The undiplomatic duck! ;o)

After months of being coached and mentored in writing diplomatic emails, What the Duck hits close to home!

Wheaties ... etc.

Today I went to the puppy store in The Avenues mall. They had 2 nine week old Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier siblings. I think I was in there for over an hour playing with them. They're sooo cute! Luckily I left empty-handed, but it wasn't easy! It's hard to have that kind of willpower. I wanted both of them!

It's nap time for 2 Cockers, a Westie, & a Boston Terrier.

Dial 9

Tonight I went to see Chris' band Dial 9 play at the French Quarter.

"Silence is Golden ... Duct Tape is Silver."

Clubhouse Construction

Today I grabbed my lensbaby & hardhat and headed over to photograph the interior of the new clubhouse being built at TPC Sawgrass. I had a great time. It was really cool! I'm gonna go back again soon.

Green Screen

Today the Duck whips out the green screen. What will Aaron think of next?!? Every day's a new adventure on "What the Duck."

(Really Early) Sunday Morning Quarterback

When John asked me what I was going to be doing at 7:30 Sunday morning, I said, "You mean besides sleeping?"!!! I was happy to go out to the 17th tee to photograph the Commissioner & Monday Night Football broadcast team. The grass has finally grown back & they were the first to hit on this hole since the Stadium Course renovation began. I borrowed Joe Theismann's club & Tony Kornheiser's sleeve for this pic.

The blimp was there filming as well & there was a scuba diver in the lake that would throw a ball on the green if they hit the water. It was pretty funny.

It was beautiful & there was an abundance of wildlife. It got me inspired to want to go out there early again, but next time, with a 500mm.

I think we should rename the world famous 17th "Egret Island."

The construction of the new clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass is moving right along.


Around 6pm I went to Jax Beach...
The real emergency is that the guy on the left's pants are falling down!

A little girl showed me her nice catch.

Wear Denim to Work Day

Today for a $5.00 donation to the National MS Society we got to wear jeans to work. I offered $10 if I could wear my retro Agassi denim shorts. No deal! It was a nice change anyway.

What the Duck...has a new home!

Aaron Johnson's What The Duck has become so popular that it needed it's own website. Go to "extras" to download wallpaper, icons, banners, etc. There are also links to their Cafe Press merchandising.
I love "the Duck"!!!

Martina's induction

I was pretty surprised when one of my Martina photos was projected on the stadium Jumbotron during Martina's induction into the Court of Champions. I wonder where they got the photo. I have to do some investigating.

Tiger & Elin watched the men's final with Mirka in Federer's box.

Cramped quarters

The photo pit on Ashe sure is crowded! This is just a small portion ... it stretches the entire length of the court.

CPS

Since Olympus is the official camera, Canon had their usual set-up outside the grounds of the US Open. Bert & Ernie guarded the camera equipment awaiting repair.

Andre's Farewell

Today Andre Agassi played in the final match of his career. He delivered a moving speech after he lost his third round match. There wasn't a dry eye in Arthur Ashe Stadium!

"The scoreboard said I lost today," Agassi told the crowd. "But what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I have found. Over the last 21 years, I have found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court and also in life."

"I found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed, sometimes even in my lowest moments, and I've found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams, dreams I could never have reached without you. Over the last 21 years, I have found you, and I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life."

Ernesto hits NY

This tree came down at my mom's house & completely blocked the street when Ernesto delivered really high winds.

While outside photographing the downed tree, I noticed this really nice NYT emblem on the telephone pole.

Rain

It was pouring when we got to the "H" lot at the US Open, so we sat in the car until it let up.

What The Duck...the movie!!!

Powerbook+Razr problems=SpaceMonkey

For some reason, syncing my second replacement Motorola Razr this week via Bluetooth wreaked havoc on my Powerbook last night. I spent 2 hours on the phone with Applecare & managed to stump ALL of the Geniuses! After I faced the fact that it wasn't gonna get fixed before I went to sleep, decided to work on some pictures. I launched Photoshop & got Adobe Space Monkey instead!!! I googled Space Monkey to find out what it was. It turns out it was a result of the Mac Genius having me move some of my Adobe preference files. Needless to say, I was not happy. Since this was just one of MANY issues, I reluctantly decided to give up & try to go to sleep (not easy). Today Mike from MacConsult proved he is the ultimate genius & fixed everything. I am so relieved! Thanks Mike!

I love today's Duck!!!

Pups

Tally waits for Lucy to open the door.

Andie looks stunning in her new sundress.

Bootcamp on the beach

Mary & I went to shoot the AIP Fitness Bootcamp on Ft Lauderdale Beach. She's been working out with Tom for 4 months, but took the day off today to take some pictures. She figured it would give me a good idea of what I would have to face tomorrow. A little further down the beach we saw a really wimpy "bootcamp" being led by a sergent in camouflage. They weren't even breaking a sweat!

Phylice runs before bootcamp.

These people are animals!

Mary finds shooting "step-ups" way easier than doing them!

jumping

running

more jumping

it's all about the abs!

a visit to Dr Bellows

Tally was feigning a pulled muscle that seemed to clear up as soon as we walked thru the front door of the Hometown Animal Hospital. She went from limping & yelping to being a bucking bronco as soon as she laid eyes on Dr Bellows. The receptionist snapped a photo of Tally & before we entered the exam room, we were handed a souvenir 8x10 of Tally swimming with one of the Bengal tigers at Metro Zoo. Dr Bellows is one of fifty-five board certified veterinary dentists in the country. He does root canals on the tigers & lions at the zoo & has been a guest on Good Morning America.