Hey everyone! Glad to be back and to see you back here! I know it may be the middle of the week but I can still talk about last weekend right? I had a great one filled with some golf, a lot of pool time, a close friend in town for the weekend, watching my Gator baseball team make it to the College World Series, and then more pool time. Really just what I needed.

This week has already had a busy start but I'm enjoying it and absolutely can't wait until Thursday - the first round of the 110th US Open at Pebble Beach! I am a huge golf fan (if you haven't noticed), I'm an even bigger golf major championship fan, and finally I think my favorite golf major championship is the US Open. The Masters is likely a close second but I won't put it in first until I am able to walk Augusta National and see it for myself.

The US Open also has some emotional connection to me as that is the only major championship that I have attended. My dad and I were able to get tickets to the 2005 US Open at Pinehurst #2 and it was a blast. Even cooler, my grandfather took my dad to the US Open (my dad's first major championship) in St. Louis in 1965 - FORTY years earlier. Too cool. While we were in North Carolina for the US Open I had some serious talks with my dad about my future career and life plans and the night before the final round we talked for literally hours (something pretty unique as my dad and I are usually fairly quiet) about what I should do before I finally decided that I would focus my efforts on going to law school and becoming an attorney. Even though at that point in my life I didn't, he knew I could do it, and just told me to do my best. Parents are always right.

Back to the post at hand! I wanted to get back to some of my golf pics since this week is pretty important in the golf year. An important part of my golf year is shooting The Players Championship up in Ponte Vedra Beach at TPC Sawgrass. This year was my third year and it is really one of the highlights of my year that I look forward to as soon as I see the 2nd week in May nearing. It's taken me a while to get to all of these photos because of time constraints plus I don't want to overload you all with a ton of golf posts in a row. The third round of the Players championship was definitely one of my best all time as far as getting images that were used and as always I had a blast doing it. Kind of fitting it was my 3rd year shooting the Players and the 3rd round was my best. Sometimes my life seems to revolve round the number 3.

When I met my editor (and ride) on Sunday morning I noticed there was a newspaper on his dash and a familiar (and very large) photo of mine on the front of the Sports page. Below that picture was a set of four more, another of which was mine. Wow, 2 on the front of Sports - this was a dream come true already and I hadn't opened the paper yet. Inside there were 3 more of my shots. What an amazing feeling! I knew I had a pretty good day but to see the photos in print and know that others (and even editors back at the office) appreciated them was such a cool feeling. I really can't tell you how jazzed up I was and ready to get back out there and do it all over again in the final round. A fellow photographer working with me that day started calling the Sunday edition the Tim Darby edition Sports section because of how many pictures of mine were used on Sunday. I do have to say it was a bit weird and exciting all at the same time seeing that section laying around the media center with a huge picture I took on the front page. Some seasoned photo journalists may see this as no big deal but it was certainly a special day for me.

Here are a few of my favorite (and best) photos from the third round:



































and here's the one that ran as a large print on the front page of Sports leading into the final round of the Players:



more on this shot in a post coming soon.

If you're a true golf fan, or just want to look at some more photos from the Players Championship Third Round gallery.

Thanks for stopping by and reading a little self gloss but it truly was a great day in my "career" as a photographer. I plan on writing a few posts later on explaining how I ended up with certain shots from this day and the story behind them so stay tuned. Thanks for checking in and if you're a golf fan enjoy the US Open - I know I will!

The Players Championship - Round 2



Day two is in the books and it was another hot one! Seemed like today there wasn't as much cloud cover or a breeze so the breaks in the air conditioned media room was a welcome relief. Got to see a lot of the big names again today and saw some great golf, including an eagle from the rough on #5. It was an amazing shot! Can't believe we're already halfway done with the tournament. I only have half of my photos today because I left one of my memory cards in the media room to be uploaded and looked at later tonight. I do have a few to share, first off the Times-Union used a few of my shots in their web gallery today and if you'd like to see those click here and be sure to look at some of the other great galleries on the page. Here are a few more that I edited tonight when I got home:

















If you don't already follow me on Twitter be sure to check me out as I am posting some updates throughout the day while I am out on the course. Thanks for stopping by!

Photo of the Day - Father Daughter Dance:



Welcome back! Like I said in yesterday's post I am sorry that I wasn't able to post a photo of the day for Thursday but it was a full day and when I got home I had the chance to talk to and work with our first guest blogger. We are really close to finishing up the first real guest blog entry and after reading it all I can say is WOW! Totally impressed and I am so pumped up to share it with the rest of the world! Be ready because next week that's exactly what is going to happen.

The above photo is one of my all time favorites from the professional golf events I have had the opportunity to shoot. When you assist other photographers in this kind of setting your focus for the majority of the time must be on assisting the photographer you are working with and your shots are way down the priority list. Towards the end of the tournament last year that focus completely changed when the tournament was coming to an end. There were assigned positions on the 18th hole which restricted the number of photographers allowed in each area and the angles of the shots that we were able to get so it was key to get the best shot from each angle to bring back to the media room. Unfortunately we didn't have enough people working the event to have a photographer at each location so after some strategy it was determined that I would be manning one of the spots near the green to try to get the best shot possible.

Wow - my first sports assignment when I least expected it and when I was the most fatigued after walking mile after mile for the first 3.75 rounds in the summer heat and now I was going to have to gather it all up and find a way to make it happen. I was also pretty fired up that day because there was a stock of loaner equipment that the Times-Union was given for this event and there just so happened to be an extra D3 lying around. Once everyone had headed out it was still there and one of our editors offered it to me. I tried to act casual and paused a bit before answering with a resounding "OH YES!" So this is one of my favorite shots since I had the opportunity to use some amazing and very expensive gear that is not my own.

As the champion Henrik Stenson's group made it down the fairway I was in my assigned area ready to go with some amazing sports photographers from all over the country. After he had finished his round and began to celebrate his daughter ran out to him and that amazing moment happened while they were celebrating such a special moment. Her hair was lit up by the setting sun and their expressions say it all about a father and his child's relationship. Definitely one of my favorites and one that I think back to and smile about often. I'm lucky enough to work with my dad and see him every day and we often have these kind of moments but I'm just a bit too heavy to pick up these days :-)

Thanks for stopping by on your Friday morning for this edition of the photo of the day. Like I said big things are happening and our first real guest blogger and one of my great friends Doug Levy will be stopping by for his interview next week! Stay tuned and have a GREAT weekend! If you are around tomorrow and want to stop by there may even be a special Saturday edition of the photo of the day. Happy Friday!

Photo of the Day - Near Miss:



Hello again! yesterday was another work day and the above photo is kind of fitting and since I was working with it last night so I figured I'd post it! The day wasn't THAT bad, but it did feel like a near miss. Just a lot of potential to be really great and get a lot done but just didn't get there. The good news is even though yesterday was a near miss there's always hope for tomorrow (the next hole in the round).

The above shot was taken during the third round of at last year's Players Championship. Kevin Na had a birdie putt on the 7th green and his reaction says it all. I had a great time following his group for a bit during this round and he is an exceptional professional golfer! I love the shot and it really sums up some of the emotions involved in the game of golf at any level. This shot is also an interesting lesson in sports photography - sometimes the best shots come after the action when the athletes react either positively or negatively based on the result. Never chimp too soon, the shots that have already been taken aren't going anywhere but the action or reaction in this case will pass you by if you're checking to see what you got too soon.

Here's hoping today is the exact opposite of a near miss! Thanks for stopping by today and if you missed it - be sure to check back to Monday's post for my very first "guest" blogger! Be sure to stay tuned for another guest blog entry soon! See you tomorrow!