Pond Hockey, Rochester Style

This winter, my photo Pond Hockey was featured by RochesterNY and selected as a Roc Top Shots winner by the community. It was my first win and my second time being featured in the competition. 

The recognition landed on the anniversary of a day that changed my professional direction and ultimately led me to leave my previous field. It felt like a full-circle moment, affirming that I am on the right path after a long year of recalibration.

Finding the Scene

I came upon the game by chance while photographing winter landscapes at Durand Eastman Park. It was a snow day. Schools were closed, and fresh snow blanketed the park. A group of friends had shoveled out a rough rink on the frozen pond and were mid-game when I noticed them.

I walked down to the ice and asked if they minded me taking a few photos. After getting their approval, I stepped back and framed the scene from a distance, using the reeds in the foreground to establish separation and scale. 

A Decisive Moment on the Ice

I have long been influenced by Henri Cartier-Bresson’s idea of the “decisive moment,” and the instinctive act of recognizing the instant a photograph resolves.

In this frame, that instant came when the sticks crossed with the puck held between them. Two players leaning in from opposite sides. The play compressed into a single point just before it broke apart. Once it happened, I knew the image was there.

I rendered the image in black and white, which is how I often present my documentary and observational photography. 

Pond Hockey. Rochester, NY. Winter 2026

Hockey, Then and Now

I have loved hockey since childhood. Watching it, playing it, following it. Still (and always) rooting for the Islanders. I’m drawn to the speed of the game, the mix of chaos and control, and the way hockey shows up wherever people make space for it – the ice, the street, or even the driveway. It reminds me of playing pickup hockey with my brother and cousins growing up. 

With the Winter Olympics underway and hockey back in the cultural conversation, the timing of the image felt especially fitting. The fundamentals of hockey do not change with scale. An Olympic rink and a shoveled pond run on the same instincts. 

Recognition Close to Home

Roc Top Shots is a community-driven feature. What stood out to me wasn’t just the selection, but how people responded to the image.The comments that followed referenced winter memories, skating on ponds, and scenes that felt familiar and nostalgic.

I’m grateful to RochesterNY for the feature and to the players for letting me photograph their game.