On Tuesday I got lucky enough to spend the day shooting Tiger Woods and some of the best golfers in the world at the Tavistock Cup in Orlando, Florida. My buddy, and top-notch sports shooter Mike Olivella, (who was covering the event for AP), was able to score me an “inside the ropes” all-access media pass to shoot the event, and as you might expect, I had a blast!
Although I planned to follow Tiger and his parings for the entire 18-hole round, I had to leave after only four holes because of a family emergency, but I got to shoot Tiger during his warm-ups on the range, and during those four holes (about an hour), so I still had a few opportunities to capture Tiger now that he’s back. (Note: I chose to include the shot above because even though you can’t see his face, you instantly know exactly who it is. Plus, I thought it was kind of cute the way the Nike logo on the ball in his hand happened to be facing directly at my camera position).
This was my first time shooting a golf tournament (talk about being thrown into the deep end of the pool for your first tournament shoot), but Mike (link) was incredibly gracious and gave me lots of tips and pointers the entire time.
I only used one camera body for the event–my Nikon D300 (I chose it because I just felt like shooting with it that day), and I used two lenses: a Nikon 200-400mm f/4 and a 70-200mm f/2.8 VR. I shot wide open the entire day. I used a Think Tank belt system and it once again reminded of how awesome their gear is—-I wouldn’t want to shoot a sporting event without it (Mike had a set, too).
Here are a few shots from those four holes on Tuesday.
After an 8-month layoff due to his season-ending knee injury, Tiger’s back to form.
Ian Poulter plays out of a fairway bunker.
Tiger studies a putt during Tuesday’s round.
A fully clothed Henrik Stenson tees off.
Kicking up some grass!
Waiting on the green.
Here’s a photo of me taken during warm-ups at the range (photo by Mike Olivella taken with my iPhone).
Anyway, despite the fact that I only finished four holes, it was still a day I’ll never forget! Many thanks Mike, and to the folks at Tavistock who gave me the opportunity of a lifetime.
