MIKE CRUPI • rochester photo blog

If you can keep yourself and your camera warm and dry, ice climbing is a fun sport to shoot (or try). I have a few friends who climb and they let me tag along on a trip to Angel Falls, which is really a set of two waterfalls in close proximity to one another. We spent most of the day at the smaller of the two, Little Angel, which isn’t all that little as you can see in the wide shot.

Adam works his way up Little Angel.

Adam looking like a speck near the bottom of the falls.

Dirk working on Little Angel.

Dirk belays from the top of the falls.

Aquinas cornerback Jahmahl Pardner reaches for a loose ball after Whitesboro running back Connor Passalacqua (left) fumbled during the first quarter of the Class A state semifinal game at Rochester’s Marina Auto Stadium Nov. 19. photo copyright Catholic Courier

Aquinas versus Whitesboro in Class A state semi-final football at Marina Auto Stadium.

These photos are from an equestrian event at Batavia Downs. I thought the simple lines and beauty of the horses translated well into black and white.

I just finished a package with still photos and audio on the rugby team at Rochester’s McQuaid Jesuit High School. Their top squad finished 15-2-1 this season and won the New York State High School Championship tournament. What a tremendous sport to shoot, so full of intensity and action. These kids don’t hold anything back. You can check out the audio slideshow by following this link to the Catholic Courier. photos copyright Catholic Courier

McQuaid players converge to stop a Pittsford player from scoring during a match at Mendon Ponds Park.

Each team hoists a player into the air to try to catch a throw-in.

Players collide while vying for a throw-in.

I recently covered a football clinic for Seton Catholic School sixth-graders. The students got some hands-on training from coaches and players at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford. A number of the photos ran as part of an audio slideshow on the Catholic Courier web site. photos copyright Catholic Courier

I don’t shoot sports very often anymore, but I still really enjoy it. I covered the Nazareth girls team winning their ninth Section 5 title in 12 years last Friday for the Catholic Courier. The win had added siginificance because the Nazareth sports program will be dissolved when they consolidate with Aquinas Institute next school year. photos copyright Catholic Courier

Ice climbing at Angel Falls, a 120-foot waterfall in the Hi-Tor Wildlife Management area near Naples, N.Y. Lead climbers carry high-strength steel screws which they place as they climb for protection while their climbing partner belays from below.