Shark Hunting Part Deux

When we got to the beach at 6am, John rigged up three of his rods. I thought he was gonna swallow the sinker.

Our first catch ... a bonnethead shark at 6:35am.

The second shark didn't even get to enjoy his Mayport shrimp.

I tried to put our third shark out in the surf but it swam back to me the first three times. Mike walked out to put him in deeper water and he finally swam away.

Me & shark #4 or 5. I lost count.

John & Mike strategize.

There was nice light on this buried shell.

This gives new meaning to the phrase, "man's best friend"!!! Actually, it's not what it looks like! Catch is sniffing John's bag of Mayport shrimp.

Catch posed for a nice portrait.

John was in charge of removing the hooks. See, I can delegate! ;-)


All of the pups like to meet John.

I wonder if I would have been as brave if this was the mama shark? It was a good day overall. We caught 8 fish ... the first 5 were baby sharks.

Waffle Newbies

Waffle newbies are so much fun. They're overflowing with creativity.
Amber made a martini.


Emily made some watermelon slices.


Travis made his home state of Idaho & a baked potato with sour cream/butter.

The artists at work.

Hmmm ... it's supposed to say Idaho, but it says You Da Ho.



The Duck modeled so Rob could make an accurate Duck waffle.

What the Duck?!?

Emily posed with green peppers (it's an inside joke). It was funny that we both bought some at Publix for each other.

I'm not sure what's more exhausting ... having a waffle party or blogging about it!

Royal Pains ... Catalina on USA Network

I've been going to Catalina Beach Club on Long Island, NY, well, since I was born. My grandfather built Catalina in the 1940s & it's been owned & operated by my family ever since. Even though I've lived in FL for over 25 years, I spent many summers there until I got a "real" job 3 years ago. I still go back every year with friends & family. It's one of my favorite places to photograph.

Catalina's old deco appeal is no stranger to big productions. Scenes in Goodfellas & Far From Heaven were filmed there. Herb Ritts photographed Sylvester Stallone there in 1985 for the cover of Vanity Fair & more recently Beyoncé was there for a shoot. The club has hosted many fashion shoots from Vogue & Glamour to the SI Swimsuit Issue. It's also a favorite location for tv commercials & catalog shoots.

Tonight was the debut of a great new series on USA Network called Royal Pains. Last September I watched them film part of the series at the club. Tonight I got so see my cousins Andy, Sandra, Valerie, Molly & Ashley as "extras" in the show. Check it out ... Thursday nights at 10pm.

During the shoot, I met Mark Feuerstein, the star of the show. Nice guy.

They converted one of the upstairs Oceanview cabanas into a motel room set.

Gone Fishin'

The 5am wake-up was so worth it! I had a great time fishing with John.

I used strobe on the first cast.


When the sun came up I shot some silhouettes.

Tools of the trade.

After an hour or so, it was time to use fresh Mayport shrimp as bait. The first big hit escaped with the shrimp, hook, line & sinker, but then we caught a baby bonnethead shark. It was so cool! John asked me if I wanted to touch it. I touched it with one finger & when it flinched, I thought it was gonna bite me.

I got brave with shark #2. It's small, but you can feel its strength.

A tiny shark ... so cute!

There was no stopping me with shark #3! I couldn't get enough of them!

Uh oh! John got a birds nest but had the tools & patience to untangle the line.

The final cast.

Time to call it a day. After all of this excitement I need a nap!

Wheaten Wednesday

After work, I went to visit the pups. Wheatens love to jump & Laddie is no exception.

Rosie is starting to lose her dark fur but she's still very much a puppy.

Rosie & Laddie share a stick.

Social Sunday

Rob had some fun playing with my new Lensbaby Composer. He shot the fruit platter ...

& camera-shy Anna.

Then it was waffle time!

Not sure what Beth made ... Chris made a pac-man.

Tyler made a Mac logo ... not sure what Anna made.

Rob made a fish & a strawberry target.

I think it's best that I don't elaborate on Matt's waffle. I had to post 2 pix since it was 3D. Ilona's waffle was X-rated, so it was censored from the blog.

Then it was time for BBQ at Matt & Ilona's. Matt had been smoking 2 big pork shoulders all day. Tyler made fabulous BBQ nachos.

Matt made a lot of corn.

While the pork was being pulled ...

Matt put the corn on the grill.

Hank & Luke are best friends. They're not as vicious as they look.

Dallas couldn't wait to play with the pups ... & they couldn't wait to play, I mean lick him.

Dallas got his hands washed but he didn't miss a beat eating his chocolate-chip cookie.

Tyler & Hank have the same smile.

Day Off?

After a quick shoot at the TOUR Academy, I spent a couple of hours shooting dragonflies ...

flowers ...

flags in the wind ...


and anything that looked good from the abandoned TV towers. So much for my day off!

Sunday at THE PLAYERS

Stan watches Chris install a new remote on the stage during our trophy walkthru meeting. We're all lovin' our new Nikon gear.

Ric shows off Jamie's blimp shot in the pairings guide during his stint as an ambassador.

The view from the Benefactor Pavilion.

Nice moment ... so cute!

Forget Waldo ... where's Caryn & Stan?

Crane-Cam

Bo lined up our remotes when he reached 120 feet.

The view from the NBC crane. I'm in this photo, firing my remote with a Pocket Wizard, but don't even try to find me!

This little girl asked Camilo for a hug & an autograph. She got both.

Boo sure knows how to make the fans (& photographers) happy!

Golf + Blimp + Pig Roast = Good Time

Are there enough marshals on 17? They could probably get a part in the next Village People YMCA music video.

Nice chocolate in the clubhouse.

We got Jamie an 8-hour ride in the blimp. He shot some great stuff!

He shot an awesome view from the clubhouse to the ocean.

Here's Jamie floating over 17.

If you look closely, you might be able to see him in the gondola.

Jamie shot this picture of me at 17 ... I think I'm one of the specs on the ShotLink tower.


The pig roasters pose with our dinner.

Chris texted me to say I was missing a blogworthy pig. I dropped everything & headed to the media party in the Stadium Village. Boy was he right!

My boss is such a good sport!

Hospitality Day

I spent today shooting nearly 1100 photos of hospitality & merchandise. Every morning my lenses were fogged from the A/C in the media center. I used it to my advantage today to get a faux Lensbaby effect.

Kenyatta didn't know there was a photo of him in the newsletter until Dan opened it up.

Even though I missed the newsletter meeting, I could pretty much figure out how it went after looking at Mary's pictures. I'm guessing there was light streaming into our room in the media center, Mary grabbed her G10, Rob & JR were posing when Ward decided he didn't want to be left out. Am I right?

Nice embroidery.

VooDoo has a nice all-access credential ... fitting since his job was to guard the credential office. It looks like Mary caught him sleeping on the job.

Military Appreciation Day at THE PLAYERS

Last night we were in desperate need for a shot of the merchandise tent on 17 for today's pairing guide. Today I had my first picture published with my iPhone. Even though the light was terrible, I zipped out there in a golf cart & emailed the photo directly to Rob. I decided to shoot the same image this morning in better light. It's a good thing I had a polarizer with me. See the before & after of polarization below. That's crazy!

The light was beautiful for some early morning photos.

JD happened upon Chris being filmed by productions. Luckily he snapped this photo with his iPhone.

Stan was on Presidential duty all day.

Marching sailors on the 18th fairway.

The Navy jets flyover was meticulously timed.

Sherry & John stopped by the clubhouse after the ceremony.

While Jim, Deborah & Mike were talking to an ambassador, they had no idea that President Bush's golf cart motorcade pulled up right behind them.

I think the Secret Service thought Deborah's hat was suspicious.

Pants, Painting, Pictures, Pimping & Pups

I think John needs to get a pair of these Boss pants that Henrik sported on the range!

Jim poses with Jaxson before taking him on in a 17th Hole Challenge competition.

The paintfest was awesome.

6 completed canvas = one full painting.

Jaxson hijacked my ladder.

Synchronized shooting .................... synchronized chimping!

Everyone gets together for a BIG group photo.


Mary took my picture after I pimped my ride.

Chris had a great time at the player family party. I was very jealous when he came back with so many great pix. Next year I'm gonna have to think twice before handing out the plum assignments!

This dog has a monkey on his back! Great stuff Chris!

Cinco de Mayo 2009

It's Mary's birthday, but also the first day of PLAYERS week. We went to Brucci's for birthday pizza, then it was time for work. Here's the abridged version of our shot list for the week! Eight 8.5x11 & two 11x17 pages. It's gonna be a busy week!

The Nationwide Tour had a party in the parking lot celebrating 20 years.

Charley had a good laugh when he saw his headshot from his rookie year.

The Tree Mover

At the end of a packed integration meeting this morning, Ric went around the room asking if anyone had anything to say. When it was my turn, I mentioned that I needed a tree removed on the 18th tee of the Stadium course. Definitely an odd request for integration. Everybody thought it was really funny (as did I) & nobody could believe that I brought it up. Stu offered to lend me his chain saw. There were 4 new palms planted within the last 2 weeks & one of them was in a crazy location that would ruin the view for photographers & fans alike.

