PGA TOUR Official Annual 2010

Today I got to see the new annual that ran a profile on me ...

... Chris & Stan

Chick-fil-A Insanity

Tomorrow at 6am is the grand opening of a new Chick-fil-A in PVB. There were over 200 people there 48 hours in advance. The first hundred people in line get a one-year supply of free Chick-fil-A Meals. Apparently this is a normal thing where people pitch tents, camp out & turn the parking lot & into an all-night tailgate party. There's a DJ, dancing, lots of games & wifi. They feed the people in line & let them use the bathroom. It was quite a scene!

House & Hank

I LOVE the TV show House.

Tonight's episode was about a football player with a heart condition. They compared his symptoms & case to Hank Gathers. I shot Hank for Sports Illustrated in 1989, a few months before he dropped dead on court during a game. It was weird to think that he could have just as easily died while I had him jumping on a trampoline in the studio.

Last Day of Camping

It was like being on a mini road trip. There were pix everywhere!



I could shoot this wall all day long. Love it!

Mary & Rosie after a morning hike.

Rosie & me ... way down upon the Suwannee River.

Handsome, ugly & beautiful.

Another great wall!

Primitive weigh station.

FL to GA to FL

Today didn't start off too well. We left PVB & drove to Crooked River State Park in St Mary's, Georgia, to rent a cabin for the weekend. After an encounter with a useless volunteer, we had enough of Georgia & headed back to Florida.

Luckily Mary found a spot to rent a cabin that was only 90 minutes from JAX ... Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. An interesting park with a lot to do, but first we wanted to learn a little about Stephen Foster. Known as the "father of American music," he was the pre-eminent songwriter of the 19th century. He wrote hundreds of famous songs from Way Down Upon the Suwannee River to Camptown Races, Oh! Suzanna & My Old Kentucky Home. He died in 1864 (13 years before sound recording was invented) at 37 years old with 38 cents in his pocket.

We rented a great cabin with a huge wrap around screened deck.

Corrugated steel with rust, paint & nice light.

Two of my favorite things ... rust ...

... and peeling paint.

It looks like JS was here with some graffiti paint.

Lots of turkey vultures!

Nice shadow!

Mmmmm ... s'mores!

Pizza Party!

Yum! Gourmet pizza party at Anna & Tyler's place.

Ty made the fresh pizza dough. The toppings included caramelized organic Georgia sweet onions, oven roasted red peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, Dutch butter browned baby portobello mushrooms, slow roasted organic elephant garlic, buffalo mozzarella, havarti, French gruyere, a blend of parmesan, asiago, mozzarella and fontina, garlic infused olive oil, white truffle oil & Dei Frattelli pizza sauce.

Mary & Rosie try to toss their dough without being distracted by Anna.

Anna & Tyler made a fabulous salad ... organic arugula topped with chipotle dusted fried artichoke hearts & shaved curls of Parmigiano-Reggiano in a homemade Dijon country French vinegrette.

Matt & Ilona knead their dough.

My pizza in the oven.

The pizzas were all different, but delicious.

Me, Mary & Rosie.

After dinner we took Hank over to Luke's house for a romp. Anna always tortures Matt when he falls asleep. Sometimes Hank helps her out.

Four-Legged Friends

Since Rosie was out of town for the day, it was a perfect opportunity to take Mary to meet the pups.

Laddie meets Stella ...

... then had a little fun chasing her on the beach.

Rosie after a dip ...

... & frolicking in the surf.

Later on, the other Rosie got back to PVB in time to catch some football. Touchdown!

Yoga Day USA

Rosie's in town for a while for my second installment of organizing & redecorating. This time we're concentrating on my two home offices upstairs. It's so overwhelming that I only go up there when necessary, but Rosie is determined to change that. After a day & a half of intensive work, we took a much needed break.

Today is Yoga Day USA ... an annual celebration where yogis, novices, couch potatoes and triathletes, young, old and everyone in between join together to stretch mind, body and spirit through the practice of yoga. Mary drove up for the weekend, so we went to two free yoga classes in Jax Beach ... Aromatherapy yoga & Kripalu yoga.

After that we took a ride to Mayport & had lunch at Singleton's ...

... then on to Big and Little Talbot Island State Park before a quick pre-shopping snack. It's crazy, but Rosie's never been to Krispy Kreme.

I think she's mesmerized by the glaze waterfall.

Wheaten Weekend!

Laura went skiing in Taos for the holiday weekend so I was thrilled to dogsit for the parents of my future puppy. Rosie (L) jumps & licks a LOT, while Laddie is very mellow & loving. Both are so sweet!

Me & my adorable house guests.

Rosie & Laddie loved Anna. They took turns sitting on her lap for the entire episode of Desperate Housewives.

