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.