Shockingly, it was removed less than 4 hours later. Wow!!! I was thrilled!

Later that day, I noticed I made Time magazine's "World's Most Influential People" under "Tree Movers & Shakers." Ain't Photoshop great?!?

Hospitality with "Models" & Course Scouting

This morning Chris shot a setup picture for Jim in the hospitality on 17. All I did was find the "models" & ferry them out to 17.

Anna was a good assistant/stylist.

During the shoot, Amber almost stuck her hand in some bird poo & wanted it to be eternally documented on my blog. I was a good sport & helped her recreate the incident. It's amazing what some people will do to get on my blog! ;o)

There was lots of course prep going on.
A video board gets a ride on a John Deere tractor.

Mowing the island green.

In the afternoon, Rick came to town for a scouting mission with Brian, Nicole, Shannon, Brandon & me. While the new flower beds looked nice, I wasn't happy to see some new trees on the 18th tee.

Leaf Skeleton

A few weeks ago, I found this leaf skeleton in my driveway. I brought it inside in hopes of taking a nice photo. As I was heading out the door to go to work this morning, an amazing spot of light streamed through the palm trees & my kitchen patio door. Since my counters are black granite, I grabbed a nearby manila envelope & shot the leaf. A minute later, the light was gone.

The Club from Above

Since the crane was still here, I figured it was a perfect time to shoot the clubhouse.

Chris R was a great pilot.

The a/c ducts looked like somebody opened a can of worms.

The light was nice by the merchandise tent, so it was time for a self-portrait with Phil, Padraig, Tiger, Anthony, Sergio & Boo. You'd think it would be tough to get them all together, but everybody was extremely cooperative!

17 from 80

Fred was in town to shoot #17 from an 80 foot crane.

Chris R figured out how to operate the crane ...

... and was skillful navigating through the trees.

I love heights!

I think Fred should get the pub memo this week.

Rosie at the Beach

How can you resist this face?!?

Me 'n Rosie.

Rosie enjoyed frolicking on the beach.

How cute am I?

Laura with her newest family addition.

Ilona's Birthday

Today was Ilona's all day birthday party ... 3 parties to be exact. First was lunch at TacoLu's. Then was dinner at Anna & Tyler's. Last, but not least, dessert at the birthday house. Matt made Ilona a beautiful Strawberry cake from scratch. Being a social butterfly is exhausting!

David Sedaris at the Florida Theater

After work, I met Jana at her place. I love the glass by her front door.

This is confusing! Imagine driving on I-95 & seeing this!

David Sedaris is one of my favorite authors. His show was so hilarious, that afterward, our faces hurt from smiling & laughing so much.

Jana & I stayed after the show to get some books signed. Jana's request is below (click to enlarge). While we were waiting in line, she said, "If he signs my boob, it'll be right up there with me almost vomiting on Fredrik when he talked to me!"

Rosie & Laddie

Tonight I went to Laura's house to meet her Wheatens. They are ADORABLE! Rosie is 9 weeks old & Laddie is 11 months old.

Which Woz Will Win?

I'd love to hear Baba Wawa do the commentary on this match! Wozniak vs Wozniacki ... Battle of the Wozs.

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark (left) beat Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada 6-1, 6-2.

The MPS Group Championships

Since the WTA TOUR event from Amelia Island moved to Sawgrass Country Club this year, I figured it was too close to home to not go. Elena Vesnina was playing well ... even had 4 match points ...

... then a total meltdown!

In the end Caroline Wozniacki prevailed. Tomorrow's final ... Wozniacki vs Wozniak.

Augusta to Jeckyll Island to PVB

The view from our cabin was beautiful at sunrise.

So we went down to the lake to shoot some pix.




The park has some unusual activities.

While I was shooting this Coke sign, the gentleman who owns the building told me about another coke painting in Harlem, GA, the birthplace of Oliver Hardy.

We couldn't find a Coke sign but did find this creepy painting of Laurel & Hardy down the block from their museum.

Our next stop was Jeckyll Island.

The Horton House was built in 1736. I could shoot these ruins all day.


The beach is full of some amazing dead trees.


Mary practices her yoga ... the tree pose.

Maybe this used to be a street since it's a weird place for a sewer.

The Masters Practice & Par 3 Contest

We arrived when the gates opened at 8am. All parking was free! CRAZY!

I had to look really hard to find any tournament branding ...

... until I got to the concession stand where just about everything is branded "The Masters." The food is the least expensive of any sporting event.

Mary shows off her pimento cheese sandwich.

As always, Tiger is like the Pied Piper.





Mini Immelman. How cute is this?!?

Aaron Baddeley had the smallest caddie. She was so small her caddie uniform had built-in feet! I didn't realize the golfer is supposed to carry the caddie.

KJ & the Choi-ettes.

Quiros had some great body language when he missed his putt on #9.


The fans cheered when Jack, Gary & Arnie arrived on the final hole of the Par 3 Contest.

I got to see some old friends I haven't seen in awhile. Bob was really happy to see me!

Road Trip 2009 ... The Masters

Mary drove up to PVB, then we took a mini road trip to Augusta, GA.

We stopped for breakfast in St Marys. There were some great signs near the ferry to Cumberland Island National Seashore ... home of the wild horses.

Do not: pet the horses, go into ruins or feed any animals.


In Statesboro, we happened upon the Historic Beaver House.

We couldn't resist the boarding house menu:
southern fried chicken, boneless pork loin roast, green beans, rice & gravy, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, cream corn, marinated coleslaw & biscuits for $7.99! Everything was served family style. Seconds were free & thirds were $1.

Mary came back from the bathroom & suggested I go before we leave. I said I didn't have to go & she said I'd want to go. That's photospeak for bring your camera! There was a photogenic rusty sink ... gross but great for pix.

We rented a beautiful cabin in a Georgia State Park.

Our deck overlooked the lake.

The cabin was awesome! Full kitchen, living room, dining room & two bedrooms on the main level with a large bedroom loft upstairs.

HDTV & a fireplace. HDTV while camping?!? Of course we brought the espresso machine (it always goes camping). Roughing it at it's finest!

Facebooking by the campfire ... it doesn't get much better than that!

Shooting the perfect roasted marshmallow picture isn't easy.

Luke

I went to Matt & Ilona's for dinner. Luke was without dog friends tonight so he was happy to pose on the patio. He's usually way too busy for me!

Monday on Key Biscayne

Rafa's serve looked nice from upstairs.


Serena sports some serious bling on court.


This is part of a 9 frame sequence. Serena never took her eyes off the ball.

The light was beautiful, but I had to leave to catch my flight. UGH!

I had the best flight EVER from FLL-JAX! Our wheels actually lifted at departure time, landed 40 minutes later & my bag was on the belt on arrival. Unprecedented!

The Middle Sunday

Andy Roddick has a bad new habit, not suitable for the blogosphere ... much worse than Nadal's. Here are some "clean" pix.

As always, Roger won easily.

Even though Venus has an incredible stride ...

a really colorful dress ...

a wingspan like Michael Jordan ...

& a great serve ...

the fans in section 412 were still really bored!

Saturday at the Sony Ericsson Open

It was a HOT & humid day on Key Biscayne.

Serena always make good pictures.



Venus wore the best dress EVER!



The Nadal match was the perfect opportunity to shoot with the D3s at night. It was really dark but the stuff looked pretty nice.

Sony Ericsson Open ... 25 Years

It's my 25th year covering this tournament that has been in existence for 25 years. I've seen it go thru four name changes (Lipton, Ericsson, Nasdaq-100 & now Sony Ericsson) & three venue changes (Delray Beach, Boca Raton & for the last 21 years, its permanent home on Key Biscayne).

Mary picked me up at the airport & we went straight to tennis.

We got there for Kevin Kim vs Roger Federer ... just in time for the nice light. Kim's hair was awesome.

I never knew anyone called him Rogi.

Lleyton Hewitt was swearing a lot as he got whipped 6-1, 6-2.


Somebody's been picking their nail polish.

What the Duck Are You?

The new WTD Facebook poster is great! (click to make bigger)

Working Hard

Today we shot instruction for the TOUR Academy & some annual report stuff. By "we" I mean Chris & me. Chris thinks I don't do anything, but I have photographic proof ...

I held a reflector ...

I blogged ...

I art directed ...

I blogged some more ...

and I had lunch at the club! Asian chicken salad ... yum!

I think I was working pretty hard! Chris was pretty much lying down all day!

Disney with the Girls

After a week in Miami, I went to Orlando with Mary, Rosie & Elsa. It was Elsa's first trip to Disney ... ever.

We went back to Ted & Rosie's place for a long midday nap. Frannie was happy to see us. She's a Himalayan cat, but I think she's part pug.

Rosie & Frannie

Mary & Rosie help this unsuspecting mom take a better photo.


I'm not sure why, but Mary & Rosie decide to pick Elsa up ... literally!

We finally left the park around midnight.

Branding ... etc.

I spent this morning in a golf cart with Laura shooting hospitality & TOUR branding. The weather was perfect!

Planes are always flying over Doral.

Nice banners & palm trees.

