Yesterday, my husband and I went to the US Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. We chose to go to a practice day rather than the actual tournament for a couple reasons. One is because everyone is more relaxed. The crowds are smaller, the players are friendlier, and it’s just a nice atmosphere all around. And the second reason is so I could bring my camera! There’s a very strict no-camera policy during the tournament itself, but I was definitely not the only one lugging around a 70-200mm lens yesterday! In fact, we stood at the first tee for a while, and I ended up chatting with a couple other photographers about photo labs, shopping cart vendors, and white balance. I’m sure my husband was rolling his eyes at me, but we were within 20 feet of some of his favorite players so I don’ t think he really minded too much. 🙂
The other item that the tournament bans—even on practice days—is cell phones. I did miss my iPhone at times, but I have to say it was quite refreshing to not see everyone walking around staring at their devices for the entire day. I only spotted one cheater who somehow sneaked his in.
The weather was beautiful, but the light was bright and harsh. That’s why we stood at the first tee for so long—because it was in the shade and had better light! (Once a portrait photographer, always a portrait photographer!) The first photo below is the 11th hole. It doesn’t look all that long, but it’s 494 yards. I guess the people up near the clubhouse do look pretty small!
My husband credits David Leadbetter for the improvements he’s made in his game, so he was pretty excited to see him walk by. Judging by the look on his face, I don’t think Mr. Leadbetter was as excited to see my camera lens! The third photo is Graeme McDowell, last year’s US Open winner. Fred Funk is on the bottom left, and it’s easy to see why he’s a fan favorite. He definitely enjoyed playing to the crowd. And the last shot is K.J. Choi. Wikipedia says this about him: “Before picking up golf Choi was a competitive power lifter, being able to squat 350 pounds as a 95 pound 13 year-old teenager, thus aptly nicknamed “Tank” by South Koreans.” Wow!
Nancy at Coneflower Ranch - Great shots and what a terrific opportunity! I couldn’t help but smile at your story of chatting with other photographers, as you could gather from our “yard sale meeting”, I could do that all day with the same husband reaction. 🙂