Canada geese are beautiful flyers. On Tuesday afternoon, they were flying above a pond that is normally a soccer field on the banks of the New River.

Canada geese fly over a flooded Radford University Dedmon Center athletic field next to the New River in Radford Tuesday. MATT GENTRY | The Roanoke Times

I love photographing championship games…I don’t care what the sport is. They’re always full of passion, moments and adrenaline.

During championship games, chances are pretty good that the winning teammates will rush the field after the game, which is my favorite part.

But if the two teams are close in scores, the last three minutes are agonizing for me…there’s so much pressure. Which team is going to win? I have to listen to my gut, because I need to be there the second the time on the clock runs out, to run out onto the field with the team.

Being surrounded by running, jumping, cheering, sometimes crying athletes makes my job so much fun. There’s so much going on around me, so much great energy, it seems to rub off on me.

This weekend I photographed a lacrosse championship game. (It’s been a while since I’ve shot a lacrosse game.) The game was close…there was a one-point difference in the scores leading up to the last few minutes of the game. I stood by the team I thought was going to win (and I was correct in my prediction), but the second the game was over, the entire team went running to the opposite side of the field to celebrate with their goalie!  So I did what any photographer would do, and ran with them all the way across the field.

Needless to say, I was a lot slower than they were. Anyway, here’s what I got.

Roanoke College sophomore Mike Perrino (center) celebrates with the rest of his team after they win the ODAC title game against Washington and Lee University Sunday. Roanoke College won 10-9.

-Rebecca Barnett

On a rainy Monday morning, I made this image on the Drillfield while a class change was winding down. The petals caught my eye because of their beautiful spring color. Oddly, they did not smell very good. 

A Virginia Tech student rushes across the Drillfield during the 10 a.m. class change in Blacksburg Monday. Due to rain and wind, an ornamental cherry tree had dropped its petals. MATT GENTRY | The Roanoke Times

I just wanted to share my photos from a couple of assignments this month that didn’t make it into print.    -Rebecca Barnett

North Cross School senior Ben Barton tends to equipment at a call for a structure fire during his 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. shift at the Cave Spring Fire Station 3 on April 22, 2013.

Hannah Millsaps, 20, of Roanoke County, feeds a Pileated Woodpecker at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center. The woodpecker was brought to the rehabilitation center after it suffered head trauma in Giles County. The trauma caused nerve damage.

Spectators watch as a motorcyclist performs a high-flying stunt for the crowd during a performance by the Goodyear FMX team at the Blue Ridge Bike Fest at the Roanoke Civic Center on Saturday. Photo by JOEL HAWKSLEY | The Roanoke Times

I stopped by the Blue Ridge Bike Fest on my way back from an assignment in Christiansburg on Saturday, just in time to catch the last 15 minutes of light. As the sun set on the horizon, a few bikers jumped through the air to entertain the crowd.