The Birthday Girl

I've been at Doral since Saturday to shoot player headshots before the World Golf Championships-CA Championships ... the World vs the Blue Monster.

My studio is in a great location with lots of amenities ... player wifi, player espresso, player dining & even a player birthday kiss (no I won't kiss & tell).

Even though I had to work all day, I took a break for some birthday Starbucks Java Chip Ice Cream. Since the cone was messy, they put it in a cup & the cone looked like a birthday hat. Kinda blogworthy.

After 12 hours of player headshots, I went out for birthday dinner with Fred, JD, Sam, Pete ...

I actually started my week long birthday celebration last night. After work, I had a two hour Thai Yoga Massage with Rosie ... OUCH! After that was dinner with Mary & Rosie before heading back to Doral.

Morning at TPC Sawgrass

This morning I helped Chris with his Jim Furyk shoot on the back range.

Vijay was out there practicing his putting. I'm sure he was really happy he didn't have a photo shoot.

Bike Repair Extraordinaire!

At lunch with Scott last week, I mentioned that I rode my bike for the first time in 4 years & found I had no rear brakes or rear gears. I knew he was an avid cyclist & would be able to recommend a good bike shop for a tune-up. Little did I know, but Scott is a graduate of the Barnett Bicycle Institute in Colorado Springs & he has a fully equipped bike/wood shop at his house.

I knew he was serious when he whipped out Phil's Tenacious Oil!

Nice pegboard!

Close-up of the professional wheel truing stand.

He's got a great space for tinkering.

I wouldn't let Scott touch my bike until he proved he completed comprehensive bicycle mechanics. ;o)

Dinner with an Old Friend

I found out through Facebook that Bruce was gonna be in JAX for business. We were trying to figure out how long it's been since we've seen each other. It's probably been 10 years, but it seemed like just yesterday. It was great catching up! Before dinner I took him on a quick tour of the clubhouse & the 17th green.

Woohoo!!!

Today is World Banana Day

Since today is World Banana Day, I thought I'd start off the day eating a banana. Then I visited the website & found out the real meaning of this holiday ...

Solving World Hunger Through the Cunning Use of Banana Suits!

Little did I know, but I was supposed to play tennis & ride my bike wearing a banana suit!

Waffles between V-day & P-day

Rob can't believe Anna is stuffing her edible canvas in her mouth. Anna will do just about anything to be the lead photo on my blog.

She was more creative than usual ... this was her first waffle ever photographed ... despite being a frequent waffler!

Ilona & Matt were waffle virgins ... but you'd never know it looking at their designs.

Matt's first waffle was inspired by the "Children of the Appalachian Mountains" special on 20/20 ... creepy!

His creative juices were flowing! Matt made this Don King mini dessert waffle.

Ilona thought she used every single topping on her waffle, but it seems to be missing cantaloupe, honeydew, red grapes, trail mix & mini peanut butter cups. I don't think anything else could have fit.

Rob made an Obama logo waffle in honor of Presidents Day.

Afterwards, Anna & Hank took me on an 11,000+ step walk.

Do1Thing is tomorrow

Valentines Day 2008 is your chance to Do1Thing.

WHAT IS Do1Thing?
Do1Thing is a group of award-winning photographers, journalists, editors, designers, and writers who have come to together for one mission: To use the power of storytelling to shine an “ongoing” light into the many dark places that affect our most vulnerable children and teens. We believe that by focusing on highlighting one cause, while asking people to do one thing for that cause—great change can occur.

WHAT IS THE MISSION OF Do1Thing?
The Do1Thing mission is to unite donors with non-profit organizations through the power of photojournalism.

WHY IS Do1Thing SHINING ITS "FIRST" LIGHT ON HOMELESS TEENS?
Do1Thing is starting with the cause for homeless teens because there are more homeless people today than at any previous time in U.S. history. Right now, more than 1.3 million of them are YOUTH.

HOW CAN I HELP Do1Thing?
At Do1Thing, we feel that if one person would do 1 thing for 1 cause, and if thousands of people would do the same, change will come about. By reducing a huge problem to bite sized pieces, it can be more easily digested and conquered. Our goal is to ask everyone to do 1 thing, for 1 cause.

A Bunch of Comedians

My day started with Ric showing my FBR aerial double-page Golf World spread to everybody in the integration meeting.

Mike made a GREAT birthday card for Laury.

It was a complete coincidence that all the girls wore red & black today. The birthday boy donned a red feather boa!

This afternoon I went to take some snaps of Comedian Lewis Black playing on the Stadium course. Lewis & the Commish yuk it up on the 16th fairway.

Lewis & Sophie pose on the 17th tee.

Last Day in the Desert

We shot some stuff around the resort this morning. The Nikon D3 is so unbelievably sharp, you can almost cut yourself on these cactus photos.


After shooting, we met Marcy for Starbucks, then hung out in the Cloud Club.

We had two empty flights home ... both 757s. The first leg only had 26 people & the second didn't have many more.

Swanky!

We stayed in the Executive Suite in the swanky JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Scottsdale. It was awesome ... 1000 sq ft suite with two 46" high-def TVs & wrap-around views of the golf course & pool.

Me shooting the curtain below.

The bedroom curtain at sunrise.

Mary stalked all kinds of things, from rocks ...

... to bunnies.

This poor bunny must’ve had a run-in with Mike Tyson.

Awesome sticker on our golf cart at Desert Ridge.

Desert Ridge is home to Wildfire Golf Club, which has both Palmer & Faldo designed courses. I shot this self-portrait on the Palmer practice green.

Nice pool! If you click on the link, I shot the middle photo of the pool for the resort during the first month they were open.

Palm tree trunk detail.

We’ve shot these fountains at sunset all three times we’ve stayed here.

Bellman cart shadows.

I think this is the only hotel I've stayed in that offers rubber duckies as an amenity (click to make bigger).

The Crazy 16th Hole at FBR

The atmosphere on #16 is unlike any other hole on the PGA TOUR. There is a student section close to the tee & they are really funny.

When Charley Hoffman walked from tee to green, they were chanting "Supercuts! Supercuts! Supercuts!" When the Standard Bearer walked by, they yelled, "Sign Boy! Sign Boy! Sign Boy!" When the kid twirled his sign, everybody cheered.


They had something different to say no matter what was going on ...
If somebody hit a good shot, they'd yell, "Tip your hat! Tip your hat! Tip your hat!"

When spectators entered, they'd yell something about what they were wearing:
"Sweater! Sweater! Sweater!"
"Jean shirt! Jean shirt! Jean shirt!"
"No sleeves! No sleeves! No sleeves!"

The traffic into the stadium was one way. When anybody tried to exit towards the entrance, they'd yell, "Wrong way! Wrong way! Wrong way!" When security wouldn't let them exit, everybody cheered. It was deafening!

The Rules Officials tried to maintain the peace.

When Australian James Nitties teed up his ball, someone held up a sign that said "Show us your Nitties!"

Bubba encouraged the fans on #16 to be as noisy as possible when he hit his tee shot, then high-fived & tossed Ping hats to everyone on his way to the green. It was really great!

Aerials & GigaPans

Detail of FBR Open tee marker.

Me & my helicopter pilot Ross.

An aerial view of #16 at TPC Scottsdale with the desert mountains in the distance.

Mary shot some GigaPans from several locations on #16.

This is the first year #16 has been fully enclosed.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's me in a helicopter.

There was a good What the Duck today.

Cardinal Fever

It was an early morning. Up at 3:30am to catch a 6:40am flight to Phoenix via Atlanta to shoot the FBR Open.

We got to TPC Scottsdale in time to shoot Billy Mayfair, who changed into a Phoenix Cardinals jersey in the tunnel leading into #16. The crowd went wild!

The Social Butterfly

It sure was a busy day!
Diet Coke, weekly critique, quad iced Americano, meeting at HQ, conference call ...
Lunch at Cruisers with Jen, Aiden & Mary ...

Then back to work ... performance reviews, order test prints, finish performance reviews (yay!), go home ...
Prep for dinner party, cook, eat, load dishwasher, empty dishwasher, load dishwasher again, sleep!
Big day of socializing ... especially considering it was a work day!

St. Augustine

Mary & Elsa came to town to go to Yoga Day USA at Discovery Yoga.
I met them for an awesome lunch at The Back 40 Urban Cafe.

Mary started with a delicious corn, jalepeno & roasted red pepper chowder.

I had a fabulous Santa Fe Chicken Salad.

Nice sign.

After lunch we went out for coffee. Mary shot with her G10 while Elsa knitted a blanket.

Package Store ... really nice sign ... lots of peeling paint.

Nice Sunset

I shot a beautiful sunset in the parking lot at work.

Alligator Farm

A hungry gator!

Adam at the Alligator Farm.

A macaw in nice light.

Hank, Adam & Mom.

Me, Adam & Mom.

Gator on the run.

mmmmm ... fresh rats! Yummy!

Okay everybody ... 1, 2, 3 ... squint!

Going Home

While I was in the parking lot at Trader Joe's, I shot the sunset with my iPhone.

