I have just posted new pics of the Castle Course in St Andrews. The weather remained dry, but the light was difficult. As a result these shots were taken during a brief, one-and-half-hour session. The saving grace was the course which looked fantastic, as hopefully my pictures show.
I followed this up yesterday with an early morning shoot. Unfortunately, I have yet to develop these, but when I do, I'II let you know.
Let me know what you think - http://www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/StAndrewsCastle/
Friday 16 September 2011
Monday 12 September 2011
Photography rant
This is an opinion piece I was asked to write for a golf magazine about photography. I wonder if anyone read it?
Picture perfect
Golf course photography is what I do. It’s my passion, it’s my career and it pays for my kids’ shoes. It is also a fundamental part of golf’s marketing arsenal. It sells the sport better than any other form of promotion, and yet golf clubs boke at the idea of paying for professionally taken golf course photography. Why?
I know times are tough and penny pinching is at an all-time high, but this attitude has existed for years. It revolves around the notion that it’s better to get one of the members to take shots than pay for them. This commonly held belief is short-sighted at best and potentially ruinous at worst. You wouldn’t let your members take their Flymos to the greens would you?
In fact, rather than saving a bob or two, it can actually cost the club revenue. Relying on a member with a point-and-shoot to do what a pro has taken years to perfect can result in bland, featureless images that do little to stir the golfer’s imagination. Without pictorially induced longing, few will want to play. Fewer still will want to join.
I have shot golf courses all around the world and one of the trends I’ve noticed is that premier league clubs and resorts rarely boke at paying for good-quality imagery. There are exceptions, but generally they see it as an investment that will inspire visitors and maintain their lofty position. Another is that new golf developments eager to draw attention to their attributes readily add photography to their must-do lists.
If the big boys and new kids rely on it, why should photography be such an after-thought for everyone else? At a time when attracting visitors and maintaining members are high on everyone’s agenda, shouldn’t photography also be?
Picture perfect
Golf course photography is what I do. It’s my passion, it’s my career and it pays for my kids’ shoes. It is also a fundamental part of golf’s marketing arsenal. It sells the sport better than any other form of promotion, and yet golf clubs boke at the idea of paying for professionally taken golf course photography. Why?
I know times are tough and penny pinching is at an all-time high, but this attitude has existed for years. It revolves around the notion that it’s better to get one of the members to take shots than pay for them. This commonly held belief is short-sighted at best and potentially ruinous at worst. You wouldn’t let your members take their Flymos to the greens would you?
In fact, rather than saving a bob or two, it can actually cost the club revenue. Relying on a member with a point-and-shoot to do what a pro has taken years to perfect can result in bland, featureless images that do little to stir the golfer’s imagination. Without pictorially induced longing, few will want to play. Fewer still will want to join.
I have shot golf courses all around the world and one of the trends I’ve noticed is that premier league clubs and resorts rarely boke at paying for good-quality imagery. There are exceptions, but generally they see it as an investment that will inspire visitors and maintain their lofty position. Another is that new golf developments eager to draw attention to their attributes readily add photography to their must-do lists.
If the big boys and new kids rely on it, why should photography be such an after-thought for everyone else? At a time when attracting visitors and maintaining members are high on everyone’s agenda, shouldn’t photography also be?
Thursday 8 September 2011
With the KLM Open in full swing, I thought I'd post an excerpt from a piece I wrote about Holland and the country's bid for the Ryder Cup. Enjoy.
For images, check out http://www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/TheDutch/
CULTURAL EXCHANGE
The Netherlands is remarkably flat. It’s a place of smooth-running roads where vantage points are rare and views stretch on for miles. It is a cyclist’s paradise defined by unbroken mirror-flat surfaces and uniform planes.
The country’s millpond appearance means that any rise or peak is cherished. It also means that The Dutch – Holland’s newest championship course and epicentre of its Ryder Cup bid – comes as a bit of a shock. For a start, there are hillocks, mounds and ripples, not to mention the occasion bump and ridge. The Colin Montgomerie-signature course is awash with contours and gradients unlike anything you see in the surrounding countryside.
Opened by the former Ryder Cup captain in May, the Dutch is for all intents and purposes a rough-and-ready links-style course. “Radical shaping has been used to create a rugged golf-course character where undulating fairways, featuring many bumps and hollows, are framed by dramatic mounding,” explains a note on Montgomerie’s website.
In between the bumps and hollows, the course stays true to its origins by incorporating a host of water features which stem from building a course on land below sea level. Once again, the transformation co-ordinated by European Golf Design has been absolute with straight and angular canals magically remoulded into meandering streams and sweeping lakes.
For images, check out http://www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk/TheDutch/
CULTURAL EXCHANGE
The Netherlands is remarkably flat. It’s a place of smooth-running roads where vantage points are rare and views stretch on for miles. It is a cyclist’s paradise defined by unbroken mirror-flat surfaces and uniform planes.
The country’s millpond appearance means that any rise or peak is cherished. It also means that The Dutch – Holland’s newest championship course and epicentre of its Ryder Cup bid – comes as a bit of a shock. For a start, there are hillocks, mounds and ripples, not to mention the occasion bump and ridge. The Colin Montgomerie-signature course is awash with contours and gradients unlike anything you see in the surrounding countryside.
Opened by the former Ryder Cup captain in May, the Dutch is for all intents and purposes a rough-and-ready links-style course. “Radical shaping has been used to create a rugged golf-course character where undulating fairways, featuring many bumps and hollows, are framed by dramatic mounding,” explains a note on Montgomerie’s website.
In between the bumps and hollows, the course stays true to its origins by incorporating a host of water features which stem from building a course on land below sea level. Once again, the transformation co-ordinated by European Golf Design has been absolute with straight and angular canals magically remoulded into meandering streams and sweeping lakes.
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