Laddie & I have some similar mannerisms.

Rob made some new friends ...

... put them in a trance ...

... then got lots of kisses!

Both pups liked the view, but it was very windy & Rosie kept barking at a squeaky dog/fire hydrant whirlygig in my backyard.

Rob liked playing with flashes in our makeshift studio.

After the shoot, he assembled this ringflash composite.

Awwwww!

There was a lot of licking going on.

We were all tuckered out by the end of the holiday weekend.

Rosie & Laddie were VERY sad when I took them home. I was sad too!

New Year's Eve 2009

Matt & Ilona hosted a GREAT New Year's Eve party.

The 3 Amigos ... guess which one is sober!

Me, mom & Hank.

Ilona, Anna & mom.

Hank & mom.

Angel was quite the crooner with Ilona's new karaoke machine. He even translated Frank Sinatra into Spanish with his awesome voice.

A Day the Zoo

Today I went to the Jacksonville Zoo with mom, Hank & Adam.

This jaguar wasn't impressed with my picture-taking.

I'm sensing a theme here ... I promise this is the last tongue photo ... well sort of!

Hank, Adam & mom on the bridge.

The lorikeets were my favorite! Such awesome colors!

At one point Adam had 2 lorikeets on his shoulders, pecking at his head.

No fake pink flamingos here.

This ape just sat there & stared at us. It was kinda creepy.

Mom, Adam & me pose for Hank

Before we went to the zoo, I shot the Dennis family portrait.

All I can figure is that Anna saw his tie & thought she was kissing Tyler!

At least Hank got dressed up for the occasion. Isn't he handsome?

Gigantic Umbrellas

Scott came by today to show me his new Parabolic Light Modification system. These umbrellas are HUGE! The massive 86" PLM practically dwarfs the 64" version.

Engagement Waffles

Today we had a waffle party to celebrate Amber & Travis' engagement.

Amber made a diamond ring ...

I made a heart, Rob made 3D engagement rings, Jana made wedding bells & Sarah made a wedding cake.

I got up early to bake chocolate chip scones & Ghirardelli dark chocolate brownies.

Rob shoots some lensbaby pix while JR gives Sarah the house tour.

The happy couple!

JR made some awesome French fries!

He loves McDonald's French fries ...

... especially when he gets to eat them.

ɹoʇɐɹƎʞuıSuI

After a waffle party with camera-shy guests, I decided to attempt to replace my broken garbage disposal. Rob came to the rescue when I had some problems. First we had some fun taking pix.

At one point he asked me if I was okay with the word "InSinkErator" being upside down. Exasperated, I said, "Are you kidding!?!" He thought I meant, "are you kidding," as in, "of course not," but I really meant I could never ever live with that! Without hesitation, he ripped it out & started over. Whew!

Mallards in the backyard at sunset.

Separated at Birth?

Scott & Andre ... separated at birth?

Afternoon waffles with Chris, Beth & Scott.

Top Ten Favorites of 2009

Chris, Stan & I compiled our favorite pix from 2009 & explained the story behind them. Use the links below to see our Top Ten.
my favorites
Chris' favorites
Stan's favorites

Today's Duck is Me!

Franny Foto Shoot

Franny was not the least bit amused by her new postal worker outfit, compliments of Rosie's mom.

Franny goes postal.

Elf Rosie was happy she finally stuffed Franny into a stocking.

Santa Franny in her stocking.

Thanksgiving

I spent the holiday in South Florida with friends & family before heading to Q-School. We had an intimate dinner for 42 at Bobby & Patty's!

Billy carves one of two turkeys.

A Thanksgiving first ... H1N1 vaccines! Bobby made sure I didn't move while I got mine.

Mirror Duck

The pond in my backyard was very still when these mallards swam by. The heavy overcast made it look like a mirror.

Nice Light ... Literally!

Surf Fishing at Dawn

We got to the beach about 45 minutes before sunrise.

It was quite chilly & the surf was cold, but we waded in anyway.

Nice hook!

A woman walking her dog on the beach approached me & said, "I just have to ask what the duck is for" ... like it wasn't obvious!?!

When John saw the Duck was there to shoot sunrise, he got out his trusty F30. He wasn't about to be upstaged by a Duck!

Then he shot me shooting the Duck.

The sun started peeking out over the low clouds on the horizon just after 7am.

Awesome sunrise!

Portuguese Man-of-War (without tentacles) were washed up on the beach.

A lot of pelicans were out looking for fish this morning. There were 24 in this group.

We caught 7 fish this morning ... whiting & bluefish ... no sharks today.

I shot a quick snap of this flower on the way out of the Cabana Club.