Awesome workstations are located all over the gate areas in the new Jet Blue terminal at JFK. You can order food on the touchscreen & it'll be delivered right to your desk.

There is stepped seating with cushions & no shortage of power.

Snow

It snowed overnight at my mom's house. Not much ... but it did stick.

Alex's Bar "Mets"vah

Alex's Bar Mitzvah had a NY Mets theme. I was at the Old Timers table with most of my cousins.

Hank & mom.

Twins

Tonight we had dinner with the Weins. I got to meet Mike & Emily's new twins.

I made Cal cry.

Penny was sleeping.

The entire Wein clan.

Hank, mom & me.

Clouds

There were really nice clouds in every direction. I shot these out my car window on the way to work.

Down Home Cookin'

Tonight I went to Matt & Ilona's for a Low Country Boil & Brunswick Stew. Everything was delicious. Ice is added to the pot to stop the cooking.

Luke was a good boy.

Opa! Our Big Fat Greek Thanksgiving

I spent Thanksgiving with Anna, Tyler, Stefan & Hank.

Anna poses with the photo tray while the boys slaved in the kitchen. We had a Greek dinner prepared by Tyler & Stefan. They made spicy feta dip, kolokithakia keftedes, saganaki, greek salad & pastitio. Everything was great, but we were way too full for dessert.

Hank was a big help in the kitchen.

Anna & Stefan sipping Frappes.

One big happy family. Everybody ate too much ... except maybe Hank.

Being a Boss

Lately there have been a couple of great What the Duck comics that I can really relate to.

Nice Cone!

At the end of my block I noticed the great sky & snapped a photo out my car window. At that exact moment, my phone rang. It was 7:15am & Anna was calling ... a real coincidence considering this photo is taken down her block. I thought she was outside & saw me stop to take the photo.

On the way to my Dr appointment, I passed this nice ice cream cone. On the way home, I stopped to shoot it. There were two unfortunately placed poles right in front, so I had to get out my "real" cameras to get a decent shot.

They have 6 flavors. Actually, they have way more, but I'm sure it was too expensive to change the sign.

Across the street I noticed a Korean BBQ restaurant. I'm gonna have to go try out the jumulruk & kimchee the next time I'm on this side of town.

Home Repairs

My contractor had a nifty tool that lets you see inside the wall.

At first we thought that only the baseboard was damaged, but a whole section of wall needed to be removed.

They plywood between the stucco & insulation had completely rotted through. It was like mush ... gross!

Next the exterior wall stucco had to be removed so new plywood could be installed. UGH! What a mess!

Almost Fishing

John, Peter & I tried to go fishing at dawn but the surf was too rough. At least I got a photo of John's funny Pittsburgh Steelers hat.

Crowd Control

After our quarterly staff meeting, everybody had to go out on #18 & pose between the two little temporary sections of stands. We did this so we could shoot stills & video from a variety of NBC camera angles to see how the clubhouse would look if the stands in the center were replaced with mounding. It was funny since there was a group approaching the green & they got to experience playing to a crowd of cheering spectators.

South Florida Trip

I'm in S FL for Champions Tour Q-School headshots. I figured it would be nice to stay at Bobby & Patty's & spend some time with family.

I thought I had it bad having to put a new roof on my Weston house before selling it & my current water damage on my PVB house. My stuff is nothing compared to the hurricane Wilma damage at B&P's. Besides a new roof & replacing all of the exterior woodwork, they're replacing almost all of their windows with hurricane glass ... & they have a LOT of windows.


They're also resurfacing the pool & hot tub.

Lucy made me some delicious homemade matzoh ball soup.

I also went to visit Mary in her new place. She's got a great water view, 2 kayaks ...

... and a neighbor named "Mu Shu"

Do 1 Thing

Do 1 Thing is a collaborative nationwide effort between artists and journalists that raises awareness of homeless teenagers and encourages individuals to do one thing of their choice to assist them on Valentine’s Day 2009.

Today I was invited to participate in Do 1 Thing by Project Director Najlah Feanny. It's always good to "give back."

Picture Perfect

Today pgatour.com featured Stan, Chris & my favorite photos of 2008 as the lead story. They ran a bio on each of us as well as our top-10 photos of the year.

Happy Halloween!

When we arrived at work there was a crime scene & scary decorations everywhere. We all suspected that Mike, AKA "Dr. Ben Dover, Proctologist," had come in last night to decorate (even though it was his week off).

Rob, AKA "The Joker," made this year's card, starring our creepy office-mates.

Let the fun begin ... these kids seemed to be mesmerized by The Joker.

We sure had some adorable trick-or-treaters! (click to enlarge)




Batman meets The Joker.

At different parties, Anna & Tyler dressed up as Ike & Tina Turner, while Chris was a member of the Blue Man Group.

Tiki Torch

Tonight I went to a going away party for Joan at Aqua Grill. JR & I were entranced by this tiki torch. I could have shot it all night long.

Ty, Joan, Bob & Stewart.

Big Shopping Weekend

Friday night I went to Sam's Club to make sure they had the TV I planned to pick up with Rob on Saturday morning. I got there & the model I wanted was gone, but the floor model was available for $700 less than the previous week. There was no box, so it fit in my car. Rob came over to help get it in the house.

Saturday was a big shopping day ... TOUR Stop, Scan Design, Bo Concept, West Elm & Sound Advice. I couldn't believe it but Sound Advice had the exact tv I bought at Sam's for $200 less, plus $500 in free gas. It was a big enough difference that I had to call Rob to the rescue. A 52" tv isn't exactly easy to buy, return & buy again.

Today, Rob was good enough to take me to Sam's Club to return a TV then to Sound Advice to buy another. Before we went, I made waffles, lattes & smoothies. Rob was hoping to find some Bunnies in the Playboy Bus.

I saw some good bumper stickers ...

Why can't Republicans pronounce the word "NUCLEAR"?!?

Presidents Cup Captains' Day

Today is Captains' Day. It's an opportunity for the Captains to do interviews with the media & schmooze the bigwigs.

Greg & Fred pose with the trophy.

Greg posed with Chris too.


After the 1st round of press conferences there was a buffet lunch for the media & a fancy lunch for the dignitaries. Then came the 2nd round of press conferences & photo ops out on the course.


I drove up the coast for a bit. The surf sure was rough.

Funny house.

Nice hippie bus.

On the way back to the hotel, I stopped at Ghirardelli Square. Every time I talked to John, he asked me if I got him any chocolate yet. I figured I better go since he is the birthday boy this week.

San Francisco

I flew into San Francisco today for Presidents Cup Captains' Day. The only good thing about a 6:40am flight ... the light.

There was a cool shadow of our plane on the water.

I took advantage of my window seat & shot some scenery.

I think these are sod farms. We passed a bunch of them every so often.

First I went to Harding Park to scout locations for tomorrow.

Then I drove around to see what was near the golf course & stopped by the iconic IN-N-OUT. I did witness a kid eat a french fry that his mom dropped on the floor near the cash register (heavily trafficked area). You should have seen the expressions of those who witnessed the incident ... sheer horror! When JR saw this photo, his eyes lit up & he said, "I don’t think I’d ever leave there. I’d have all my shopping in one location."

Obama

On the way to my hotel, I shot this picture out my car window for my brother.

After that I checked into the fancy 101-year-old Fairmont ...

... home of the outrageous parking fee. They say it’s $50, but after tax/tip it's $58 (the only good thing about it is that it's free to park a hybrid ... that's awesome). This will go down in history with the world's most expensive cup of coffee … a quad espresso at the Four Seasons in Scottsdale … $30 after tax, tip & room service delivery fee (I think they charged us $6 for each shot).

I passed a disturbing sign on the way into the hotel … yikes!!! I wish I would have asked for a brochure.

Down the hallways of the lobby level, was a tribute to the history of the Fairmont. There were photos of celebrities that had stayed there, including all of the Presidents since 1907. There was also a section that mentioned various things that were filmed at the hotel, including the Towering Inferno (Steve McQueen & Paul Newman), Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood) & the TV series Hotel (James Brolin & Connie Sellecca), to name a few.

I spotted a cable car, but no Rice-a-Roni, "the San Francisco Treat." I'm not sure who decided it was safe to hang out of a moving cable car. I don't think this would fly in any other city.

Sensor Cleaning

While I was cleaning my camera sensors & shooting the sky to check my progress, four ducks swam thru my backyard. When I pointed my camera at them, one decided to put on a show.

The Playoff Finale

My picture of the trophy & clubhouse from last year was everywhere. Banners, posters, video boards, Ritz Carlton room keys, as well as the cover of the program & 29 times inside. It was a bit much.

Me & the FedExCup

We brought both trophies over to the NBC booth for a quick segment. Anne cues Johnny & Dan.

The clubhouse was expanded since last year.

The Tiffany engraver has much better penmanship than the Waterford engraver! Funny ... he didn't wear white gloves & he wasn't afraid of making fingerprints everywhere!

Tiffany & Co Master Engraver

Vijay watches to make sure the engraver spells his name right.

Camilo won the tournament, but Vijay won $10 million!

The club always falls off this trophy. I tried to put it in the golfer's hands earlier today to no avail. Camilo watches the Commissioner try to fix it.

