I’m here on an official media credential. I have M and Q access, which gets me into the media center and allows me to shoot images outside the ropes. I’m grateful to be able to shoot, but it’s no small feat to get into position to get images. Much like spectating, you can follow one group for a while or you might occupy a solitary place and hope to get images of a number of contestants. Excepting, of course, that no place is solitary on a Sunday at a major championship. Someone always tries to wiggle in to the space that I preserve for shooting, so I end up leaning over to get my shots. There are worse thing I could do, as Rizzo says in Grease.
I’ve noticed the presence of the mobile devices patrol. It is vigilant and I’ve seen the men in neon green vests nab more than a few smart phones. Despite the pink tag hanging from each of my cameras and the credentialed lanyard around my neck, I’ve been told to not take photos by a few marshals. People around me laugh and explain that I’m media. Then they add, “do you think he’d bring in a big camera with a lens if he wanted to sneak a photo?” Ahh, camaraderie.
Here’s a mid-afternoon gallery of images. I’m out again at 5 pm to catch shots of golfers coming in. Might try to get some sand shots, a few approaches and who knows what.
