-Dog's have rocker on both the tip and the tail, so buttering can be done on both sides. This ski is very flexible and very playful. The graphics on this ski aren't as sweet as the Al Dente's, but they're still pretty rad. Casabon has used 12 jewels (12 principles of life) to decorate the ski. This ski is also good for all mountain as well.

Armada B-Dog's: Courtesy of Armada Skis

SO. Which skis should I invest in? Both skis are incredible and very easy to ride. The only true difference between the two is that the Al Dente's sizes aren't the greatest for me. They come in 168 cm and higher, so for park, that would be a little tall for me. On the other hand, the B-Dog's come in 164's, which would suit me much better in the park. Also, the B-Dog's have a tail rocker which could help with tail butters. Other than that, the skis are almost exactly the same. So this decision is up to my readers: which ski should I buy? To relate it to photog, both skis would give me some sickkk powder shots and some nice park photos, but I'm still not set on which one to ask for.

Some powder shots captured with my GoPro Hero 3

Help me please!!

Go Pro(fessional) with the GoPro!

Hey what’s up my homies! Since last post was on hockey, this one will be on photography (or things pertaining to photography). So recently, I’ve been getting ready for the ski season (which seems years away). Since I’ve gotten new equipment, I’m getting ready to make some sweet shots on the mountain. All I need for some solid mountain top shots is a tripod, and a small one too. With the excitement of snow coming, I want a complete set-up so I won’t miss a shot this season (meaning both photography and powder).Living in a ski town has quite a few perks. With all of these different professional skiers and snowboarders just cruising around the town and the ski resorts, it’s hard not to check out the gear they have. One piece of equipment that’s ubiquitous with slope style skiers and snowboarders is a GoPro. If you haven’t heard of one or haven’t seen one, I’ll sum up what it is in one word: outstanding. The invention of the miniature camera was an outstanding idea, and the inventor has made millions for it. There are 5 types of GoPro that have been made: the original GoPro Hero, the Hero 2, the Hero 3, the Hero 3+ and the Hero 4. The newest GoPro, the Hero 4, is one hell of a camera. It’s got an outstanding image quality, a touch screen, and much more. Not to mention all of that fits in the palm of your hand. There are hundreds of attachments you can use to help you film or photograph with the GoPro. They’re called ‘mounts’ and there are a variety of mounts you can use for a variety of different sports. Here are the names of a few mounts: Chest mount, helmet mount, head strap mount, pole mount, suction cup mount and many, many more. With this many types of mounts, it’s hard not to get the shot you want.

GoPro Hero 3 White Edition

I have a GoPro myself. I got it about two years ago, and it was one of the best decisions of my life (and one of my only good decisions too). It’s the GoPro Hero 3 White Edition, which is the lower edition out of the three Hero 3’s. I have multiple mounts, and I use them all a ton. I have bought myself the chest mount, the pole mount, the head strap mount, the helmet mount and a few others that came with the GoPro itself. I also have the LCD Touch BacPac that allows you to see what you have filmed right on the back of the GoPro. I’ve used my GoPro for an ample amount of different sports. I’ve used it for biking, skiing, hockey, trampoline and straight up photography. The more mounts you have, the better the shot you’ll get. So hopefully later on during the ski season, I’ll be able to show off what kind of pictures I’ve taken with the different mounts and my GoPro.

Hockey Skatin' on in

All children dread the month of August. We all know it's because of one thing: school. If you're a true hockey player, you'll be ecstatic for the 8th month of the year. This of course means hockey season starts! There's absolutely nothing greater than a start of a new season. You meet new teammates (which of course means making new friends), possibly meeting a new coach, learning new things and much more.

My favorite part of the new season is improving your game, both physically and mentally. As the year goes on, you improve your strength during dry land, practice and even in games. It's quite easy to see your improvements because with my team, we do testing during three parts of the season: the beginning, the middle and the end. It's an assortment of physical tests that include agility, endurance, and much more. So as the year goes on, it's inspiring to see how much you and other teammates have improved during the year. Not only does a hockey player develop physically, but he or she usually develops mentally as well. As easy as hockey seems, it's really not at all. There are multiple strategies  to hockey, and each and every one of them is quite challenging to accomplish. So as you get older, you must be able to play your position and be situationally aware at all times. You have to be able to be in the right place at the right time. So with the excitement of the beginning of the season, I'm quite excited to start improving on my game both mentally and physically.

So far the Utah Jr. Grizzlies have played in one tournament. It was in Colorado and it was called the Early Bird Tournament and it was hosted by the Arapahoe Warriors. We didn't place in the tournament and ended up going 1-3. For the first tournament, we truly weren't too bad. Our next tournament is in Boise, Idaho in less than 48 hours. We will be playing teams from across the West Coast and I'm quite excited to play.