Camilo also unsuccessfully tried during the trophy shoot. Needless to say, our trophy pix look silly without the club.

Saturday at East Lake

The FedExCup ... the trophy that comes with a $10 million check.


Chris gets a better angle.

I must be smiling because Chris is lying on the ground.

Tiger won both trophies last year. There'll be two winners this year.

Friday Night Dinner

Streeter suggested a Mexican restaurant, then stood us up. To overcome the grief of being dumped by Streeter, Chris drowned his sorrows with the 32oz "Super Bedwetter"!

Chihuahua?!? Yuk!

THE TOUR Championship ... Day 1

The Final Playoff.

I spent 5 hours today shooting hospitality with Laura (after shooting 3 hours yesterday with models). I shot around 1500 frames over the course of two days ... that's a lot of hospitality!

They were debuting these new aluminum bottles in Coke's hospitality.

I asked Laura if we were gonna get in trouble. She said, "why?" I said we just drove by a sign that said no golf carts. Oops!

The MetLife hospitality had a Snoopy theme.

Chris & I were on our way back to the hotel when we saw that the streets downtown were closed. I called the Sheraton to ask them how we were supposed to get back & they told me there was a race & it would be at least an hour before we could back to the hotel. UGH! I snapped this sunset out my car window.

Since we couldn't go to the hotel, Chris & I decided to head straight over to Waikikie, for Hawaiian BBQ with Fred, Streeter, JD & Charles. Fred said he expected to see my blog update in the morning. Exhausted, I said, "Fred, I am not your blogging whore!" ... but here it is, so I guess I am.

JD ordered Spam Musubi for his appetizer. Streeter said, "man, that smells like $h!t!" I'm not gonna tell you JD's response.

Nice Hawaiian bathroom signs.

Big Mess at JFK

I was next in line to go thru xray at about 7:45am, when the entire Jet Blue terminal at JFK was evacuated. So many people were complaining that they were gonna miss their flight. It was kinda funny. Nobody was going anywhere. Scanners spotted what turned out to be paper weights that resembled World War II grenades, in a passenger's luggage. Doh!

Mom's 70th Birthday Spa Getaway Weekend

After sitting in traffic for four hours, we finally arrived at The Spa at Norwich Inn.

This was one of our duplexes for the weekend.

Wendy, Bonnie, Sandy, Helaine & Andrea joined my mom & me for a weekend of pampering.

Sandy, Bonnie & Wendy picked out these inspirational shirts in the spa gift shop.

Wendy was reading a nice poem that she, Bonnie & Sandy wrote. Everyone was listening intently, even though it looks like they're just snacking.

Helaine insisted that I finally get in a photo.

The toast.

The chocolate flourless torte was fab & photogenic!

I think it would have made a better photo if they put 70 candles on the cake!

After all of the photo-ops, I finally let my mom blow out the candle.

Bonnie & Wendy both had spa pedicures that included rose petals between their toes. I'm not sure why, but at least it made good blog photos.

Mom & Sandy.

Between treatments, Andrea & Helaine hang out in their robes.

The windows on the main building of the Norwich Inn are surrounded by beautiful ivy.


Since she knows she's gonna be pressured to design a waffle when she visits me in PVB, Mom decided to practice on a crepe.

TV Pilot at Catalina ... Take 2

Even though there was plenty of sun, a bunch of big Arri lights were scattered around the set.

I met Mark Feuerstein, the star of the show. Nice guy.

There were 150 crew members. It was amazing how fast they moved a set from the second level of Oceanview to the parking lot.

This is a show business pup.



These are some tearsheets of shoots at Catalina that are hanging in the office.

TV Pilot at Catalina

I knew this was gonna be good when I saw the Craft Service truck. Catalina was rebranded Hampt Inn Motel since the scene is set in the Hamptons (NY).

The parking lot was filled with RVs, production, wardrobe, catering & grip trucks.

Ashley strikes a pose while Molly looks on.

Sandy wasn't happy when Teddy showed up, so she put him to work!

When the phone didn't stop ringing, Sandy insisted Teddy come into the office to help man (I mean dog) the calls. Teddy wanted a paycheck.

In between snacks, Larry & Mom watch the filming.

Can't fool me ... I know that is locker #13!

Nice chair.

Wendy, Teddy & Larry

The sandbox set they built in Oceanview was abandoned at lunchtime.

I had panko crusted chicken, sliced steak, snow peas, roasted corn & a little pasta/rice.

Molly went down the slide on cue, while Ashley played in the sandbox.

Andy is hard at work. He claimed it wasn't as easy as it looks.

Sandra & Valerie had to shoot some scenes without making a peep (which apparently isn't easy) & some scenes making as much noise as possible.

Some walls had real life preservers, but this one was painted.

The weather was picture perfect ... a high of 75 degrees.

Wendy is happy that Ashley & Molly are finally bringing home a paycheck.

Denim Days

I got to wear jeans to work today for a donation to First Coast No More Homeless Pets. Each Friday in September benefits a different charity.

Waffles ... for a change.

The regular gang came for waffles this morning ... Rob, Anna, Chris, Beth & Shelby. Poor Rob hadn't had any waffles since the 4th of July! Rob is always invited since he does the best blogworthy waffle designs (& he's a nice guy).


Rob coats his sausage in Reese's peanut butter syrup ... YUK!

Chris enjoys a Diet Pepsi after a delicious hot foamy cappuccino. It looks like he's resting his elbow on Shelby's head. Beth was giddy after consuming the Reese's syrup.

Anna, Chris & I snuggle under a blanket on the couch ...

... while Rob & Beth get competitive with their iPhones.

Tropical Storm Hanna

I'm back in FL, but following the Open on TV. Today was a bit of a fiasco, weather-wise (in NY). Federer/Djokovic started at 11am on Ashe & the afternoon forecast was dismal. Roger won his semi as the raindrops started to fall.

Originally the other semi was to follow, but they ended up moving the Nadal/Murray match to Armstrong & started it at noon. Rafa was down two sets to love when Hanna moved in.

Since the weather was not gonna clear, they scheduled the Nadal/Murray match to finish after football at 4pm on Sunday (& it was being moved from Armstrong to Ashe in the middle of the match). I couldn't believe they weren't gonna play in the morning.

The Women's Final was postponed until 9pm Sunday & the Men's Final was set to be played at 5pm Monday. That's just crazy! The only good thing about the rain was that Susan got to shoot the Official US Open Rubber Froggie & Rubber Duckie floating in the flooded stadium ... $16 well spent.

Labor Day

I remember seeing an interview with Rafa last year. He was asked if he had any bad habits. He said he thought his bad habit was fairly evident. 'nuff said!


Mary & I both had flights to catch so we left the matches early. Mom & Hank picked up dinner from The Pizza Place, so we didn't have to rush on the way to JFK.

The Middle Sunday

All of the top Nike athletes seem to have personalized shoes. I think Tiger needs some personalized golf shoes!

Guess who? Hint: He's won 4 consecutive US Open trophies & his initials are RF.

Serena's shoes are personalized on the back, tongue & sole. The little hearts on the edge of the sole have the years she's won.
(click to enlarge)

Nadal's shoes have bullhorns on one & "Rafa" on the other.

I started the day shooting Roger.

Between the matches, Mary, Kathy, Susan, Frank & I took a stroll around the fenced-in grounds of the old World's Fair. If I could get inside the fence, I'd spend the whole day shooting my two favorite things, rust & peeling paint. That's way more interesting than shooting tennis.

Mary held up the Unisphere while I shot her with the Fuji digital infrared camera.



I was shooting the Roddick match when Mary shot me with the IR camera.

I always like to wait until the player gets in just the right spot near the logo. You can't get this photo in week two, since there's a linesjudge permanently stationed in the middle of the logo.


I went up on the roof of the press box to shoot the grounds.

While I was up there, I found some nice rust.

Hot & Humid!

Rafa hits an autographed ball into the stands.

Even though I enjoy shooting elevated, I decided to shoot most of the matches from court level today. Here's Serena from the dugout.

I never get tired of shooting Monfils. He makes great pictures!

Venus from the dugout.

Johnny Mac, Dick Enberg & Mary Carillo watch Connors beat Borg (1976) on the Jumbotron ... or should I say Jimbotron?!?

USTA Member Appreciation Day

It's USTA Member Appreciation Day, & since I'm a Lifetime Member, it means a quick trip to the hospitality village to pick up my annual gift. This year it's an aluminum water bottle.

Roger won in straight sets.

My curiousity was piqued. Can you blame me?

It's not easy hoisting the 700,000 pound Unisphere. It's 140 feet high, 120 feet in diameter & made of stainless steel. Luckily, Mary is quick, so I didn't have to hold it that long to get a blog photo.

Thursday

The Blake match ended abruptly when his opponent retired after splitting sets.

The light was just getting nice & Monfils looked great, when I had to leave to pick up Mary at the airport

I wasn't happy that Venus was wearing white. Upon closer examination, I noticed she was wearing pink.

Nice Light ... Great Weather!

Serena sizzled in the nice light with her red dress.



