The moment Tiger Woods's Ryder Cup challenge was halted

Daily Mail (U.K.) ^ | Oct.3, 2010 | Staff

[fightinJAG]

This is the moment Mail photographer Mark Pain found himself in the line of fire at the Ryder Cup - and for a brief moment brought the mighty Tiger Woods to a juddering halt.

The American world No 1 was partnering Steve Stricker and attempting to chip his third shot on the final hole of yesterday morning's fourball match against Europe's Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher on to the green.

But Woods hit the ground behind the ball and duffed the shot straight at Pain.

The man from The Mail didn't flinch, however, and captured this extraordinary picture just before the ball hit his camera, bounced on to his chest and came to rest at his feet.

[Cagey]

photogopher s/b photographer....... sheesh.

You had Caddyshack on your mind. hahahaha

[Jack Black]

Yes, good points. The Nikon F5 film camera has a top shutter speed of 1/8000th of a second, as do a very few other high end film and digitals. But it's hard to use it. You need a lot of light to take pictures at that speed, more light than you would probably get with a slow lens on a cloudy day.

If you did use a fast lens, like a 100/2.0 then you would have a paper-thin depth of field.

We don't know if the shooter was using autofocus or not. Perhaps he had manually focused on Tiger, that would make sense.

I don't think ANY camera could track a golf ball hit by Tiger Woods coming straight at you.

My post was in jest, sort of a insider-camera joke. For the record, I have always thought Nikon made great cameras, and have preferred them to Canons. (But mostly owned neither brand.)

It is a great shot! It's better for being focused on the audience than on the ball. The shooter must just be incredibly happy, even though he might need a new lens.

[albie]

“Check out the dude on the right with the stogie”.

...I saw him! Funny look on his face. Looks like one of the guys on the loser couch at the frathouse party on “Animal House”.

[fightinJAG]

I have to believe the photog made at least a tiny movement when he realized that ball was coming at him.

[fightinJAG]

Why is that man in blue signaling a touchdown?

[fightinJAG]

The ball bounced off his chest, too. That could have left a mark.

[newfreep]

re: the guy in blue, he’s actually filming a deodorant commercial.

[fightinJAG]

Especially in this case, I thought it would be nice for the photographer to get the clicks.

[fightinJAG]

Oh.

[Secret Agent Man]

I thought it was the cab driver.

[Jack Black]

Why are we sure it's not a 24-70mm lens? Wow, I just looked this lens up. Here is the review at Ken Rockwell .com a well known Nikon site.

It *is* a very fast lens! It's a fixed 2.8 zoom. Those are always pricey. $1750. to be exact. The review is titled "World's Sharpest Midrange Zoom". That's exactly the sort of lens you'd expect a high end pro to carry and use for this shot.

Here is a picture of this lens. Note: a pro's constant appature 2.8 24-70 is a far different design then the slower, smaller, cheaper kit lenses that come with cameras like the Nikon D 40 that have similar zoom ranges.

Now, look at this picture of the photographer moving away from Tiger and the crowd after the shot.

I agree the lens on his camera looks a bit large to be the one in question, but look in his left hand! Ahhh, what is that beast? It's probably the lens he just took off. It sure looks like the lens pictured above, with a range-appropriate lens hood on it. The hood design itself gives away that it's a wide-angle capable lens, like the one in question.

Stone cold pro, I'd say!

Before doing anything else he's taken off the damaged lens and replaced it with one which can take more pictures. Then he moves.

[G Larry]

Ya!
SHAME on whoever clicked this thread open for you, when you weren’t looking!

[Yaelle]

It is a great shot! It's better for being focused on the audience than on the ball.

Exactly. We know what a golf ball looks like, and we know that's what Tiger just hit (if not a stripper it's a golf ball).

The fact that we can see the expressions on the faces of the audience is important to this shot. It's one in a million, and it's worth any pain it caused. That's a great photo.

[republicangel]

It’s tape.

[fightinJAG]

Nice details, thanks.

[Jack Black]

...and of course pro’s have at least two cameras at all times, so he hasn’t taken the lens off the camera body (yet), he’s only gone to his other camera in his shooting hand while getting out of the way!. He probably got a 10 or 15 other nice pictures of the next shot.

[GLDNGUN]

Check out the guy on the left side of the photo with the visor/wig thing going on along with the shorts and knee-high mud boots.

[cabojoe]

He’s got a camera in both hands, unless I’m looking at the wrong guy.

[meyer]

Actually, I’d say (though admittedly, I’m not that familiar with the Nikon lineup, being a Canon guy) that the camera in his left hand where he’s gripping the lens barrel is the 24-70 with the hood attached. The other lens, I don’t know, based on the size, is possible a 70-200 f/2.8. Can’t tell if it’s Nikon or perhaps a Sigma (which can be bought in Nikon or Canon mount).

[the invisib1e hand]

Ya! SHAME on whoever clicked this thread open for you, when you weren’t looking!

yaddda yadda yadda. as if you don't find it annoying to expect a picture and then have to go clicking all over the internet, waiting forever.

of course not. Not you!

And what about just plain good manners?! I post something, I say there's a picture you ought to see, why don't I show the dam thing to you?