Picture Hanging Weekend

Sandy & Larry came for a weekend visit on their way to S FL. When Rosie was here last month, she suggested I hang a wall of my covers on the staircase. I had all of the AlphaLams made last week when I was in Orlando.

Larry & I did some serious trigonometry to hang 45 magazine covers on one wall ... all tennis pix. It looks pretty uniform, but it wasn't easy since the covers were actually 4 or 5 different sizes.

We hung 9 covers on the opposite wall on the staircase landing. These were football, basketball & golf. I think I need to dig up some more non-tennis covers!

It took 5 hours to hang the 54 covers on the stairs. We hung a total of 61 pictures in 2 days while Sandy supervised.

In the Florida room, we put 5 autographed pix next to the traffic light (Jensen brothers, John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Martina Navratilova & Andre Agassi) ...

... & 2 autographed pix under the glass block window next to the treadmill (Martina Navratilova & Chris Evert).

Halloween

Rosie shows off her handiwork ... she hung 15 old wooden tennis racquets that I've been collecting, as a border on 3 walls in my Florida room. It definitely looks better than their former location ... on the top shelf of a closet for over 10 years. My favorites are the ones with little portraits of the players.

Then Rosie, Rob & I went to Shakti Life Kitchen for lunch. It's an organic, vegan, live & gluten free restaurant in Atlantic Beach.

Rosie had a "cheeseburger" ...

Rob & I had a Buckwheat Bean Burrito ... sprouted buckwheat beans, sunflower seed cream cheese, fresh greens, tomato, & sweet onion rolled in a fiesta spinach pepper wrap. It was pretty good, but eating this healthy is expensive.

We ran some errands on the way home, then went to pick up Mary at the airport. On the way back we stopped at Taco Lu & had lunch #2 (which ultimately ended up being dinner since we were too full to eat later).

Rosie helped Rob paint the hard-to-reach areas ...

... from the back of his head to inside his ear.

Mary whittled a support for the new VW bus metal sculpture, out of scrap wood she found in the garage.

Ilona was truly scared & creeped out by Rob.

Much to Anna's surprise, Rob decided to get completely into character.

We celebrated Rosie's birthday a day early since she & Mary are leaving at 5:30am tomorrow.

Power Shopping

First stop today was the Humane Society to donate a ton of stuff from my big house cleanup.

We spent the rest of the day power shopping. It was pretty intense. There was no time to browse ... we just went in & out of every store with a purpose. Sam's Club, Costco, West Elm, Ballard Design, Target, World Market, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Home Goods, BJs, Home Depot, Lowes & a bunch of rug stores. I'm sure there were plenty of other stores we went to that I just can't remember.

While we were in Town Center, we had lunch at the Healthy Way Cafe. Rosie had a fab veggie quesadilla.

Pre Halloween & Pups

Even though I'm on vacation this week, I went to the office because we were having trick or treaters.

Spidermen twins

Rosie did an awesome job posing all of the kids.

My favorite was the scuba diver ... very original!

How cute is this?!?

Then it was time to shoot my officemates ... Mike was Uncle Sam ...

Evanne was a witch ... Jana was a goddess, though I really wish I could have seen her "non work appropriate" costume!

What can I say about Rob? For one thing, he takes Halloween VERY seriously! He shaved his head & had to get up at 5:30am to put on his makeup. His Darth Maul costume was incredible!

He molded his horns from scratch & got creepy contacts.


Rob designed our department's halloween card & turned Evanne green.

I wanted Rosie to meet Rosie.

Doggie Rosie REALLY liked human Rosie.

Rosie & Laddie were VERY happy to see me!

Day 5 with Rosie

My friend Rosie came to spend a week with me last Fri night. Her visit had a purpose ... teach yoga, make me exercise, get me to eat healthier & organize my house/life. Wow, what a whirlwind! We were so busy, I didn't have time to take a single blog photo for the first 4 days.

When Rosie & I went to my favorite Vietnamese restaurant PK Noodles, I noticed there was a BAD ASS DENTIST in the same plaza.

While discussing our game plan for the upcoming days, Rosie mistook the bar stools for a lounge chair.

Homeward Bound

I finished up the headshots at the club from 6 to 9am. After that, while I was getting ready to check out of the hotel ...

... Anna called & asked me to meet her for lunch before heading back to PVB.



I love the logo, font & colors.

There's a bird's nest in the "R"!

On the drive home, I passed a caravan of some cool classic cars from 1956 & 1957. They stopped at the same truck stop as me to fill up the tank, so I snapped some details.

More Working, Playing & Eating!

The light was beautiful so Stan & I went out to take some flag/banner pix before leaving the course.



I found this hat so I used it as a prop.