Marat threw a few fits, but pulled it out in five.

The serves looked nice from every angle.

This Lexus IS 350 is covered in tennis ball felt, complete with a rubber seam. It must get really heavy when it rains.

From the top of Armstrong, there's a great view of Shea Stadium next to the soon to be, new home of the NY Mets, Citi Field. It's funny that the new stadium looks smaller.

It's Showtime!

The Opening Ceremony was quite a show. Earth, Wind & Fire played as did the cast of Jersey Boys & some local acts.

Paula Abdul was in the crowd, but there was no sign of Simon or Randy.

Since this year's theme is "Celebrating 40 years of Open Era Tennis," most of the past champions were present to be honored.

This year the US Open has finally decided to "go green." YAY!

National Waffle Day ... postponed!

Everybody who reads my blog, knows I host famous waffle design parties. When I saw Helaine at Catalina, she told me that today is National Waffle Day. I couldn't believe I never heard of it!

Today celebrates the anniversary of the first American waffle iron patent by Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, NY on August 24, 1869. His early waffle iron was used in conjunction with coal stoves, consisted of a griddle and a cover and required flipping of the device to cook both sides of the waffle.

My National Waffle Day celebration will have to wait a couple of weeks, since I'm in NY at Catalina, about 1,000 miles away from my waffle Iron.
10 Tips To Make Perfect Waffles

There was a really nice shadow on the pavers near the Oceanview office.

For some reason, I never get tired of shooting these flags.

At the end of the day, the surf was rough & there were a ton of abandoned beach chairs waiting to be stored.

Mom & Sandy enjoy the ocean breeze.

Helaine & Andrea, Mom & Adam.

Arthur Ashe Kids' Day

I opted to skip the stadium show to shoot interview room portraits.

There were cute kids everywhere!



There was a booth for the Double Stuf Racing League near Ashe Stadium (here's a great commercial for the DSRL starring the Williams sisters & the Manning brothers). Ironically, there was a nutrition interactive area near Armstrong Stadium.

I thought this photo of me & Mr. Double Stuf was way more blogworthy than me with the food pyramid sign. Luckily Chris Trotman was there to shoot this photo.

From Ridgewood Country Club to Flushing Meadows

I shot some golf this morning & after lunch I did a little shopping at Campmor before heading to Flushing to pick up my US Open credentials.

The light was nice so I walked around & took some snaps.

All of a sudden these fans started screaming. Then I saw Nadal emerge from the practice courts.

As I was leaving the tennis, I felt compelled to take a picture of Shea Stadium before it gets torn down. After all, it was the first place I went to a ball game with my dad.

Round One

Chris called me bright & early before I had to check out of the hotel & head over to Ridgewood. The light was amazing, but I didn't want to get up. I grabbed a camera, moved these pussy willows to a different table, got back in bed & shot.

Since I finished up 3 days of headshots yesterday, today I walked around & shot pretty pictures of Barclays signage in nice light.


I can easily spend the day shooting leaves that have been devoured by bugs. I'm sure the spectators thought I was crazy.

Darren set up a makeshift studio to shoot "In the Bag."

Let the Headshots Begin ...

Besides tennis & golf, the most competitive sport I play, is "The Sport of Getting PGA TOUR Golfers to Pose for a Headshot." Sound easy, doesn't it? Well it's not. If this was an Olympic sport, I'd like to think I'd take the Gold. Over the past few years, I've perfected my technique using a combination of begging & trickery.

Byron Nelson was the Assistant Golf Pro here from 1935-1936. This was his stool & even though it was a little rickety, I used it for the headshots. Who wouldn't want to sit on the same stool Byron sat on only 73 years earlier?

From this spot in October 1935, Byron Nelson answered a caddie's challenge to hit the flagpole using his 3 iron. He accomplished the feat on his second try & pocketed the fifty-five cent prize.

Sunday Setup

I drove to Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, NJ this morning. Today I'm setting up the studio for player headshots. The Barclays always has a good field since it's the first event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

Paramus is one of my favorite places to shop. Some of my favorite stores are all within two miles of my hotel ... Chef Central, Campmor, Ramsey Outdoor, Eastern Mountain Sports, The Container Store & Pearl Paint. Unfortunately, because of the Blue Laws, I will have to wait until Monday to start shopping.

Since the light was beautiful & I finished the studio setup, I wandered around RCC with my G9 & S8000

JAX to JFK to CBC

Today I flew from JAX to JFK. The weather was so beautiful when I landed ... no humidity! We figured it would be nice to go straight to Catalina from the airport.

The "real" Boss (sorry John)

Tonight I went to see Springsteen with Scott & Sue. First we had dinner at Bistro AIX then headed over to the arena. I've seen a lot of great Bruce concerts over the last 30 years (mostly in NY/NJ & a few in FL). The best show I ever saw was Springsteen's longest show ever, a 5-hour epic at the Nassau Coliseum on New Year's Eve in 1980. Another memorable show was when I got to see him at Wembley Stadium during the Wimbledon fortnight in 1988.

This time, I wasn't expecting anything special ... after all, it was in Jacksonville, not even sold-out & Bruce is almost 60. Well, the concert was awesome! He played a great set list for 3 hours straight. There was so much fan interaction & he was as energetic as the first time I saw him, 3 decades ago.

Dan Nevins

Today I shot TOUR staffer Dan Nevins, a truly inspiring, retired Army Staff Sgt., who was badly injured in Iraq. He learned to play golf with the help of the Wounded Warrior Project.

Anna & Deborah sure are rookies! Don't they know not to wear white when there's a blog photo-op?


Anna "flew" in to lend a hand.

Girlz Only Waffles ... No Boyz Allowed!

Evanne, Deborah, Marisa & Jana came over for waffles.

While Marisa was smiling for the camera, Jana's hard-core competitive nature kicked into overdrive! She wanted to win the waffle design competition.

I had to photograph my waffle before the Dove Dark Chocolate drizzle, in case I ruined my design.

Deborah's waffle had some nice symmetry.

Marisa said she was gonna make the planet earth, but I think she changed her mind. I'm not sure what it is, but it's colorful & yummy.

Despite her fierce competitiveness, Jana was disqualified for using an extra waffle in her design. This would have been allowed if she made a dog. Don't worry Jana ... Michelle Wie was DQed this weekend also. Hopefully Jana won't lose the Grandpa's Cup on a technicality ... I plan to whip her fair & square.

Parfaits & Pup Portraits

Anna invited me for breakfast this morning. We had fabulous parfaits & zucchini nut muffins. Everything was delicious.

Later on, we went to my house to have some fun at Hank's expense. He was a little riled up, so it wasn't too easy to shoot fisheye portraits. Hank spent a lot of time licking the front element of the lens.

Bart Forbes

Bart Forbes came to town to apply a coat of protective varnish to his oil paintings that have had a year to cure. All of the paintings were moved outside for proper ventilation.

After he finished applying the varnish to this Fred Couples painting, some guy on a cell phone stepped on it with spikes. I guess cell phones are dangerous even when you're walking!

The artiste & his Tiger Woods masterpiece (based on a photo that Chris shot).

Triathlon

This morning I decided to get up early to go to the Beaches Fine Arts Sprint Triathlon Series at Mickler's Landing in PVB with Scott & Sue. Scott picked me up at 5:45am & Sue ran 9 miles to get there. I figured it would be a good chance for me to test the Nikon D3s.

A pup woke up early to check out the action.

The surf was really rough!

Scott was hard at work.

Some of the guys had some serious bikes.

The marshals weren't very encouraging!

Nice marketing plan! (click on the photo to read the thought bubble)

iPhone 3G ... Yay!

Got my beautiful 16 gig black iPhone 3G this morning. I went to the AT&T store on JAX Beach at 7am. I was #22 in line for the 8am opening. I think they only had 40 phones total, so they ran out pretty quickly.

The Food Fest Continues

We reconvened to finish all of the food that we couldn't possibly eat yesterday ... steak, chicken florentine, corn on the cob, & salad. We also managed to eat 1/4 waffle each with all the toppings including no-sugar-added moose tracks ice cream.

Happy 4th!

Rob sure knows how to design a beautiful waffle! More to come ... a lot more! We had a 13 1/2 hour get-together!

Chris shot the artiste creating his masterpiece.

The girls were busy stuffing themselves while Chris & I were hard at work.


Anna, Beth, Rob & Chris pose for one final breakfast photo. Little did we know ... our celebration had just begun.

After breakfast we walked around the lake to Anna & Tyler's house. She served some beverages with great labels ... Dogfish Head, Shock-Top & Bitter Yuck! Beth didn't particularly care for the Bitter Yuk, but she'll try anything once.

Beth insisted that Shelby's paw pads smell like Fritos.

Hank couldn't believe he never noticed the lake in his backyard.

This reminds me of the picture of Chris fishing his lens out of a bunker. Did he really think Hank & Shelby were gonna come out of the water?

Chris decided if he couldn't get them out of the water, he'd join them. He managed to beat both Shelby & Hank to the ball without spilling a drop of his Bloody Mary. FYI ... swimming freestyle with one arm is faster than the doggie paddle.

