Author: Marco Garcia

Working with the cast…what a pain!

So I got a last minute call do shoot a portrait for the NY Times of this local financial figure and they needed it shot the next morning before 2pm EST. Meaning the newspaper needed the shot no later than 10am Hi time. This is tough but always doable as its part of being a freelance/contract photographer. Like I’ve always said in the past, you are only as good as your last job. If you can’t shoot it on deadline, someone else will and there are countless kids with 5Ds, Alien Bees, and the ability to shoot by 10am. Mind you they might not be able to pull off the best shot and experience is always better than willingness for a majority of the photo world but surely, these factors will change and a once considered crappy photo will be de rigueur, no?

I should mention I only had limited time, limited budget, and limited movement to shoot a quick portrait of David, my financial guru at a local botanical gardens. I feel I got a shot worthy of any client and don’t know if I would have done better, cast or not. Yet, I was quiet pleased as were the clients. And thats all that matters. As long as the phone rings tomorrow, thats all that matters. As Tracey Woods always says to me, “its all about the benjamins,” even if the rates are small.

Onto the cast, the doctors said it was a major strain and prescribed me to not to wear the air cast (I’ve silently nicknamed it the “air i-Cast” as it has so many little doodads and what not…I mean its like the old Nike Air pump shoes…it comes with a little hand pump! I’m just waiting to download some iTunes to jam…) It is proving to be a pain as I have to maneuver myself around the silly cast. A slow, gimpy pace, plastic grocery store bags around the foot to keep it clean, off and on to drive, I mean come on! But a few more days to go before I go without wearing this suffocating device. It does help me walk better though as it keeps my ankle straight and supported. But its gonna be party time when I am finally off this son of a gun!

ITS NOT BROKEN!!!!

AHHH….After waiting for like forever at the hospital to see the specialist, the diagnosis was not a crack, just a major strain with torn ligaments, blah blah blah. Bad part is I gotta wear this silly boot like 24/7 for 10 days or so. I don’t know if I can handle it.

I gotta wear the storm trooper boot for like 10 days to bed, to eat, to whatever…i am already getting batty. I really am. My hip is hurting from like standing all uneven, gimpy-like.

9 days to go. Hey, I still got all that vicodin, though!

What a difference nine holes can make!!!!!

You just never know how life can turn itself around in moments. I mean, the picture above was going to be the shot of Michelle Wie’s first LPGA victory. She was well on her way to making a victorious win in her first tournament after becoming part of the tour. Alas, experience, pressure, and age all seem to drag a all but guaranteed win to an absolute train wreck. Well…thats harsh…but, as we said on the field, the wheels fell off at the last second and Michelle finished in second place.

I shot that victory fist pump while Michelle birdied the fourth tee. With global deadlines, and what seemed to be a looming victory for Michelle, AP moved that shot global linking the story with that photo betting she’d win, and that one image would capture the entire event.

But by the 11th green, Michelle shot a a double bogey and life fell completely apart.

Angela Stanford chased down Michelle and got a two point lead over her but the rainy weather seemed hint at a comeback. After a great fairway shot on 15, Michelle had a little over a three foot putt to cut the lead to -1 and put massive pressure on Angela to choke herself. Sadly, Michelle blew the putt and sank in grief. Cameras chipped away from all around and i got a great shot to replace the victory shot that said it all.

Never assume you got the shot cause you never know how an event will change. Nathaniel Welch gave me a great piece of advice once on why its never a good idea to be a sports photographer. You career will depend on what type of game, event, or score your subject will do. My first shot, as amazing it is, tells a completely perfect story if Michelle had won. She didn’t and if I had just gone back to the media center and cheerily watched from an air conditioned room, drink in hand, my work would have been worthless. I had to hump out to the course, walk 10 plus holes with the leaders, hoping to tell the story. And my hard work, and sprained ankle, tell the story with the second shot.

AP made that photo an APTOPIX. When all over the world.

Oh, and for Michelle, we shouldn’t feel too bad for her. A three day tournament and a Pro Am date lead to a second place prize of $108,000. Not bad for a 19 year old.