On Mary's recommendation, Stan & I went to the Boulevard Diner in Mount Pleasant.

Fried Green Toes ... wait, what?!?

I had delicious cashew crusted chicken.

Stan likes ketchup on everything so I decorated his chicken pot pie.

Then I took it one step further & really personalized it.

Stan & I shared some awesome chocolate cake for dessert.

Work All Day ... Jestine's Kitchen for Dinner

This is a stark white wall at the clubhouse in awesome warm early morning light.

Dew on a flower.

When Mary heard I was in Charleston, she told me I had to go to Jestine's Kitchen for some good southern home cookin'. I knew I was in for a treat when I saw the line was out the door & around the buiding.

I got in line & amused myself taking pix, while I waited for Stan to arrive from the airport. These decals are on the front window.

Stan with fried green tomatoes.

Me & some corn fritters.

Pickles, cornbread, & yes that's butter floating in a dish of honey! If you're gonna have an artery clogging meal, why not go all out?!?

Pecan crusted chicken, mac & cheese, & green beans.

This used to be homemade devil's food cake.

Monday at the Daniel Island Club

Nice morning shadows.

How cute is this?!? He's 2-years-old & practicing to be like daddy.

That's a LOT of tuna! Yummy!

Road Trip Charleston, SC

I drove right past Bad Antiques on the way to Daniel Island for the Nationwide Tour Championship. I made a quick u-turn to take a few snaps.

The Long Journey Home ... SFO to DFW & eventually JAX

I went to SFO 5 hours early to standby for 2 earlier flights to DFW. They were forecasting the worst storm in 47 years in San Francisco. Not only did I not get on standby, they had to kick 40 confirmed passengers off 2 flights because of the weight & wind shear. I was able to hang out in the Admirals Club so it wasn't so bad. I knew I'd miss the last flight out of Dallas & I'd be spending the night.


I had 2 yummy appetizers for dinner at Jacob's Spring Grill in the Hyatt at DFW. The pecan crusted chicken wraps with sweet chili Asian slaw & soy dip and the sesame seared tuna with daikon slaw & peanut sauce were both delicious & photogenic.

Nice light fixtures in the restaurant.

I finally arrived home a mere 30 hours after I left my hotel in SFO. UGH!

Last Day in San Francisco

I went to visit my old friend David at his studio, just north of SF. We haven't seen each other since high school. It turns out that our lives followed a similar path. We were both architecture majors for the first two years of college before transitioning into photography. Check out his Library of Dust images ... they're amazing! It was great to catch up.

I tried moving & shaking my camera during some long exposures at the Golden Gate Bridge. I liked this frame the best.

Me & the Duck



Deborah tries to teach the Duck how to fly.

Deborah & Jeff

I had Korean BBQ for dinner. Yum!

The Presidents Cup Final Round

Two women from Code Pink were arrested at the matches for protesting against the war in Afghanistan.

Me, the Duck & our pimped-out ride!

The Duck got the hang of driving the golf cart, fairly quickly.

Me & the US Team

The Duck poses in the cup ...

... & Chris goes all paparazzo on him. I don't think he minded all of the attention.

I asked MJ to pose with the Duck. He said, "that doesn't look like a Duck ... it looks like something else, with lips," so I had to settle for a picture with me.

MJ & Chris

Final score USA 19.5 - International 14.5

*sniff sniff sniff * ... something is BURNING!

We had quite the excitement in our cabin this afternoon. First the lights started flashing, then Jeff, Deborah & I smelled something burning. It was coming from a power strip that was charging the Getty radios. The electricians turned our power off until they could find the problem. Wiring in conduit in the ceiling had melted & fused together.

We were without power & internet from 3-8pm. UGH! At least we didn't burn down our cabin! I had to hang the power strip outside ... because it stunk ... and I needed a blog photo.

Stan shot a nice pic of Putter in the International Team cabin.

Putter ... My Baby Kangaroo Friend

Me & my new friend Putter, a 9-month-old baby kangaroo who is on site promoting the 2011 Presidents Cup in Australia. She's very sweet, very soft & licks like a puppy.


Nice tee marker.


Micheal Jordan watches the US team.

Scott shoots the entrance to Harding park ...

... then shoots me in my cart.

I asked Matt if the baby kangaroos could visit with the players. Of course he delivered! Chris shot this nice pic of Putter in the US Team in their cabin. She is so adorable!

Opening Ceremony

Anna had no problem recruiting some Marines so we could test the lights.

Tyler & Anna with the Cup ... before they walked down the aisle ... again.

Don & Anna were great assistants.

President Obama spoke via video.

Former President George HW Bush shook his cane.

Ladder please!

