Chasing the Action: Shooting a Hockey Tournament with the Sony A6000’s Sports Mode

Chasing the Action: Shooting a Hockey Tournament with the Sony A6000’s Sports Mode

This past weekend, I found myself rink-side at a local hockey tournament, camera in hand, ready to capture the fast-paced action. With my Sony A6000 set to Sports Scene mode, I was prepared to let the camera do some of the heavy lifting while I focused on tracking the movement on the ice. Little did I know that by the end of the weekend, I’d be staring at a massive collection of 1,732 photos—each one a moment frozen in time, waiting to be sorted, culled, and edited.

Why Use Sports Scene Mode?

Hockey is a notoriously tough sport to photograph. The rapid movements, unpredictable puck play, and dim arena lighting can challenge even the most experienced photographers. The Sony A6000’s Sports Scene mode helps by:

Boosting shutter speed to freeze motion and prevent blur.

Tracking focus continuously with its advanced autofocus system.

Adjusting ISO automatically to compensate for changing lighting conditions.

This meant I could concentrate on composition and timing rather than fiddling with settings as the game unfolded in front of me.

Shooting Strategy at the Tournament

I positioned myself near the boards, sometimes behind the protective glass, to get as close to the action as possible. The A6000’s 11fps burst mode was a game-changer—it allowed me to capture entire sequences of plays, from breakaways to scrambles in front of the net. However, shooting in bursts also meant my memory card filled up quickly. By the time the final buzzer sounded, I had accumulated over 1,700 images, a daunting number to go through.

Sorting and Editing 1,732 Photos

The real challenge began after the tournament: sorting through the sheer volume of shots. Here’s how I tackled the workflow:

First Pass: Quick Culling – I rapidly go through the shots, flagging obvious keepers and deleting missed-focus or uninteresting frames.

Second Pass: Selecting the Best – I looked for peak action shots—pucks mid-air, goalies making dramatic saves, players celebrating.

Final Thoughts

Shooting with the Sony A6000’s Sports Scene mode proved to be a solid choice for this fast-paced environment. While manual settings offer greater control, the automatic adjustments allowed me to focus on the game and react quickly. Sorting through 1,732 photos was no small task, but the end result was a fantastic collection of action-packed images that captured the energy of the tournament.

Would I do it again? Absolutely. But next time, I might shoot in slightly smaller bursts—just to save myself a few hours of editing!