Shelby didn't give up ... even though she didn't catch a single duck.

One of the key steps in preparing my signature side dish of snow peas with scallions, sesame oil & black/white sesame seeds, is to soak the snow peas in ice water right after they're blanched to stop the cooking. For some reason the ice stuck to my fingers. It really hurt, but suppose it would have been worse if my tongue was stuck on a pole!

Here is a rare glimpse of me cooking.

For our dinner appetizer I made spicy tuna lettuce wraps with snow peas, sesame oil & brown rice. It got rave reviews, but we were all too full to have the rest of our dinner. Luckily, we came up with a plan "B". Since we hadn't grilled anything yet, we decided to reconvene tomorrow.

Hank volunteered to do the dishes.

While Shelby passed out.

Stay tuned for the continuation of our feast ... tomorrow. Being a social butterfly sure is exhausting!

Stadium Front 9

After work, I played employee golf with JS, Mike & Rob. The format was a four person shamble. Each player had to tee off and the best ball was selected. Then each player dropped their ball at the location of the best drive and played their own ball until it was holed. Everybody on the team had to use their drive at least once. The lowest score among the four members will become the team score.

Mike's hat said "Old Guys Rule" ... I guess it's true since he & JS played much better than Rob & me.

Eating Healthy

After our golf lesson, Anna made a delicious spinach salad with strawberries, mandarin oranges, marinated chicken breast & poppy seed dressing. It was fab!

Waffles & Hank the Pup

Just yesterday, James, icaryn's biggest fan, was asking me what's the obsession with waffles. There's not really an obsession, but in the words of JS, they are "legendary." What's not to like? You get to play with your food (decorate them), they're nice to photograph (makes the meal a tax write-off ... just kidding) & they taste good too (at least the fruit is healthy).

Anna, Chris & Beth came over for some of my famed waffles. Even though Anna is a waffle virgin & Chris/Beth are waffle regulars, they do have something in common (besides golf/photography) ... Chocolate Labs.

After breakfast we walked over to meet Hank ... a 6 month-old pup. Shelby is gonna be very jealous when they get home smelling like Hank.


After Chris & Hank were done making out ...


... Beth & Hank were Dirty Dancing!


Hank could tell that I love dogs.


Anna captures the lovefest.

Lost in the Flood

Amy & I were due to tee off at 9:09am, but it wasn't meant to be. I walked across my bedroom & wet footprints appeared in the carpet. Upon closer examination we heard water flowing in the wall. UGH! We shut the water main, but the damage had already been done.

A plumber arrived within an hour & determined where to cut the drywall. UGH! A glue joint came loose, but he fixed it quickly.

Next, the water damage restoration specialists came. They determined that the carpet was a total loss & started ripping it out. Bummer, since the master carpet is only a year old.

There was a lot of water, but they couldn't remove all of the carpet until the waterbed was drained & disassembled.

They removed the baseboard molding & drilled more holes in the wall. Then they set up 3 dryers (one had hoses piped into the wall) & 2 gigantic dehumidifiers. They're REALLY noisy ... like a jet engine & will probably have to run for a week.

After that a guy came to drain/disassemble my waterbed. Next up is a structural engineer & the insurance adjuster. What a MESS! This wasn't what I planned for my day off.

Melissa Rocks!

Amy came to town for a little golf & good music. She got us 3rd row seats for the Melissa Etheridge concert in the 80-year-old historic Florida Theatre. It's a small venue with awesome acoustics.

Amy wanted me to bring a camera & I refused. Eventually I gave in & agreed to bring the F30. Tons of people had cameras & at one point in the show, Melissa asked the audience to shoot videos so she could check them out on YouTube. She puts on a great show, like a cross between Bruce Springsteen & Janis Joplin.

Surprise Party

Emily, Jessica & Madeline threw a great 30th anniversary party at Lizzie & Peter's house.

Bobby & Patty were completely surprised.

There was a little typo on the custom M&Ms. It should say "Bob" not "Boob"!!!

Jessica, Madeline, Bobby, Emily & Patty pose with a life-size cardboard cutout of B & P (age 15 at the prom). They were apparently shopping for engagement rings about the same time.

Yum! Tuna sashimi with a honey soy drizzle.

Billy was pretty animated describing Lizzie's close call (almost spilling the beans on the surprise party) with her Blackberry message below. We all had a good laugh.


Mom & Hank


Jessica put together a DVD of their life in pictures. Very entertaining ... there were some great ones.

Employee Golf Results

Question: What do 3 birdies, 2 bogeys & 4 pars get you when you have a pathetic handicap?
Answer: 1st Place Low Net (with a net score of 18.38) & gift certificates for $7.50 each. Woohoo!

I think JR should have one of those giant winner's check made so we can shoot a team photo for my blog.

Employee Golf

Well I bit the bullet & gave in. I haven't played employee golf since the pink ball incident (July 19, 2006). I couldn't possibly turn down the opportunity to play with JR, Rob & Chris on the back 9 of Dye's Valley Course. Tonight's format was a four person scramble. Each team had to use at least one drive from each player.

Rob & camera-shy JR were ready to go.

We just had to wait for Chris & Gavin to finish their staring contest. I think Chris blinked first.

Rob worked on balancing 2 golf balls ...

... while I was busy shooting details.

I had the best drive on our second hole. I was glad to get that out of the way.

We had 3 birdies, 2 bogeys, & parred 4 holes. Pretty good.

Nice clouds.

Our team had a waffle celebration after our round. Here's Rob's tic-tac-toe waffle masterpiece. JS cracked up when I accidentally referred to it as Wob's Raffle.

Breakfast ... oops, I mean dinner of champions.

Corn Nut Fairy

I had a salt craving & went to John's office to see if he wanted some Corn Nuts. He was at a meeting. I was gonna leave just one Corn Nut on his desk, but decided to amuse myself & do something a little more blog-worthy. I went to his office about an hour later & he was smirking, just about to eat his last Corn Nut.

The Long Drive Home

While driving south earlier this week, I saw this scorched area of I-95 that I wanted to photograph. Since the light was better on the northbound side of the highway, I figured I'd be able to shoot some pix on the way home. From a distance, many areas actually looked like fall foliage. This is a result of last month's wildfires, that caused the closure of I-95. I could've spent the whole day shooting details of the devastation & new growth. Every step I took sent up a cloud of ash.

The Big Day ... Finally!

Today was the closing on my house in South Florida. Yippee! It's been on the market for 14 months. I had to put on a new roof & lower the price substantially. UGH! I'm just relieved this is finally behind me. It's been tough having two houses for 16 months. John won't be able to call me the "land baron" anymore. These are from some fortune cookies I opened last night ...

Here's the brand new roof that's been under construction for the past two months. The actual installation was about 3 weeks, but it was a long process between permitting, tearing off the old roof & numerous inspections.

I was both surprised & appalled to get a notice last week that a lien was being put on my house because there was some red tape (no pun intended) on my garage coach light. I couldn't believe they wasted two sheets of paper, an envelope & a stamp. I think it would have been easier for the neighbor to remove the tape, rather than report me to the homeowners association. It was a remnant of the new roof installation. Mary went to the house to take a picture of it, since I had no idea what they were talking about. I brought the piece of "DANGER/PELIGRO" tape as well as before & after photos to the closing, in case they said I couldn't close.

I shot a "goodbye house" self-portrait in the master bathroom.

After the closing, I went to Sawgrass Mills & Ikea.

Then I went to Brio Tuscan Grille for dinner with Bobby, Patty, Jessica & Madeline. It's in a new area called The Shops at Pembroke Gardens, which looks just like St. John's Town Center in Jacksonville. The Bruschetta Caprese was delicious.

Memorial Day

Sherry & John came over for breakfast ... Belgian waffles, of course. Yum!

After lunch, Scott came over with his dad's Kodak Bantam. It's a beautiful little camera. There's a roll of film in it that's been in there over 50 years. I convinced him that he needed to have some waffles for dessert since I still had some batter & plenty of fresh fruit & whipped cream.

After that I went over to TPC Sawgrass to test some Nikon gear. It was a beautiful afternoon & the light was just starting to get nice. So far I'm pretty impressed with the D3. It's just gonna take some time to get used to it. All of the controls are the opposite of Canon & in different places, but it's got some pretty cool features.

I shot this with the Nikon D3 & the AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED. This is a GREAT range for shooting golf.

I bumped into Rob after he finished nine holes on the Valley. He posed on the practice green & hit some bunker shots for me.

I shot this with the 14mm. I'm sure a lot of people were wondering why I was laying on the ground with my head smooshed against the grass. I was trying to keep my shadow out of the frame. I can't tell ... does the horizon look a little crooked???

Fredrik, Jana & the Donut Lover

Mike is at it again. Thanks for the quotes, Laury!

When Stan went to shoot Sergio in the Champions locker room, he noticed somebody put this Krispy Kreme hat on top of Phil's locker. We thought that locker should belong to JR.

Dancin' in the Street Festival

Dial-9 was playing in Neptune Beach, so Tina & I went to check it out.