Me & the US wives

After the ceremony, it was time to shoot the formal team pictures. It looks like President Bush is hitting on Anna! (click to enlarge)

Ernie & Vijay

Presidential Practice

After Michael Jordan put President Clinton in a headlock, I said, "I thought you were supposed to protect him!" to his Secret Service Agent.

President Clinton shares a laugh with MJ & Fred Couples.


Chris & Stan shoot the teams with their bags so banners could be produced immediately for the main entrance & boathouse.

Chris needed a bolt cutter to get into his locker.

The banners & graphics around the course look great.

I call this image, "Number 18"!

The video boards look awesome as the sun goes down.

Portraits/Headshots at The Fairmont

I spent today at The Fairmont shooting on an NBC set from 8am to 8pm. I shot all the players/Captains from both the USA & International teams.

We needed pix of them in team apparel both with & without the trophy.

Walkthru at Harding Park

Here are some scraps of the gold shag carpeting that adorns our cabin. The only things missing were a lava light & waterbed.

It was obvious that someone tried to color correct our fluorescent lights.

Presidents Cup Bound

The Duck enjoyed the view from his window seat on his first transcontinental flight ... JAX-DFW-SFO.

When I checked into the Hampton Inn Daly City, I was told I was the "Guest of the Day"! I asked if they said that to everyone but they pointed to the sign below & said no. I got a little gift bag of snacks & fruit. AWESOME location ... 3 miles from the course & I passed a Starbucks on the way. It doesn't get any better than that!

mmmmm ... sourdough!

FLL-JAX

Lunch with the Girls

Mary, Rosie & I went to Seasons 52 for lunch. It was yummy!

I had the Ahi Tuna with Asian cucumber salad and sesame crisps.

Frannie liked hanging out with me ...

... but she wasn't too fond of the duck.

The Beauty of Sport Opening

Since I got to the airport early, I walked to the end of the concourse to check out the freakishly large woman walking by the window.

I love the bathroom pictograms in Concourse C.

Tonight was the opening of Mary's show, The Beauty of Sport. It runs thru Oct 31, so please check it out if you're in S FL (see website for details).

The gallery at the Sunrise Civic Center is an awesome space.

There was a great turnout!

Elsa & Mary

Mary & Rosie

Dennis, from Specialty Art Services, made the trip with his wife. He did all of the framing for the show & it looked fab!

Jimmyboy liked what he saw.

Mary's colleague, the Duck, came to check out her awesome pix.

Jimmyboy, Mary, Rosie, me & the Duck.

I let Rhona play with the Duck for awhile.

She shot a great fisheye picture of the Duck ... love the shadows!

Labor Day at the US Open

I promised the Duck I'd take him to the Unisphere & today was our last day in New York.

Everybody smiles when he's out in public.

Melanie Oudin made some great photos during her upset of Nadia Petrova.

Day 7 at the US Open

Today I put the Duck to work. He shot the Serena match upstairs with me.

Serena always makes great pix from up there.


From the dugout, you can get a great Rafa serve photo down court ...

... or a pre-serve ritual butt picking at the close baseline. I definitely wasn't the only one shooting this! The motordrives were whirring before every serve.

The Duck was right at home perched on my 500 in the photo pit.


The Venus vs Clisters match should have been in beautiful light, but when the heavy clouds rolled in, it got so dark they had to turn on the stadium lights.

It was one of the strangest matches I've ever seen. Clijsters won 6-0, 0-6, 6-4.

Frame 16 of a 20 frame sequence of Venus successfully chasing down Kim's lob.

Day 6 at the US Open

Roger lost the first set ...

... but ran Lleyton around for the next 3 sets.

A rare glimpse of emotion after making a comeback.

Roger's left shoe has his "RF" logo & his right shoe shows his 5 US Open trophies. Will he need a new right shoe at the end of next week?

Maria's serve looks great from upstairs ...

... and the dugout.


Seventeen-year-old American Melanie Oudin scored a major upset, beating Maria Sharapova 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the third round.


It wasn't until I was editing after the match, that I saw the word "BELIEVE" on Melanie's shoe.

Andy lost the first two sets, but evened it out by winning the next two.

The day session ended at 9:30 tonight with 6'9" American John Isner upsetting Andy Roddick 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6 in three hours and 51 minutes.

Day 5 at the US Open

Serena made some great pix from the dugout.


I've never seen her stick her tongue out like this. Waddaya mean you didn't notice her tongue?!?

I love shooting Gael Monfils.

Venus won her third round match in straight sets.


Rafa had a makeover since last year's US Open ... shorter hair, shorter shorts & short sleeves.

Day (& Night) One at The US Open

This is my 25th year shooting the US Open, but it's the Duck's first.

Roger had an easy first round match.

