Boston Golf Club (Gil Hanse - Hingham, MA) - A Photo Tour

[Sean_A]

When we lose our great professional photographers because the market accepts a lower quality free in your face product I will at least know I spoke up. It certainly is no longer as simple as don't look, our senses are under attack. We need fewer better pictures.

JakaB


I understand your point and agree to a certain extent that I would prefer less pix (only because I actually find it hard to follow the tour with a lot of pix...not for any artistic reasons), but beggars can't be choosers.  When I pay Lambrecht for some pix I will offer direction    But jeepers, you really should give it a rest. 

I used to enjoy Jon's tours, but now I know I can not use them to judge anything, and further Jon does not post them so we can make judgments about the courses. If he doesn't care, then I don't either!

 

Ciao

[Ronald Montesano]

Juan Kav


You're kinda sorta answering your own uncertainty. Jon nor Joe nor Ben nor I nor any others on this site promote ourselves as professional photographers. We belong to the Amateur Golf Course Photographers Alliance, an organization that does not yet exist but will certainly continue to not exist one day. We take photos for fun and for our friends. At times, we overproduce our work, but we live on the razor's edge. We also respect the work of the great professional golf course photographers. I'm glad that you spoke up.


RM

[Jeff Taylor]

"When we lose our great professional photographers because the market accepts a lower quality free in your face product I will at least know I spoke up. It certainly is no longer as simple as don't look, our senses are under attack. We need fewer better pictures"

Well if we are going to criticize crap work, this post is as good a place to start as any. Trust me, everybody knows you spoke up. To stem the attack on the senses of future readers of this thread, I suggest that there are at least 4 posts that are prime delete material.

[John Kavanaugh]

Sean:
I'm glad my photos didn't put you off ever seeing BGC. It's a gem, and as I think I may have mentioned before this thread went south, it does not play nearly as tightly as it looks.

Terry:
Thanks for your kind words.

John:
Are we really going to do this every time I do a tour? I get it (and so does everyone else here) - you don't like my tours. I'm ok with that. But I can assure you that Larry Lambrecht isn't losing any sleep over my photos. And you're welcome to a refund at any time.

Jon,


What if you just edited your tours a bit similar to how Ran does.  Let's say post 10 or so pictures for 18 holes and then provide a link to the rest.  You have to wonder yourself why the courses you profile are never discussed and all you get, almost all, are pats on the back for your effort.  Wouldn't it be more fun to talk about the course instead of you?


Your'e on the cusp of doing something great here and I'm just trying to help.  Good luck.  I'll let it go now and look forward to your next tour.


Btw: Please accept my apologies. I've got this thing about photos and you got in the way. You deserve better, my fault entirely.

[Brad Tufts]

I like as many pics as equals 1 per full shot plus anything the photog wants to highlight more closely.  I want to feel how it plays step-by-step.  I think the photo tours are part of what makes GCA so interesting.


I also find it helpful to imagine JK's posts being dictated in Andy Rooney's voice.

[Chris DeToro]

Agree--these photo tours are great.  The way Jon captures the shots, in my opinion, creates more opportunity to understand, appreciate and discuss the design of a given hole

[Eric Smith]

I also find it helpful to imagine JK's posts being dictated in Andy Rooney's voice.

Different JK

[Alex Miller]

Don't change a thing Jon. Awesome work as always!

[Keith OHalloran]

Jon,
Keep up the good work. I wish my photos looked like yours.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Boston is one of the few courses I've played in the States.


I visited with Tom Dunne and remember him specifically saying - "Don't expect them all to be this good".


I thought it a special place and special design.... It supremely fit the landscape and was so stuffed with features in the detail that I remember thinking the crew must have been so talented, they could just generate ideas and execute them for fun...


There aren't many courses I can imagine beating this one, especially modern designs. But I do remember the only - very small - negative I considered about the place, a recurring theme and one that Peter just brought up on another thread... Because of all those features, the design is still quite stylised... Modern designers just can't do "simple" any more. Luckily in this case, it is down to talent and it all feels wonderfully natural and entertaining... but sometimes, I'd like to see the visuals toned down a little... Just not here.


Ally

[Brett_Morrissy]

Thanks for the tour Jon.


I have always been surprised that BGC has not had more acclaim, especially when being discussed in conjunction with other courses built in the past 15 years. Can anyone shed light on this for me?  Of course, t[size=78%]here are some that love BGC very much. [/size]


I'd be interested in a comparison with Bandon Trails or Kingsley instead of Old Sandwich. Would I be correct in thinking the topography is similar, although I believe BGC has a lot more gravel, rock, etc - it was an old quarry or mine wasn't it?


Has anything changed with the members now the owners?

[Kyle Casella]

To answer the many queries about the width of BGC I would say that the playing corridors are quite wide, with no places that truly require great precision off the tee. However once you get outside of those corridors there are almost no holes which are adjacent to others (2/3, 12/16 being exceptions) where a wild tee ball will allow you to play from anything better than the trees.


