Earlier this year we did a fun shoot with a new upstart in the golfing world, a punky little O.C. skate-dude by the name of Rickie Fowler. Now, any time a magazine spends the time, effort and resourses to focus on a ‘hot, new thing’, then you know they’ve probably got their finger on the pulse enough more than me, to know what they’re actually talking about. But when i met Rickie, i kind of had a feeling this kid’s gonna be something special. Guess what, he was just named PGA Rookie of the Year, and that’s after having been a key player on the US Ryder Cup team this summer! Oh, and by the way, he’s a kick- ass motocross rider too…. and has a bit of that Zac Efron/ Justin Bieber thing going on. Can’t you just hear Nike and MTV swooning?

I was so happy to hear that Graeme McDowell from sunny ‘Norn Irn’ won the US Open this past weekend. It reminded me of a cool shoot I did with him back in 2004 for The Observer Sports Magazine (UK). We spent an afternoon on a Scottsdale, Arizona golf course, just shooting around making pictures, and he was awesome to work with. No publicists, no handlers, just me and him having a laugh. I still can’t play golf though. I guess i never picked up any tips. Anyway, good for you Graeme. I’ve always been keeping an eye on your progress.

I heard today that Lorena Ochoa, the world’s number 1 female golfer ( and has been so since the beginning of time, or so it seems), is retiring right in the middle of the season, and right at the top of her game! I had the great pleasure of being asked by Sports Illustrated to travel down to her home town of Guadalajara, Mexico and do a shoot with her for their end of year portfolio. It was a great trip and shoot, and Lorena was so unassuming and sweet to work with. I can only imagine it’s a temporary retirement ( i.e. a break form the game), as she’s been the queen of women’s golf since she was 8!

i love this shoot we did recently, with Jesse Billauer: quadriplegic surfer, founder of ‘Life Rolls On’, and inspiration to us all. http://www.malibutimes.com/malibu_times_magazine/