Anna & Tyler got to see some great matches. After lunch I gave them a mini-tour of some good vantage points at Armstrong & the Grandstand.

Serena won in straight sets.

The photogs are having a great time on the blue carpet right before the opening ceremonies begin ...

... until someone told them they had to kneel! They don't look happy anymore! Who could blame them? I wouldn't have been able to see over the net!

Doug Flutie, David Robinson & Mia Hamm join Andre Agassi in being honored for the work they do to raise money for their respective foundations. It was great to see Andre back in NY.

The O'Jays entertained the crowd then Matchbox Twenty singer Rob Thomas performed "America the Beautiful."

Fireworks (aka the usual "giant sparklers"). It's time for a new, more exciting fireworks show.

Andre eloquently spoke about how he's grown ... his journey from a rebel kid to the incredible man he's become, how the Agassi Academy is impacting his life & those of the students attending ... while Serena talks about the Serena Williams Signature Statement line of jewelery available on the Home Shopping Network. In all fairness, Serena was asked about her jewelry collection.

Venus got injured in the first set, but managed to pull it out in three.

I can't believe Miss Universe had to wear her sash out in public ... how embarrassing! Here she is posing with Doug Flutie.

Beautiful NY Beach Day

It was a gorgeous day at Catalina ... supposedly the best beach day of the year.

Mostly everybody knows I love to shoot rust, peeling paint & old decrepit stuff. There are very few of the original concrete lattice walls remaining in Ocean View. Most have been replaced with wood replicas. I explained the importance of documenting this part of history to my protégé, the Duck.

I've never seen the pool so crowded.

I broke out my Lensbaby to shoot the flags today.

I taught mom & Hank how to "Bump" ... her iPhone with his iPod Touch. I think they liked it, they both had big smiles!

Entrance to the Ocean View section of Catalina.

Andrea posed with her new friend.

We had a fabulous surf & turf BBQ at Stephen's beach house ... halibut, skirt steak, salad, corn-on-the-cob, etc. Mom, Hank, Andrea, Helaine, Norm, Sandy, Larry, Stephen, the Duck & me ... quite the hungry crowd.

The Duck in the Media Center

Since I forgot to take a photo of the Duck when I shot mini Ian Poulter's headshot, I posed them together virtually, at my desk in the media center.

The Duck addressed the media about his injured foot.

There's rest & rehab in his future.

He's definitely gonna need stitches!

Let the Playoffs Begin

The Barclays starts today. It's the first of four Playoffs for the FedExCup.

While the Playoffs logo probably looks great on TV as the golfers walk up the 18th fairway, it would be a lot better for stills if the direction was flipped. The views of Liberty National's clubhouse with the New York City skyline ...

... and Statue of Liberty are spectacular.

Pro-Am Day at The Barclays

Tiger is flanked by security while signing autographs on the way to the clubhouse.

Chris is shooting ...

... The Barclays flags with Walter clouds.

Fans look out over the range & practice green.

The Duck Does Headshots

The clubhouse at Liberty National Golf Club is a contemporary architectural masterpiece.

The Duck sat for his first official headshot ... just like the golfers. After a couple of frames, he got a little silly.

Our headshot studio next to the locker room at Liberty National.

I wish I would have thought to take a photo of the Duck with his new pal mini Ian Poulter!

Annual Family Beach Party

Molly was awesome on the diving board at Catalina.

Cal has incredible eyes!

Ashley, Valerie & Molly ... where's Sandra?

Penny

Gabby & Bonnie

Cal was very interested in grandpa Larry's ear.

This year was the 2nd Annual Apache Relay. One of the events was a 3-legged race to the ocean, get wet & do the "chicken cutlet." I asked what that was ... it's a roll in the sand when you're wet. Ashley did the hula hoop while Molly had to run blindfolded.

For the final event, Molly & Eliza get covered in toilet paper.

Jamie, Lindsay & Dani

Hank & Mom

Adam

Miranda enjoys her chipwich.

The annual family photo.

Live & Alone Tour

Tonight I went to see Melissa Etheridge with Amy at Westbury Music Fair. When we got there, we found out our seats were front row center. She ended her show with some classic Janis Joplin ... Piece of My Heart. It was AWESOME!

She sounded great, even though she was performing without her band.

Amy posted this picture to Facebook & everybody thought she was Photoshopped in. It's real ... I shot this from our seats.

City Duck

Today I went to the city to have lunch with Karen. The Duck came along for the ride. He had his picture taken in Times Square ...

Rockefeller Center ...

Radio City Music Hall ... why didn't I think to ask him to kick like a Rockette?!?

& the Time-Life building ...


While I was at SI, I picked up a copy of their new coffee table book Sports Illustrated Slide Show.

