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CLYDE – At nearly every Clyde football game, basketball game and track meet, Rick Craig is on the sidelines, memorializing as many moments as he can with his camera. Rick, the owner of RC Sports Photography, is well-known and much appreciated for the hours of time he puts into photographing sporting events. Hundreds of people know Rick as the Clyde cameraman, but not everyone is aware that he also has a wild side.
In addition to owning RC Sports Photography, Rick also manages the Untamed Nature by Rick Facebook page which features his wildlife photography. When Rick isn’t working or photographing sporting events, he’s tromping through woods and down nature trails in search of eagles, owls and osprey. He captures deer, turtles, dragonflies, and anything else that wonders into his path.
“If it moves or breathes, I pretty much take pictures of it,” Rick said.
Clyde sports photos are shared at RC Sports Photography
Hundreds of Clyde residents are glad he does. Thanks to Rick’s generosity, they have free access to professional photos of their children’s sporting events. Craig posts the photos on the RC Sports Photography page after each event and encourages people to tag people and share the photos.
Rick doesn’t get paid for taking the photos. His reward is the gratitude of an entire community.
“The kids crave it,” he said. “I’ll be up to three or four in the morning processing photos.”
The school shows its gratitude by providing a free pass to every game.
“Over the last five years, I’ve shot every sport — bowling, wrestling, track, tennis, basketball. I went to the state championship with the football team. That was the coolest thing, getting to stand on the sidelines,” he said.
When Craig cannot make an event, his teen daughter steps in
It’s not just sports that Rick covers for the school. He also photographs the choirs, bands, cheerleaders, majorettes and drama performances. Keeping up with everything can be difficult, but Rick has a reliable helper by his side — his 16-year-old daughter, Delaney Craig.
“Delaney helps me shoot a lot, especially during track events, when there’s so much going on,” Rick said. “If I can’t make it to a game, she’ll go shoot it for me. She does very good. She started shooting with me a couple years ago, and now she runs the camera by herself.”
Rick first became interested in photography when he began taking photos of his children’s sporting events in 2015.
“I just started shooting photos of my kids and their friends. For a while, I was shooting in (the camera’s) sports setting, but now it’s all manual. When I started, there were some seasoned vets taking photos, and I asked a lot of questions,” he said.
Rick offers paid photography services for individuals and families, including senior photos. This week, he’s been busy traveling to local nature preserves to capture photos of the spring bird migration.
“I go to Castalia Fish Hatchery to photograph eagles, kingfishers and ducks, and Sheldon March is one of my favorite places to take photos,” he said.
He will spend time at Magee Marsh for the Biggest Week in American Birding on May 5 to May 14.
“I met people from 32 countries last year. It was pretty cool,” he said.
For more information, visit the RC Sports Photography and Untamed Nature by Rick Facebook pages.
Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Rick Craig’s sports photography
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