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Let me share a funny story with you. This morning I boarded the bus to the course and took a seat, the bus slowly filled up as we waited patiently for the driver to start up, start the air conditioning and leave for the course. The group that rides from the hotel is a mix of young, middle aged and older (like me) professionals in the media, writers, photographers, and video crews from ESPN,
Sports Illustrated, golf magazines and major newspapers, pretty sharp folks. Finally the driver
started the engine, turned on the air and closed the doors. As he was circling around the parking lot to leave his radio beeped with a message that one straggler wanted to join the group, so he pulled back around and picked up the late rider. As the young man got on the bus the group, all in good fun, razzed him as he walked through the bus to take a seat, then we were under way again only to have one last rider run to catch the bus at the stop sign. This time the group was getting into high form, the teasing continued as yet another rider got to his seat. Then from way back in the bus came a child like voice that said, “I need to go to the bathroom” followed quickly by another kid like voice that said, “Are we there yet?!” The bus erupted in laughter, and so starts another day at Golf Prison………

Laughter is a vital coping mechanism. Laughter is the result of us find the humor in a situation. It may be that we are laughing at ourselves, or others, but it is the good nature of finding humor in everyday situations that might other wise bring us down. I think laughter is also a signal that we think everything is going to be o.k. Sometimes we assume that everything will work out because we just don’t know what else to think. For a Christian, it is different, we can know that everything
is going to be o.k. because God is in control and he has promised us just that.

New Living Translation (NLT)

28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
With that promise we can face all adversities and troubles knowing that God will use them to bring us closer to Him, and mold us into the people He wants us to be. Knowing that laughter can come a lot easier in our lives.

Smile, laugh and be thankful,

the pilgrim

*Photo Note: D7000 with the 24-120 AF-S VR.

This morning while sitting on the 24 passenger mini-bus that takes us from the Marriott to the Media Center, I overheard a conversation between a few guys sitting two rows in front of me. It’s not like
I was ease dropping, the conversation was pretty loud, as it often is on the morning bus ride. Anyway, the conversation was about the Power Ball Jackpot being up to umpteen millions and what they would do if they won. One man said he would leave his job the minute he found out he had won. He said, “I wouldn’t pick up a camera again, I’d hire someone to shoot for me!” I thought how sad, I love my work. I would love to sleep in occasionally, and not have to hit the showers at 5:30 a.m. but I love what I do and don’t mind working for my check. I think most people would find having more money than they know what to do with less settling than they think. I feel a sense of accomplishment when I work hard and try to do a good job. Would I like to have more money, sure everyone would, but happiness peace, and joy are not determined by that.

Last night I had the exceptional pleasure of having dinner with a group of great friends. In the picture at the top, left to right, J.D. Cuban, staff photographer for Golf Digest, Takayuki Abe, our senior repair tech from the New York office, Dom Furore, Senior staff photographer for Golf Digest, and Brien Aho, our newest NPS tech rep based in Maryland. You couldn’t find a better group of men to have dinner with. The evening was filled with great stories from around the table and the reliving of lots of great memories from a group that has had a lot of great experiences to share. I’ve worked many events with Abe and he is always a joy to work with, he’s also a great technician and magician with difficult repairs. Brien is our latest hire and what a great hire he is.
Brien is fresh out of 20 years in the Navy as a Combat Camera member. His work is absolutely stunning, and he is really nice guy, and hard worker, he is going to do great at Nikon. J.D. and Dom have been dear friends for a number of years, I met both of them about eight years ago at the Masters and every April, the highlight of my spring is to get to visit with both of them again. Both J.D. and Dom are as good a photographers as you will find in the sports world. Even more important to me, they are truly wonderful people and great friends.

Abe took us to his
favorite Japanese
restaurant close
to the hotel. The
variety of food was
pretty amazing. I’m
not a huge fan of this
kind of food, but
the fellowship more
than made up for
that. If I had to eat
all my meals with
chop sticks, I’d
starve.

Back to the talk on
the bus. If I had
won the lottery
ten years ago, I would have never met, Dom, J.D., Brien, or Abe. While being a millionaire might
be kinda cool, not knowing these guys would be a tragedy. I would venture to say that if I drove
a Bentley, flew on a private jet, wore thousand dollar suits, and owned a hundred thousand dollar watch, but didn’t know these guys, I’d have been short changed. Enjoy what God has already given you, and get on with living the life you already have. And while you’re at it, be thankful for the countless blessing that are already yours!

Today’s Prayer; Father thank you for the life you’ve given me, my family, my friends, and the craft I love to practice, so much. I know I don’t deserve any of this, but thank you Father for your grace, gifts, and forgiveness. Please help me to be the man You want me to be, and please be patient with me as I try to follow Your ways. Amen.

