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Those who have endured in this sport of Tennis...training past pain, fighting through adversity (born of both Man and Nature), and arrived to find glorious victory at the end; They are the ones that know me deeply, truly for who I am.
So many seek the Gold, yet out of 128 players in a draw, 127 out of 128 may end up going home disappointed. All but one may raise the prize. Even for the Finalist, it can be misframed. Seemingly like that old 1996 Nike Olympic Ad "you don't win Silver, you lose Gold".
A very zero-sum perspective and is exactly the wrong way to struggle if you want to survive. Because as the sweepstakes say: Many will enter, One will win. Immediate gratification doesn't work here.
Always Re-Defining: Self, Success and "Summits"
Instead, we should seek Excellence. The improvement towards mini-goals over a very long stretch of time. Always climbing, always reaching, always advancing. Never stop, never retire, never stop re-inventing your game. You are defeated when you give in. No one but within yourself can you be made to feel a failure.
Engraving into Tennis History
In just the Legg Mason 2006 tournament alone, I have created the image of many tennis stars bio page. Examples: Brad Gilbert (Wiki Picture), Tim Henman (Cropped Wiki Pic), Marat Safin (Wiki Pic).
Each of these "Web Encyclopedia" bio pages has thousands of viewers every day - some with millions of views over their lifetime!
It is a great honor to their "portrait painter". History and future tennis generations will look back and the image I have created will be there perhaps forever. That is a very rare and powerful privilege to be part of the history books.
Sharing the world of Tennis to our Fans Globally
To share a few snippets of highlights to those many miles or countries away. To enlighten and educate the casual observer, and bring context to an otherwise unknown player or match.
For a sport rarely in the American Top 5 for viewership, it can be a tough job. We do it because we truly love it and the Tennis Circle.
Cramped together in a small room, tape recorders and notepads in hand. Trying to find the special sound bite or quote that will be good enough. To be published or to be rejected are so fickle as to the audience's whim of the day.
Hard work, Lucky Payoffs - "Perfect Shots" are Part Luck and Part Skill
Q: Who has felt the scorching heat of the Sun on their skin? Experienced the thirst for water at his very core? Gasped for oxygen in every breath, and hungered for victory deep down in their heart and soul?
A: My fellow Warriors in Tennis.
When we understand Tennis, we also learn the man on the other side of the net
My fellow tennis players are cut from similar cloth. Recreational Player, USTA league teammate or rival competitors - do they not sweat, bleed and struggle the same in competition? Both in victory and defeat. They pay the same tolls of training and feel the same glories of victory. Like Gladiators in the modern arena...who have traded swords for rackets...unified by our quest on the green rectangle.
The Championships: so elusive, yet globally coveted by all who have entered the game.
So many seek the Gold, yet out of 128 players in a draw, 127 out of 128 may end up going home disappointed. All but one may raise the prize. Even for the Finalist, it can be misframed. Seemingly like that old 1996 Nike Olympic Ad "you don't win Silver, you lose Gold".
A very zero-sum perspective and is exactly the wrong way to struggle if you want to survive. Because as the sweepstakes say: Many will enter, One will win. Immediate gratification doesn't work here.
Always Re-Defining: Self, Success and "Summits"
Instead, we should seek Excellence. The improvement towards mini-goals over a very long stretch of time. Always climbing, always reaching, always advancing. Never stop, never retire, never stop re-inventing your game. You are defeated when you give in. No one but within yourself can you be made to feel a failure.
Photographers and Press: The Recorders of Time
Even without my direct credits or company copyrights directly listed on so many Tennis Wikipedia entries, I am most proud of my work that has not paid 1 cent in royalties.Engraving into Tennis History
In just the Legg Mason 2006 tournament alone, I have created the image of many tennis stars bio page. Examples: Brad Gilbert (Wiki Picture), Tim Henman (Cropped Wiki Pic), Marat Safin (Wiki Pic).
Each of these "Web Encyclopedia" bio pages has thousands of viewers every day - some with millions of views over their lifetime!
It is a great honor to their "portrait painter". History and future tennis generations will look back and the image I have created will be there perhaps forever. That is a very rare and powerful privilege to be part of the history books.
Sharing the world of Tennis to our Fans Globally
To share a few snippets of highlights to those many miles or countries away. To enlighten and educate the casual observer, and bring context to an otherwise unknown player or match.
For a sport rarely in the American Top 5 for viewership, it can be a tough job. We do it because we truly love it and the Tennis Circle.
Cramped together in a small room, tape recorders and notepads in hand. Trying to find the special sound bite or quote that will be good enough. To be published or to be rejected are so fickle as to the audience's whim of the day.
Hard work, Lucky Payoffs - "Perfect Shots" are Part Luck and Part Skill