Apologies

For contributions that result in another billboard on I-35.  Although, if something is going to compete with the view, I think this one actually helps.  That’s Marc DeWall there, my model, standing on the third tee at Cordillera Ranch.  (I posted about this earlier, and I’m glad this one made it all the way through.)  I shot this one under the direction of Trish McCabe-Rawls of Creative Noggin, for San Antonio-based KGB Texas.

A few thoughts on this:  The agency wanted to show “the uniqueness of the golf course” on a billboard.  They wanted to include a person, too.  Tall order, for sure.  A billboard has a very short amount of time to get its message across.  Mere glances by distracted drivers busy saving their own lives. Very few have the ability to arrest the viewer, and even fewer contribute to hard cash changing hands.  I suppose they have their place in the smelly darkness of “branding,” but I’m not an ad guy.  I simply don’t know.

The uniqueness of the golf course at Cordillera Ranch rests firmly in three places:  terrain, turf quality and condition. TERRAIN: It’s in the Hill Country, but there are no screwy lies and cliffs and other undesirable qualities of Hill Country golf.  TURF QUALITY:  Bossman David Hill and his team researched grasses and picked out the best for playability and aesthetics.  CONDITION:  There is no better in Texas. Some may be as good, but not one is better.

So back to the assignment.  Marc is a very nice looking guy, he looks like a golfer (because he is one…a damn good one).  The third hole shows the terrain, the turf quality and the condition.  All of it is real.  That is not a composited photo.

Looking back on this, I think we knocked it out of the park.  But again, I’m not an ad guy.

The Stretford

That’s the name of the high-rise condo back there, right on the golf course at The Cascades in Tyler.

More from The Cascades

Here’s another from The Cascades.  This is the first hole, with Lake Bellwood back there behind the green.

The Cascades

Stopped by The Cascades in Tyler on the way to Louisiana and snapped a few before the cold front rolled in.  Here’s the 3rd hole, which was the first hole (backwards) of the old Briarwood CC, where I used to play between mini-tour events.  This place is really, really nice.  I loved Briarwood.  Briarwood was a friend of mine.  You, sir, are no Briarwood. (I mean that with complete disrespect to Briarwood.)  I imagine Willow Brook and Holly Tree have lost a few members to this place.

Versatility

Learning is a huge part of photography.  One extremely crucial thing I’ve learned from Fosforus is the importance of being versatile.

While on a golf course landscape shoot, the GM asked if I could shoot his staff for their new website.  I had no gear, no time and no real expertise for such a request, but I did have an SB-800 and an aftermarket TTL cord in the glovebox.  I found a plain wall next to a window with some indirect light, chimped some tests on my first subject and called the rest of ‘em in.  Above is the loot.

I’m sure some of you can pick these apart and tell me all the things I did wrong, but the client was thrilled with the results.  Isn’t that all that matters?

The 10th hole at Lions Muny

Here’s one of my favorite short par 4s.  Find me a private club with 18 holes like this, and I’d join.  Think about it.  Who needs par 3s and par 5s if you have a bunch of these?  Every hole would be a birdie hole, with the risk of making double.  Beautiful.  Message to Roy Bechtol:  You’ve got the balls to sell this to your next client.  Do it!

Lions Muny

I took a lap around Lions Muny this morning, just to get a few shots in case they bulldoze the place to make room for a Bennigan’s.

Dan Pruett, Meals on Wheels and More

A few months ago, I took an opportunity to shoot Dan Pruett, CEO of Austin’s Meals on Wheels and More, for an ad created by Fosforus that ran in the Austin Business Journal.  I’ve since learned plenty about portraiture.  The kind people at Fosforus and MOWAM have placed their confidence in me again to shoot some new frames for a van wrap they’re doing.  Stay tuned for some outtakes.

Fault

This was lying in my driveway over the weekend.  I saw it out there, but I didn’t pick it up for a couple of days in hopes someone would steal it.  In my opinion, junk mail on the ground is nothing more than litter.  Junk mail in my mailbox is worse, but if anyone’s going to stop it, let’s start with unsolicited phonebook delivery.

I learned a good lesson when I finally went out there and picked this thing up.  You see, that’s my photo on the cover.  It’s actually the property of Grey Rock Golf Club.  I shot it for their agency about a year ago.  So why do I care that it’s on this piece of junk mail?  Because I didn’t give them permission to use it.  The bad news (for me) is that I released the copyright to Grey Rock.

Here’s what I’ve learned:  I was under the (ignorant) assumption that Grey Rock wouldn’t give this photo to someone else.  I should’ve released a limited copyright to them, stating they could use it to promote themselves, but that they couldn’t give it to someone else.

The photo has a credit printed right on it that reads “Photo courtesy of Grey Rock Golf Club,” which is fine with me, but the phonebook publisher also used it inside (a couple of times) to promote the phonebook.  No credit to me or anyone on those.

I’ve rewritten my copyright release form.  Maybe you other young shooters should take a look at yours.

Peas

Lee Corso’s merkin

Feel

And then I thought of another.

Nuts

Wondering what it would be like to be a syndicated cartoonist, I drew this up a few minutes ago.

The Marketing Butcher

Alive and well.  Here.

The Broadway

Click here to see some CW work applied to the website for a new high-rise condo in San Antonio.