Inside the book they used my photo of Jimmy Connors on the right, even though they chose a different frame of my sequence for the magazine cover back in 1991.

Karen took me to Fig & Olive for lunch ... it was delish. On the way back from lunch, she posed with her new little friend in front of St Patricks Cathedral.

After lunch Karen had a meeting so I headed to the Apple store with the Duck to kill some time before meeting her back at the office.


I could've shot pictures of feet & shadows on the glass floor all day.


The Duck tried to hail a cab, but I didn't have the heart to tell him he was facing the wrong way.

He even made a new friend ... the NYC Duck, who wouldn't pose for a photo until I took one of his flyers.

In the afternoon we went to hang with Brandon at his apartment.

Brandon's impressive camera collection ... notice the new Fuji Instax.

On the way to meet Janet for dinner, we stopped off at the farmer's market in Union Square.

Janet managed to get the Duck drunk during dinner at Basta Pasta.

Funny Stuff

This funny comment is posted to my Aug 2, 2009 blog post titled "Eight is Enough." I wrote about Clark's Fish Camp while blogging about Canon's Photographer party at the 2005 Superbowl.

Also, a funny thing in the news ... The Banff Crasher Squirrel. He even has his own Facebook page!

Duck Days of Summer

This morning the Duck went to the Apple store to help my mom buy an iPhone 3GS.

Then he took the LIRR to Citi Field for Mets vs Giants with Andrea, Helaine & Norm.

Of course he wanted a photo of himself with the new stadium.

69 ... as in 1969 World Champion NY Mets.

The Duck pays homage to the 1969 Mets in retro black & white style.

Citi Field is awesome.

Catalina ... 30 years later

Today I spent the day with Joyce ... my best friend since the second grade. First stop was a visit with Joyce's mom & brother Richard. It was great to catch up. Then Joyce & I headed to Catalina. She got to see many of my relatives she hadn't seen since high school. Even though Joyce hasn't been to Catalina in three decades, she said it seems like it was just yesterday.



My mom poses with Joyce before she heads back to Albany.

After the beach, we had a BBQ at Stephen's beach house. Everything was delicious! Helaine assists at the grill ...

... while Mom helps out in the kitchen.

30 Years ... That's Just Crazy!

Busy day today ... first on the agenda was a bagel breakfast & tour of Lynbrook High School with my 6'9" classmate Joe, who's now the principal.

We look a little like the Amex ad Annie Leibovitz shot of Willie Shoemaker & Wilt Chamberlain.

The weather was too nice to not go to Catalina for a few hours. It was the first time the Duck has been to the beach club. Photo-op ... it's amazing that I was able to get the seagull flying through ... not easy to do with the iPhone!

The Duck chills on a bench near the pool.

Busy night ... my 30th High School reunion started at the Elk's Club then continued past 2am at McQuades. It was great seeing so many people I haven't seen since high school. I didn't take many pix though.

Joyce & the boys ... Robert, Gary & Ronnie ... all pals since elementary school.

Me & Amy ... nice dorky name tags.

Andy & Sharon were en route from Alaska to Florida.

NY Bound

It doesn't get any better than today's Duck ... photography & golf!

Today was a LONG day! I couldn't go to sleep last night since I had to get up at 3am & had way too much to do. I was on a 6:20 am flight to NY with Scott & Sue.

It was the Duck's first flight & he seemed pretty comfortable in the overhead compartment. I was the only adult on board with my own stuffed animal & certainly the only one taking pictures of it!

Ahhh ... fresh air waiting for our ride at JFK.

Amy picked me up at my Mom's ... and after a quick visit to Sharon & Andy's, we headed to our a "pre" reunion party at the Fishery.

Tony Moccia's band was awesome. tonight was a good indication of the great times ahead.

Orlando Day Trip

I drove down to Orlando to meet up with Mary, Rosie & Dennis at Specialty Art Services (formerly AlphaLam). Mary is having a show called The Beauty of Sport next month & needed some help making framing decisions, etc. The prints look beautiful & will look even better when they're framed.

The Beauty of Sport opening reception is on Friday, September 18 - 6:30 pm at the Sunrise Civic Center Art Gallery.

Eight is Enough!

Anna was first to finish her design. I thought she misspelled "peace," but she claims that's how you spell it in Italian. I convinced her to write it in English, or everyone would just think she couldn't spell.

Rob tried to make a carousel. It didn't work, but he successfully sliced a waffle in half ... a breakthrough for future design possibilities. Rob's innovations continue to push the envelope.

Jake made a cheeseburger & fries while Tyler made a taco.

Bruce made a baseball stadium.

Britani made a fishbowl, while Travis made a Kansas Jayhawk.

