Through the glass

Mila Preville and Rebecca Alloway, Calgary Fire White through the glass during their Alberta Female Midget Elite game against Southern Express at Winsport, Calgary, Alberta, January 12, 2020. © J. Ashley Nixon

Through the Glass is a portfolio of work I made between 2018-2020. The collection features young athletes playing hockey in Calgary, Grande Prairie, and Red Deer, Alberta. After several years of fighting the challenges of poor lighting, and dirty and reflective glass in arenas, I changed my approach to embrace these glass barriers and also craft images that seek out rare, isolated pools of available light cast onto the ice surface.

I like to compose images that explore the reflections, lines, colours, and graphical patterns offered by arenas that juxtapose with the passion and effort of the players. Made this way, these images become less like sports photography and more like street photography, even wildlife photography where fleeting, up-close moments are connected with and captured.

Capturing decisive moments of performance in hockey, such as goals scored, remains important, but facial expressions and surprises, like a skate in an unexpected place, are what I find the most rewarding. Please let me know what you like the most and/or think about the collection!

Hockey photo in the Exposure Exhibition, February 2020

One of my hockey photographs is being exhibited in the Emerging Photographer’s Showcase presented by Exposure, Alberta’s Photography Festival during February 2020. It will not be one of the photographs shown in this gallery but will feature two players from the Calgary Fire Red and Calgary Fire White teams. You can visit the exhibition which runs from January 31 until April 26, 2020, at Contemporary Calgary. Please check their website for location and opening hours.

More photos from the gallery

Please visit J. Ashley Nixon Communications for more photos from the Through the Glass gallery and photos from other hockey games.