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One of the fringe benefits of being a Nikon Professional Services photographer, is that Nikon happily sends me exotic gear to test out from time to time!

A few days ago UPS dropped of the exotic AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f4G ED VR. I already own the renowned Nikkor 200-400mm. But I do on occasion with I had a little extra reach. When Nikon loaned me their formidable 600mm, I was extremely impressed. But I knew it was WAY too big, bulky, and cumbersome for my shooting style.

It was refreshing to find that the 500mm is physically only an inch longer, just half an inch larger in diameter, and less than 20oz heavier than my 200-400! Really, without the lens hoods, you’d be hard pressed to tell there was any difference between them. And since I routinely hand-hold my 200-400, I instantly knew the 500 would be perfectly manageable for me!

So I called my buddy David Archer up and we headed out to shoot for a couple hours at the beautiful Magnolia Gardens Audubon Swamp. David owns the 400 f2.8. So we had great fun comparing and feeling out the differences between the three “Big Glass” lenses. I didn’t have a ton of time to spend. But here are a few favorites with the 500. I photographed some of these with the D800 and some with the D4. Some were shot with the TC14eII and the TC20eIII attached as well.

On another outing I tested the 500mm at the Charleston Center for Birds of Prey. Look for that post soon…

After 6 12-hour days and 2 9-hour days, my week of covering the Family Circle Cup culminated in a really fun private photo shoot with our new 2014 champion, Andrea Petkovic!

After winning the tournament, beating Jana Cepelova in the finals, she headed back to her room at Charleston Place Hotel to shower, change, and pack for her flight home. She’d been on the road for about 9 weeks and was ready to get back to Germany to celebrate with family and friends. But before leaving, she graciously agreed to do a few photos with her trophy downtown.

Alice and I, along with Nick from the WTA, arrived a few minutes before the shoot to scout out a couple iconic Charleston backdrops. We decided black iron gates, cobble stone streets, and the pineapple fountain were all options we could squeeze into the few minute we had with our celebrity. Alice, the other official tournament photographer I work with, decided to shoot all natural light, leaving me to incorporate a little off-camera flash. This dual approach would ensure we got the most variety of images for the tournament to use.

Andrea jumped out of the vehicle, gave us a BIG smile, and enthusiastically admitted she had begun “celebrating” early at the hotel! Instantly we knew this was going to be a lot of fun!!! 🙂 The new champion was excited and happy to do all the poses we asked for…including an extra one at the end by the marsh.

All images were shot at Waterfront Park with a Nikon D4, Nikkor 70-200VRII, and wireless off-camera flash.

CONGRATULATIONS to Andrea on her win!!!

Day 7 at the Family Circle Cup brought much stress, and great relief at the same time. With the weather threatening to not cooperate, we didn’t know if we’d actually get the finals in. Yet at the same time the aura in the media center was as if this was the last day of high-school before summer vacation!

Fortunately the weather held off just long enough! Anabel Medina Garrigues & Yaroslava Shvedova beat the sister team of Hao-Ching Chan and YungJan Chan to take the doubles trophy. Then Andrea Petkovic topled giant-slayer Jana Cepelova to win the biggest title of her career!

Another FANTASTIC Family Circle Cup had come to a close. This was a mile-stone year for me. Although I’ve been covering it as a freelancer for about 15 years (since back when its home was on Hilton Head Island), this completes my 10th year as the Official Photographer of the tournament!!!

Day 6 at the Family Circle Cup was full of thrills and chills!

Both singles semi-finals went the distance with tons of back-and-forth drama! Eventually Andrea Petkovic prevailed over Eugenie Bouchard. And Jana Cepelova finally took out qualifier Belinda Bencic.

The doubles weren’t without their own drama! Today’s finals will be a fight to the finish! Who will be the new Family Circle Cup champion?!? Stay tuned…

Day 5 at the Family Circle Cup came and went like a blur. This was my 6th 12+ hour day in a row!!!

Fortunately I had a few minutes to sort images and collect my thoughts before heading to the Thomas Benett House for the VIP Welcome Reception. I was dragging by the time I got home from that. At least the field has narrowed down…so we don’t have to start coverage quite as early the last two days! 🙂

With Serena & Venus Williams, Sam Stosur, Nadia Petrova, and Jelena Jankovic out…it looks like the trophy is up for grabs by a newcomer! Stay tuned…

Day 4 at the Family Circle Cup was all about the action! We’re narrowing down the field. Who will be our two finalists?!? Stay tuned…

Day 3 at the Family Circle Cup found me struggling to find my rythme early on. This turned out to be my 4th 12-hour day in a row and I’m feeling it. 🙂

But once I settled into the flow, the shots started coming. With lots of great on-court matches, including some fun doubles, I had lots of great action to focus my lens on!

There were also some wonderful off-court player appearances. Grace Minn made a special trip to talk to the USTA members at their luncheon. And I had a private shoot with Eugenie Bouchard as she answered questions on her twitter feed!

Ready to see what tomorrow holds! Stay tuned…

Day 2 at the Family Circle Cup was a long day with a tough schedule…but very rewarding images!

Of course there was all kinds of tennis action on the courts, with plenty of private player appearances and autograph sessions off the courts as well.

One of the highlights for me was photographing a private photo shoot with rising American star, Lauren Davis, on a C-17 at the Charleston Joint Military Base. She was so much fun to work with and such a pleasure to photograph!

Even more fun is planned for tomorrow! Stay tuned…

Day 1 at the Family Circle Cup had all kinds of really neat photo oportunities!

There was plenty of great tennis action around the grounds! Then it was over to the picturesque Daniel Island Club to photograph the Media Hour where the top 9 seeds arrived to be interviewed and pose for photos. (The shots I made of each player holding the various tournament hashtags will be stitched together to create a really neat panoramic group shot.) Lastly, Alice and I closed the day out by covering the VIP Box Holder Reception, where 5 of the favorite players came out to answer questions and pose for photos with the box seat holders. (For this event we do prints-on-site which attendees take home with them that night!)

With Day 1 in the bag, it was home to recharge batteries and prepare to do it all over again! Stay tuned for more shots to come…

The Family Circle Cup started off with Family Day during the qualifying rounds!

I also got to be a part of the first ever WTA Iconic Photo Shoot with Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens. The private shoot for Alice and I and a couple TV stations was staged on the dock at the southern end of Waterfront Park.

Wrapping it up with the Player Party at Mynt, with all the players arriving in town to kick off the tournament, was a blast!

Stay tuned for more shots to come…

It’s been my pleasure to know and work with Miss Brenda for many years! She’s a hugely popular and highly successful real-estate agent on Daniel Island. If you’re in the business, chances are you’ve worked with or heard of her!!!

It’s been a few years since I’ve done head-shots for her. So I was excited when she called to tell me it was “time”. Part of what prompter her was a new mile-stone birthday…and a new love in her life! She wanted some new marketing material with her and her handsome new 4-legged friend, Rudy. 🙂

We met up at the Daniel Island Club one afternoon to catch the beautiful rays, the flowing sweetgrass, and the golden marsh…all so indicative of life on Daniel Island. We had a wonderful time catching up. And I must say, Miss Brenda still looks FABULOUS!!!