Tag: Golf Magazine

A wide view of the 18th

A wide view of the 18th

Every year I am hired to photograph the Sony Open.  I’ve made a bit of a name for myself shooting golf as I’ve done it for a few years and I learned from some of the very best shooters.  Stan showed me how to sit on the first tee and get great, clean tee shots, Chris showed me how to position myself for anticipation, Sammy showed me how to walk up and down the course, and Grayson showed me how to hustle.  I mean hustle.  So I know my golf or at least pretend to.

Do I like shooting golf?  Eh…  Its tough shooting round after round of golf for days on end and when we had more than one tournament here, it was super hard to get motivated to follow these super sensitive” golfers for hours on end.  By the end of any tournament, the last thing I want to do is be out in the sun, see grass, or anything to do with little white dimpled golf balls.  I usually stay sick for a few days after as all the sun, pollen, pesticides, and the weight of my cameras breaks me down.

Yet, I get a shot like this and it all feels worth it all.  Its not the best but it sure makes me feel I can really see the world happening around me.  Sure, its just a sports shot, and not a great one at that, but to know I walked up and down a course for four days in the rain, sun, and humidity carrying three cameras, a heavy 400mm lens while slathered in sunblock…and get a shot like this…makes me feel like I’ve come along way from time time I first walked into a club house.  Thank you, you men of golf, who taught me how to see golf…and thank you Steve Grayson…not a golf tourney goes by here in Hawaii without your memory recalled in laughter, professionalism, and fear.

Did anyone ever hear the chimp story between him and Sammy?  HA!

If many of you don’t or didn’t know Steve Grayson, he was a great GREAT man who knew his photography.  He once said he was one of the only photographers who was able to walk through South Central LA during the OJ riots with camera and taking pictures.  I mean, look at him!  Would you mess with that man?!?

Grayson sent me this shot of him and the hotties of the golf world.  I bet those women were more happy to be seen with him that him with them.

In January 2008, Grayson passed away.  Its been three years now and we still talk about that man of men, a giant among us who crawl through the grass to get that shot.  We will always remember your bad plaid shorts.

The beach, a sand wedge, and a mutt.

The beach, a sand wedge, and a mutt.

A last minute call came in from Golf Digest/World Magazine for a last minute job to shoot an ex LPGA golfer for their “Where are they Now?” section.  The job, which came via my agent, Wonderful Machine, needed to be done quickly over the weekend with a super fast turnaround.  Of course, this type of job is just down my alley.  I love the pressure, the over-the-phone art direction, the uncertainty, and the challenge to make an image as quick as possible.

So after a few hurried txt msg, a few emails, and a phone call, I got in touch with my subject, Lori Castillo, and set an 8 AM call time on Kahala Beach this past Saturday.  I begged my number one assistant, Jamm, or Jacques, as his real name is much more interesting than his nickname, to wake up early and come with me.  The lure of fast cash and a dim sum breakfast got him on my team.

So come Saturday morning, Jacques and I drove out to Kahala, quickly scouted the beach and found the right place and parking to make the job happen.  Lori showed up and, with lights and cameras in hand, we walked out to the spot where we’d shoot her in a couple of set ups. I talked with Lori for a bit while Jacques set up a beauty dish on a Profoto 7B pack.  Lori, who was a great sport, brought along a sand wedge as a prop as we were standing on the beach.  She took a few whacks at the sand for a few shots but it proved to be a better prop than an action tool.

As usual Jacques showed me up by being more interesting and talkative than me which was a great as he broke the ice with Lori as she was a bit nervous about the whole picture thing and I have a hard time talking when I’m thinking about f-stops and light ratios.  She and Jacques had the conversation going which allowed me to get her laughing and smiling naturally making a for a great portrait.  There is nothing better than having a good first assistant.

Our photo shoot, which lasted under an hour, did have its problems (as if you can call standing on a sunny Hawaiian beach a problem.)  As the beaches are public, beach goers walk up and down while swimmers and surfers splash around the surf.  At times I had to shift Lori into a different positions to avoid a walker on the shore or a swimmer in the water.  Its tough to get that clean background.

And out of nowhere, we had had an uninvited guest walk onto our set.  A little wet dog decided he wanted to be part of shot and saunter over to where Lori was standing and preened for the camera.  The dog, a mix of some terrier and God knows what else, sat at my feet staring at Lori as I took pictures of her but the little mutt decided he rather be part of the picture plopped down right in the middle of the set.  The dog, whose calm energy was so apparent, felt we were part of his pack and real never had much to do with us other than show he would be the one to have his picture taken.  Now talk about being upstaged!  The owner came and apologized for her dog’s obvious boorish manner but none of us cared.  We all scratched and tugged on the salty little mutt and it was more than obvious he enjoyed the attention from the three strangers that we were.

The dog, with his wiry hair and under bite, really stole the show.  He was the best little thing.  Too bad we couldn’t pack him up and take him with us.