What a good looking family ...

... well sort of!

Bruce had been at a conference on Amelia Island so he came for a visit. I probably haven't seen him in 15 years. It was great to catch-up.

Asian Happy Hour

There were plenty of yummy Asian inspired snacks at Anna & Tylers.

The girls got right down to business at the bar ...

... while the boys relaxed on the patio.

I can always keep myself busy with some good condensation.

Anna can't make a saketini without some nice pinky action!

She does a pretty good Hank "locked on the patio" impression.

Win & Christy

Wondering why everyone has a wooden spoon? It's really a microphone.

Hank couldn't stop kissing Rob.

Anna is determined to get the wine Hank spilled on Billy, out of his clothes. Hank should really stop drinking!

Quick Day Trip

Mary came up to PVB so we could take a day trip to Jeckyll Island to visit Lorraine & the kids. I amused myself by photographing my cup of ice.

Frey & Jack get ready to brave the surf.

Peter was a good subject while he was trapped in his high chair. Mary always says my shoot isn't over until I make the subject cry. I guess she's right!

Lorraine gave us a great tour. At least I didn't make her & Mary cry ... but it was close!

One!

The JP Morgan Tennis Court was completed in 1930. Due to safety concerns, the court is no longer available for play, but there are plans to rehabilitate it.

I could have spent the whole day shooting here. I shot this thru a broken window.

We stopped at the GA Pig for some BBQ on the way back to PVB. Yum!

Witnessing History ... Triumph & Disaster

Since Wimbledon is all about tradition, I started a new one today ... Waffle Breakfast After Wimbledon. Next year it may be smarter to have it after the Ladies' Final!

Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick in an amazing, historic, record-setting, epic battle on Centre Court.

Minutes after match point, this GREAT Nike congrats commercial aired starring Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Pete Sampras, Serena Williams & John McEnroe.


16-14 in the final set!


New records ...
Roger's 15th Grand Slam title surpassing Pete Sampras' record.
Longest Wimbledon Final 77 games (old record 58 games in 1954).
Longest set in Singles Final 16-14 (old record 13-11 in 1953 & 1958).

Interesting stats ...

It's so nice Pete showed up to see his record broken.

Some old images from my archives ... Roger & Andy

Changing of the Guard ... Wimbledon 2001: Sampras vs Federer
Some stats about this historic match in the Round of 16:

It was the only time they both met and since then, Sampras has retired. Federer holds a 1-0 lifetime head-to-head against him.

Going into the match, Pete had never lost a 5-set match at Wimbledon before he lost to Federer 7-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7, 7- 5.

He had a streak of 31 straight wins at W, tying him with Rod Laver.

Pete had won the 7 of the last 8 Wimbledons going into the 2001 W.

Pete was looking for his 100th win at Wimbledon when he met Federer.



It's hard to believe that this is the only time they played each other, it was only the 4th round & Roger prevailed.

Four hours & sixteen minutes later ... it was time to eat!

Anna's waffle was a combo of the Wimbledon logo & the Swiss flag.

Ilona was just happy the match was over! We waited a long time to eat!

And Matt, well we weren't sure WHAT he was making ...

... nor could we tell after he was finished. The only thing I can tell you is that it was made of 2 full-size waffles & 3 mini-waffles. I think Matt needed a sharper knife!

Breakfast at Wimbledon ... 4th of July

There's nothing better than an All-American final on the Fourth of July. Since I stopped covering Wimbledon a few years ago, I thought I'd post some old relevant pictures from my archives.

In 2002, Serena had her first of three wins against Venus in a Wimbledon final.


Coincidentally, the sisters won doubles that year as well.

A London paper ran a picture of Venus & me in 2000.

I had my first exclusive photo shoot with the Williams sisters in 1992 for National Geographic World magazine. They're so cute ... 10 & 11-years-old!

Our Independence Day festivities started at Matt & Ilona's house.

No blog update is complete without Anna sticking something in her mouth! Luckily, it's just Tyler's BBQ nachos.

Ilona had this incredible Falafel tool.

Matt made the falafel from scratch. It was AWESOME!

Luke helped out in the kitchen.

As always, Matt was the grill master & nobody would go home hungry.

The steak came off the grill first.

After gorging ourselves we went across the pond to Tyler & Anna's house. Matt & Tyler relax on the patio.

Yum ... Anna made me a Frappe.

Hank was happy to have company, even if we didn't bring Luke.

Anna & Tyler's lime tree had itty bitty limes, the size of a quarter.

A view of my house across the Lake from Anna & Tyler's.

I opted not to ride my bike to the beach with everyone else. I had a lot of prep work for tomorrow, so I shot the fireworks from my couch. I think I got a pretty good shot!

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!