Blessings,

the pilgrim

For the golf fans, below, Brien shooting in the interview room, and my shot of Tiger in the same press conference. Great work if you can get it.

Photo Notes: First two shots Nikon Coolpix P300, shot of Brien and Tiger Woods, D7000
and 200-400 AF-S VR lens. Last two shots ISO 1600.

Sorry Homer, Phil is not doing an interview, but I asked Brien to shoot him teeing off this morning,
should have those soon!

With apologies to Art Wolfe, who had a wonderful coffee table book by the same name….. Art’s book is one of my favorites, and his images are stunning. So being a landscape photographer, and only having a golf course to shoot, it was out before daybreak to see what that luck old sun
would do for me today? While these images don’t rise to the standard of Art’s they were fun to capture and there were more than a few OMG moments, (Oh My God!), that is not, by-the-way, His name taken in vain, but rather praise for the glorious light he has made. I hope that these images are a nice way for you to start your day and you get some ideas or inspiration to get out at sunset tonight to try a little “light hunting” yourself

Yes, that’s a little glamour glow on the last one. Couldn’t help myself. I’ve really enjoyed working with Brien Aho, our newest NPS Tech, and Abe Takayuki, a long time golf tournament buddy and ace repair technician. Last night I had the pleasure of having dinner with my dear friend and brother in the Lord Carl Turner, this morning was just desert for a great start to a long stay in golf prison!

Be blessed and walk into the light……..

the pilgrim

*Photo Note: D7000, 24-120 AF-S VR, and 70-300 AF-S VR. ISO 100, tripod.

O.K. it’s just an expression, and honestly, way over stated. Here is the deal. Golf Tournaments like the PGA Championship where we are now, and the Masters each April ,are interesting events in that you have flurries of hyper activity, usually early morning before the golfers tee off, or late afternoon when they are finished, mostly mornings. During a couple of hours you do 90% of the days work, the rest of the day you’re, “on call”. Golf events are great for catching up on reports and working on teaching programs. They are also great for catching up with old client friends that you seldom get to see. I had a nice long visit this morning with Dom Furore, a great golf shooter for Golf Digest who has become a dear friend over the years of seeing each other annually at the Masters. He is truly a great shooter and really, really nice guy. He has shot many of the images you’ve seen of Tiger both on and off the course. For a long time he was the official family photographer. Another wonderful shooter that will drop by this week is Fred Vurich. Fred’s a former Sports Illustrated photographer who now works for a number of major magazines, another incredible shooter with a strong of Golf covers to his credit, he also shoots a number of other sports as well. Fred is also a brother!

The facility here at Johns Creek Country
Club is very nice, good food service,
and run by a first class team of PGA
folks. The problem is it’s golf. My idea
of dying and going to hell is to find
myself required to watch baseball and
golf for eternity. The last few holes of
a tournament are usually exciting, but
I have little interest in much of the rest
of it. If they played the World Series
in my back yard, I doubt I would watch
it from my back porch. Don’t get me
wrong, I think it is great to have sports
interests, mine are college and pro
football and college basketball, but
I’m not nearly the rabid sports fan
I was when I was younger. I worked
for a short time as the official photo-
grapher for the Washington Redskins
and seeing pro ball up close caused
me to be less of a fan than I was before.
I have a problem with us, (society),
making heroes out of athletes. I can
see a policeman or fireman or a
good teacher is a hero. But someone
that can hit, shoot, or throw and catch
a ball seems a little less important in the
big picture of life. At least for me, Heroes should be people who’s actions or life have made a big
difference in the lives of others. A teacher that changes the outlook and hope for a child, a law enforcement person or fireman that places his life in jeopardy to save another, or a pastor that fervently preaches God’s Word to show others the way to salvation, those are heroes to me. I love
football and I love to watch the great players and appreciate their athletic skills, but they are
not risking their lives in service of society. The other thing is that professional athletes are very well compensated for their work. There is nothing wrong with making a good salary, but when you consider how much so many do for society and how little they are compensated it dulls the glamour of athletes to me. As I’m writing this blog entry the TV is on in the corner of our little office and a parade of golfers are being interviewed in the interview room. I know it’s part of the sports world, but I find it interesting that so many reports, photographers, video crews, and network personnel show up to cover these major sporting events. It is a reflection of our society that we need heroes, so we create them.

Now, I’m not bashing sports, or musicians, or movie stars, but as for me, if I’m going to idolize someone, I think it will be a man who sacrificed His life so I might have mine, forgiven and living abundently…….

Be blessed,

the pilgrim

*Photo Note: D7000, 12-24 and 10.5 lenses.