Ok, so I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to go shoot the Tavistock Cup tournament in Orland this Tuesday. I had a great time thanks to Mike Olivella... FSU Athletics' photographer and general troublemaker... my kind of guy! Mike puts the word Foe into Photography... I got so tired of having to teach him which end of the camera to use and showing him where to stand he was just useless. (For those of you who haven't read Scott Kelby's or Matt K's blog, Mike is the man when it comes to doing this stuff and I was following his lead most of the day... so I compensate by making fun of him... it doesn't help me shoot any better, but I somehow feel more superior and that is really what it is all about isn't it? Thanks so much for the opportunity Mike!

I also was privileged to hang out with the third leg of our photo tripod... Steve Gustafson
Steve is a great to be with... sarcastic, laid back and super nice... his photos are really good too! Dang it! :D He and Mike may the day a joy and I hope I made two new friends, which in the end is more important than the shots I took.

Left: Steve Gustafson looking snazzy in his fancy hat. Right: Mike Ollivela  showing his best side. :D — Left: Steve Gustafson looking snazzy in his fancy hat. Right: Mike Ollivela showing his best side. :D

Ok, this will probably be a two part blog. I will show some shots today and then on the next one talk about my experience shooting with the Nikon 1 V2 mirrorless on the next installment.

Let's jump in:

So I needed to meet Mike at his hotel in Orlando at 7:45 AM, leaving from Tampa meant about an hour and 45 minute drive. I am not a good sleeper when I need to get up early, so my anxiousness woke me around 2:30 AM... needless to say I was in Orlando a little early. :D

Once I met the gang, it was off to the course: We got set up on the first tee... and it was freezing! Now Matt K. shot the tournament the day before and told me that is was ideal shorts/sweater weather... only he didn't factor in the wind... I was a bit miserable. I triple dog dared Mike to stick his tongue to the metal bull statue by the tee, but I think he saw the movie "Christmas Story" so no fun for me.

I was playing around with a mirrorless camera from Nikon... yes I am still a Canon shooter. More about this experience on the next blog. Suffice it to say... I was practicing shooting the tee shots with the silent Ninja action that made no noise.

Bubba Watson teeing off on the first tee

Whenever you shoot any sports, there is a breaking in time of getting your rhythm and timing. So often you will find your first shots of the day not as good as later... it is if you eye and mind need to warm up. So plan to arrive early and practice on anything you can before the main action starts if that is going to be the only chance you get to shoot that subject. In my case I knew I had hours of shooting, and the background of the first tee was too busy with flag poles and speakers and people, so I used that early time to warm up and practice shooting in real close to eliminate a lot of the visual junk.

Because of the way the tournament is set up, there are a lot of people that are spread around the players and tend to show up in the background to most images, so the game is to try to get a shot with no spectators.

A good time to shoot is around the green when the players are chipping... the ball is moving slower and more vertically so it is easier to capture in the frame. Here is another issue... lots of legs and folks in the background... do you get rid of the distractions or leave them in. If i was shooting for a magazine or newspaper I wouldn't change anything, but since I have a little bit of knowledge of Photoshop, I got rid of 4 people in the back of this image... but left the ball alone. :D

Ricky Fowler looking cool as the crowd looks on... except the guy texting. :D

Now when you are shooting sports you will here folks tell how editors will always want to see the ball in the shot. No ball no good. But since I am not shooting for a magazine, but rather for myself I sometimes like a shot that may be after the ball has left, but there is still a lot of good action and emotion in it. If push comes to shove, I know a program that can add a ball into it. :D

Now most folks want to see Tiger, and I will show you some shots of Him in a bit, but I took time out to go see Charles Howell III. Charles grew up playing at the course where my father was the head tennis pro. Dad wanted me to say hey... and Charles was very gracious... so there you go dad. :D

Ok, I have to admit I will always pull for the players to go in the bunkers The clean background and the drama and action of the sand makes for fun shots. Of course I don't tell that to the players. At least when I am within club length. :D

Fred Couples was in Tiger's group and while a lot of eyes were on Tiger, I kept an eye on Fred. He is just a nice guy to shoot. In the photo up above I like how you can see his reflection in the club head.

What are you looking at? Fred checking me  out... at least that is what I tell myself. :D — What are you looking at? Fred checking me out... at least that is what I tell myself. :D

I grabbed quite a few images of Fred and Tiger interacting... there is a nice calm between these two, in a sense hanging out playing golf.

Tiger lining up his putt... the shot is just ok, but I like the shot of Steve in the corner shooting. :D

I like this next shot because it is just a matter of timing, It looks like he is looking at me like I am a goober... which I am, but he was just looking in my general direction. Sometimes it amazes me what a still image will produce and how a split second can change the mood of the image.

Next two shots are from the same green... like the clean background, and the eyes are actually lit pretty well by the white cap.

And I leave with the End of Tiger... his second shot into the 18th green. I had to beat up a few small children and one gentleman taking photos with his Ipad to get into position for this one. (Actually I had a media badge so it wasn't that bad, but it sounds better with the extra violence thrown in.)

So that is my quick tour of the day... it was a fun time with Mike and Steve made even better by the fact that Matt picked Monday to shoot and Tiger was a no show... sorry! :D Stay tuned for my next installment to talk about the joys and tears of using the Nikon mirrorless.