Lesson 1 - Proper Golf Attire is Key

When Tina forgot to bring her golf clothes, she knew she'd have to pose for a blog photo! Coop pushed her out from behind her golf bag so I could see her skirt & heels.

T.G.I.S. (Sunday)

Paul Goydos' name was stenciled on the trophy ... but Sergio's name got engraved after winning in an exciting playoff.

While Stan & I were hard at work ... Tina got in trouble for straddling the railing on the upper balcony.



I had Sergio move into position, so Donald could get this trophy shot.

After uploading, we went to Outback for a late-night dinner. Tina had a priceless expression on her face when she was carded for ordering a beer. The waiter also thought she looks like she's twelve.

Height Envy

We needed a ladder, but Nelson was nowhere in sight. Once it was in place, we found out it needed to be moved.
Chris breaks the news to Donald that the ladder is in NBC's jib shot.

It takes at least two people to move the heaviest 12-foot, three-legged ladder on the planet. I'm pretty sure Tina could easily move it (inside joke).

I put a remote camera 200 feet up on the NBC crane.

If you look closely, you can see my camera clamped on the edge.

Here's 17 in infrared.

Windy Friday

The wind was crazy today. I saw that the flags on the practice green were really blowing, so I spent about 10 minutes over there shooting various flags with the clubhouse in the background. While I was shooting, my cell phone vibrated. It was Mary. She said, "I'd like to report an unauthorized photographer on the practice green." I started cracking up & looked around. She was pretty far away on the deck of a hospitality tent. I don't know how she saw me.

Mowing, Cutting & Stimping

It was another early morning. We were on site well before sunrise to capture the grounds crew hard at work.

The hole gets cut on #11.

Fred uses a Stimpmeter to measure the speed of the green.

Cue Card Please!

The famous phrase that usually sets Nelson into action, "ladder please," was modified today on a PSA shoot with KJ Choi.

KJ watches the take.

I thought there was a typo!

Tuesday at Dawn

Dawn/sunrise is such a beautiful time of day. Unfortunately, I rarely get to see it. Here's a reflection at 17.


Tina seems to be working when she's around Mary.

But then, I'm hard at work & Tina is "walking like an Egyptian." Why am I carrying all of the gear?!? What's up with that?

Chad paints the crosswalk on 16.

Chad's footprints.

A Great Blue Heron lurks near 17.

Let the Madness Begin

It's Cinco de Mayo, so John took Mary to Urban Flats for her birthday lunch.

Here are the crazy spreadsheets of everything we need to shoot at THE PLAYERS (except competition). This is what they looked like after being in my pocket for a week.

The Media Party was held tonight in the Stadium Village. John stayed on top of the leaderboard for closest to the pin (1'8") on the UBS 17th Hole Challenge.

The Calm Before the Storm

Mary drove up to PVB yesterday for THE PLAYERS Championship that begins tomorrow. We had a busy, yet calm day, that seemed to completely revolve around food. It started early ... 7am waffle breakfast with John & Sherry. Mary brought her waffle maker so we could make two at a time. I can't believe I didn't take any blog photos.
Then we met Chris & Beth at World Grill for lunch.

I had the Pulled BBQ Pork Tower with roasted corn pancakes ... yum!


After lunch we went to drop Mary's gear off in the media center then on to the beach for a long walk (I met a lot of dogs). We worked up an appetite so we stopped at Down South BBQ on the way home. We got home at 7pm & I had the brilliant idea to have Mary look at the pressure cleaner to see why it wasn't building pressure. Mary worked her magic so for the next hour & a half, I cleaned the front path, patio & only one-third of the driveway. I had to stop since it was getting dark.

2nd Annual Dogs & Donuts

I met two Wheatens & a bunch of other dogs at the annual get-together in Marsh Landing.

Heading Home

This license plate was on a car in the clubhouse lot.

On the drive back home, I saw this truck & had to hang back to get a photo of the message written in the dirt on the lower left corner.

I passed a billboard for a Georgia rest area that was touting free wi-fi. Since I needed an internet fix, I had to stop to check it out.

I shot this ladybug on the trunk of my car. It was still there when I got home.

I was intrigued by the texture in the tree bark, as well as the free wi-fi.

Savannah Sunset

Tonight was my last night for dinner at Saigon. There was a beautiful sunset during my walk back to the ferry.

Watching the container ships navigate the Savannah River is an impressive sight. They are so massive. This one is from Singapore & it doesn't look like it's gonna clear the bridge (it did).

LMLoG ... Day 2

There was a beautiful sunrise while I walked from the hotel to the clubhouse.

LMLoG ... Day 1

After shooting headshots today, the sky was so nice that I had to go out & shoot some flags.

I took the ferry across the river, from the Westin to downtown Savannah, for dinner at Saigon.

Surf Fishing at Dawn

John & I met at the office at 6:15am to go surf fishing at the Cabana Club. I was hoping we'd catch a shark, since I always get jealous every time John shows me pix of the sharks he catches. I LOVE sharks!

John whips out his Fuji F30 to shoot the sunrise.


John uses the finest fresh Mayport shrimp for bait. The fish have no idea they're $12.99/pound. I learned all kinds of new words today ...
like "snood" (rhymes with hood).

I think he was referring to the second definition.

First we caught a catfish, but we threw it back.

It was a beautiful morning ... great weather & awesome light.


Mike & John discuss the tide. There were plenty of pups frolicking on the beach.

John gave me a great blog quote when he said, "Caryn, would you mind going over there & cutting the head off that bluefish?" (Sorry Evanne!) Of course it was followed by a smirk. I decided not to post the gory pictures even though there were some good ones. (Sorry again Evanne!)

John gives his bait one last pep talk.

The final cast.

After fishing, I went home, loaded my rental car & headed to Savannah for Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf. This is the view from my room at the beautiful Westin Savannah Harbor Resort & Spa.

The bottlebrush flowers were in full bloom.

Snow

Last night I found this bottle of "Snow" at Target. I couldn't resist getting it for John. I photographed it on my kitchen table, right before I went to work.

Captain & Tennille (Tina-eel)

Captain & Tina came over after work. Captain went bonkers for my waffles! He ate a whole one & I think he would have eaten ten more, if we let him.

Men's Final

This is the photographers entrance to the stadium. Those Miami photogs sure are scantily clad! I wonder where they keep their CF cards?

The US Coast Guard made a pre-match flyover.

I never get tired of shooting Rafael Nadal. He always makes great pictures.

In the end, Nikolay Davydenko crushed Nadal 6-4, 6-2. I was crushed too, since I was looking forward to shooting some Rafa pumps.

On the way to tennis today, Mary mentioned that she wanted to stop & shoot a map on the Key, before it's gone. I had no idea what she was talking about, but here it is.

It was beautiful! If I had a ladder, I would have wanted to spend the whole day there.

The Streak is Still Alive!

Since I'm one of three photographers who has covered all 23 years that this tournament has been in existence, I decided I would try to keep the streak going until I reach 25 years. I've seen it go thru four name changes (Lipton, Ericsson, Nasdaq-100 & now Sony Ericsson) & three venue changes (Delray Beach, Boca Raton & for the last 20 years, its permanent home on Key Biscayne).

Serena dominated the first set & a half. She was up three-love in the second set, when she began to unravel.

Shooting from the top of the stadium is way more enjoyable than being in jam-packed photo pit. At least there was a slight breeze, but it was still really, really, really hot!

Jelena displayed her gymnastics prowess with splits on more than one occasion.

After taking the second set by winning 7 of the next 9 games, Jelena couldn't believe Serena was making a comeback.

After smashing & throwing her racquet after she failed to convert many match points, Serena finally pulled out the win (6-1, 5-7, 6-3).

The trophy ceremony started out normal, but within seconds, some crazy South Florida weather moved in & the visibility was compromised.

I was surprised they made such a mess when the Men's Doubles final was up next.

Mmmmm ... Starbucks. This should be a staple at all sporting events.

Sunday Brunch at the Becker's

I played with the super macro setting on my Fuji S8000fd.

There were a lot of kids on the backyard trampoline.

I finally got to meet Teddy. He didn't seem to mind that I put him on the table to take his picture.

Sandra's Bat Mitzvah

Nowadays Bar & Bat Mitzvahs have a theme. Sandra's was "shopping." The place cards were credit cards with the name of the tables. I wish I was at Starbucks, but I was at Fendi.

All of Sandra's friends were anxiously awaiting her arrival in their socks.

Wendy, Andy, Ashley & Molly cheer Sandra's dramatic arrival. Where's Valerie?

Sandra was the center of attention.

Molly's hair was like a piece of art. I could have photographed it all night.

Molly & Ashley ... Gaby & Molly

Andrea, Jamie, Emily & Lindsay were trying to avoid the facilitators.

The proud grandparents.

David, Rachel & Jason model pimp hats on the dance floor.

My mom & Hank share a slow dance. Then Lisa & Herbert speed things up.

The kids tables had elaborate "shopping themed" centerpieces.

The food was fab & beautifully presented.

PGA TOUR staff featured on What the Duck

Yesterday's What the Duck comic strip was a perfect depiction of JR, Chris & me. Notice JR's glasses & Chris' sunglasses. I sent this around the office & got some replies.