I think the photos posted here from behind each green are quite interesting and grant a rare glimpse of the course. There are many blind shots at BGC and looking back after each green allows the golfer to gain a greater appreciation for the ground which has been covered. Well done!

[Tim Martin]

Jon's photos are indeed enjoyable to look at. That said the photo processing procedure is unlike anyone else that conducts said tours. The colors to me just look fabricated or "ultra" enhanced. What photo processing programs are used to accomplish that finish?

[Jeff Taylor]

If memory serves, in camera treatment delivers the image quality that you refer to.

[JC Jones]

Jon's photos are indeed enjoyable to look at. That said the photo processing procedure is unlike anyone else that conducts said tours. The colors to me just look fabricated or "ultra" enhanced. What photo processing programs are used to accomplish that finish?

Like you'd know how to use them anyways.

[Chris DeToro]

I'll second the response about the width--the fairways are wide, but well insulated, which to me, presented visually intimidating driving corridors which, in reality, are much wider than they may appear

[Jon Cavalier]

Jon's photos are indeed enjoyable to look at. That said the photo processing procedure is unlike anyone else that conducts said tours. The colors to me just look fabricated or "ultra" enhanced. What photo processing programs are used to accomplish that finish?

Different cameras set up differently for different conditions will deliver different results.

On a flat overcast day with a grey sky and very little sun on a bright green golf course with massive color in the surrounding trees, I'm using different camera settings than I would on a bright, sunny spring day with lots of blue water in the background - for example, see here http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60605.0.html or here http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,61105.0.html

I don't use computer-based post processing software, like Photoshop. My shots go straight from the camera to my iPad (where they are typically cropped for a wider ratio in Snapseed), and then to Flickr where they are hosted for display on the board.

With this method, sometimes I like what I get on a given day (like above) and sometimes I don't (you typically won't see these since I'm not posting tours filled with shots I don't like).

What should be pointed out though is that I'm not there to photograph the course. I'm there to play a round of golf, enjoy myself, and see what the course has to offer. I'm taking these shots on the fly during a round, so I'm not setting each one up, metering the light, firing off a dozen test shots, waiting for the right shadows, modifying the camera settings, and then editing that one great shot for display. Whatever I get, I get, and if I think the course is worth displaying and discussing here and the shots I did get are an adequate representation of the course as I saw it, it might end up as a tour.

Whether you like a given set of photos or hate them is for you to decide. I appreciate your thoughts either way.

[Jon Cavalier]

I'll second the response about the width--the fairways are wide, but well insulated, which to me, presented visually intimidating driving corridors which, in reality, are much wider than they may appear

Agree 100%. As I noted above, I can tend to spray it, and I never ended up in the woods at all. The actual width of the holes is almost always much greater than the apparent width - the mental pressure is the bigger factor. It's really a superbly done design.

[Josh Tarble]

Jon,
What type of camera are you using?

[Jon Cavalier]

Jon,
What type of camera are you using?

I use several different cameras.

If I recall correctly, the photos above were taken with a combination of a Sony and a Fuji, with an iPhone shot or two possibly mixed in.

[Jeff Taylor]

You do fine work.
The questions mean nothing beyond technique.
JT

[Tim Martin]

Jon,
What type of camera are you using?

I use several different cameras.

If I recall correctly, the photos above were taken with a combination of a Sony and a Fuji, with an iPhone shot or two possibly mixed in.

So you can get the result we are seeing on an IPhone with no post processing software? Granted you said it was only used for a few shots but I am interested in that comment nonetheless.

[Jon Cavalier]

Jon,
What type of camera are you using?

I use several different cameras.

If I recall correctly, the photos above were taken with a combination of a Sony and a Fuji, with an iPhone shot or two possibly mixed in.

So you can get the result we are seeing on an IPhone with no post processing software? Granted you said it was only used for a few shots but I am interested in that comment nonetheless.

It depends on what you mean by "the result we are seeing." I'll have to go back at look at the photos to see which were taken with what device. But to be clear, in this particular tour, one or two photos at most are iPhone shots - off the top of my head, I think the last shot of the 18th green from above was a phone shot.

[David Wuthrich]

Jon, thanks for a wonderful tour of BGC.  I always enjoy your "tours" and can't wait to see where you go next.  I have been fortunate to play all of the ones you tour and my pictures don't hold a candle to yours, so thanks for sharing.

BGC is a wonderful course and a great addition to the Boston golf scene.  I wish we had just one of their courses in Houston!!!!

[JC Jones]

Jon,
What type of camera are you using?

I use several different cameras.

If I recall correctly, the photos above were taken with a combination of a Sony and a Fuji, with an iPhone shot or two possibly mixed in.

So you can get the result we are seeing on an IPhone with no post processing software? Granted you said it was only used for a few shots but I am interested in that comment nonetheless.

It depends on what you mean by "the result we are seeing." I'll have to go back at look at the photos to see which were taken with what device. But to be clear, in this particular tour, one or two photos at most are iPhone shots - off the top of my head, I think the last shot of the 18th green from above was a phone shot.

Jon,

Tim isn't really interested in the technology.  He is so old he can barely use his flip phone.  He's just jealous of your access.