click image to enlarge | ©2009 Geoff ShackelfordGuest Photographer: Geoff Shackelford

About This Photo

"This is Andres Romero in the final round of the 2009 Northern Trust Open at Riviera. He's driven it too far on the par-4 5th hole. The shot was absolutely impossible and as I recall, he hit an amazing recovery considering the tall kikuyu grass and the potential for real trouble with OB right and no up-and-down chance over the green.  I love the feel of the image for sentimental reasons, as some of my favorite old LA Open images from the late 1920s were taken down at this end of the course. The sycamores have lost their leaves and it's a grey day, which in black and white, provide that classic LA Open look."

-Geoff Shackelford

Today I introduce a new "Guest Photographer" feature.  This website exists to celebrate golf photography as well as the game itself, and I thought it would be fun and interactive to share this forum with others who share the same appreciations.  No matter what level of photographer you may be- from the career professional to the beginner- please email me if you would like your photography to be considered.

The first guest photographer is golf writer and blogger extraordinaire Geoff Shackelford.  With this photo, Geoff shows that he may be just as comfortable behind the camera as he is on a keyboard.  I remember seeing this photo when he posted it a year ago during the Northern Trust Open, and thinking that I would have been proud to have taken it myself.  It's the composition and depth that I like, and I love the feeling here of being in "the arena".  There is a good combination of action and landscape qualities at play here, and the gallery along the left helps to frame the image, and gives a feeling of importance to the moment.  A bit of sky above the treetops is a nice touch, which gives the image a sense of freedom.  I believe Geoff has pretty basic camera equipment, which only proves that a good eye and knowledge of the game are just as important as expensive equipment and the latest technology.  And if you know anything about Geoff, then you know his thoughts about technology's effect on golf.  (He doesn't like it!)

Geoff will be out at Riviera this week covering the Northern Trust Open, so be sure to visit his blog at geoffshackelford.com often throughout the week.  (Read his Golf World feature on the tournament's new executive director Jerry West here.)  Geoff's blog is daily reading for me, and this week I'll look forward to seeing his photos as well. 

Riviera was my first tournament shoot, back in 2004, and in essence, I became a golf photographer on its grounds.  Riviera will always be a special place to me for that reason, and the fact that it's one of my favorite venues on the PGA Tour.  I really wanted to return this year, but my schedule will keep me here in Atlanta instead.  I will be featuring images from that 2004 shoot in The Photo Of The Day this week, so I hope you'll return from time to time and take a look.

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