So far my team has played seven games, four of which were tournament play. We have won four of our seven games. This year I currently have eight points, with two of them being goals and six being assists. For a right wing, this isn't bad for seven games, but I could do better. The highest point maker(s) so far this year has been Tomas Macunias and Zach Jerome with eleven points each. They're my line mates and we've created a total of thirty points in seven games. I hope my team does well this weekend. Hopefully I can help out as well.

Utah Jr. Grizzlies AA/AAA 2014-15 Season

Long Exposure to the Rescue!

Hey what's up homies! Today I'm gonna be talking about photography! Usually I'll switch off weeks between hockey and photography, so I decided the first week should be about photog! So I have a friend by the name of Bennett Barbosa and he's a great videographer and photographer! Go check out Barbosa Media Co. on Facebook to learn more. Barbosa Media Co. and I have teamed up together to become Next Level Media, a company that makes videos and also takes photos!

So this post is mainly about troubleshooting and experiences with long exposure shots. So far I have used long exposure twice. Both times using this technique has been with Bennett. The first time using long exposure was over the summer late at night. At first, our challenge was to get some star pictures (in the sky, not of me). We were using an LED light to light up an aspen tree to attract more light to get a better picture, and then we realized something. We could use the LED light to draw things while the camera was taking the picture! I know this sounds quite confusing, but a picture will explain it. While the long exposure was taking place, one of us would run and make a shape of some sort with the LED light. When the full picture was taken, we'd run back to the camera to check out the pic. A few of the pictures were wayyy sweet, while others looked like they were super photoshopped. The settings for this long exposure shot were: 6400 ISO, an aperture of around 2-3, and you also must focus on the spot where you will be creating the shape. Also, with long exposure shots, it's necessary to use a tripod, or else the photo will come out very blurry due to the fact that the camera takes a picture for seconds at a time. If the picture was taken properly, you may end up with a picture as great as this photo below. Before you start commenting mean things about how weird my face is, let's just focus on the background okay?

Taken with a Canon T3i

Another shot from the same night:

Also taken with a Canon T3i

Both of these were taken with the same camera with the same settings.

The second time I used long exposure was truly for night sky purposes (with one exception). The same settings were used except we shot the photos at an earlier time. 

Canon T3

Here's one of my favorite shots from the last shoot I did with Barbosa Media Co..

Canon T3 near the Jewish Temple

Another way long exposure is cool is by using it with highways and moving vehicles. When the photo is taken for a longer period of time, lights start to blur. So when car lights drive by, it creates sort of a streak of yellow and red light. The one that I have taken isn't the greatest, but it shows how you could get started with those types of shots.

Long Exposure with Canon T3 near the White Barn

So with all of these different ways that I've taught you to take long exposure shots, there's no reason I shouldn't be seeing multiple Instagram/Facebook/Twitter posts with exposure shots like these.

My hobbies in 482 words

Hello fellow bloggers, my name is Alec (with a C, not an X). I live in Park City, Utah and I’m an avid hockey player and photographer. For my very first blog post I thought I might as well do an intro post. I’m 14 years old and I’m lovin’ life. The things I live for include hockey, school, family, friends, photography and of course girls.

Utah Jr. Grizzlies Bantam AAA State Champions

I play for the Utah Jr. Grizzlies Bantam U15 AA/AAA hockey team.  I've played for this competitive team for two years, and before that I played for the Team Northwest Regulators AA for three years. From these past 5 years, I have accomplished quite a few things. I'm sorry for boasting, but it's a true statement. In the past 5 years, I've been assistant captain 3 times and captain 1 time. During the summer before last, I traveled across the country to play with different teams for different tournaments. In April I traveled to Chicago twice with the Arizona Bobcats 2000 AAA team for the Chi-Town Shuffle and the North American Prospect Showcase. Later, in around June, I journeyed to Boston to play with OneHockey. OneHockey is an organization that recruits players from across the U.S. and Canada. They gather players and put them randomly on different teams and create tournaments specifically for scouting. Although it's tough to communicate with kids you've just met a day ago, it's a great way to get scouted. For instance, there were three kids from Quebec and they didn't speak any English at all. So unless you spoke fluent French, it was quite difficult to communicate on and off the ice. So after this tournament I headed off to Philadelphia for another OneHockey tournament. Finally in August, I went back to Boston for my last OneHockey tournament. This was a great experience, but it would never top my experience in the regular season. My past season (2013-14) my team was incredible. We won the state championship and that made us eligible to go to the national championships in Newark, New Jersey. We went in April, and lost 3-4 against the national champions. It was an incredible experience, and I truly hope to do it again.

Taken with my iPhone 5s with a magnifying glass

Other than hockey, I also really enjoy photography. I started taking photos around a year ago. I bought myself a Canon T3 (I realize it's not the nicest camera) and also bought a few other lenses. I love taking nature pictures because I live in Park City, Utah, so how could I not? I especially like taking pictures of water reflections or water droplets. Although I am still an amateur, I have created an Instagram with a videographer. It's named Next Level Media and we can do any type of photography or videography jobs.

Taken with my Canon T3