On Photography and Golf

Photography and golf share a common demon – the yips. You can define the yips as a sudden loss of ability to perform at a level you’ve come to expect from yourself. Frequently they show up after a breakthrough performance – you come off that high, finding yourself in a sea of self-imposed pressure to repeat. Of course, this pressure only hurts your game.

I’ll never forget the day I shot my best 18 holes, an 87. I also won’t forget the 104 I shot the next round. I can still hear my father. “Relax, Dan, relax.” It was almost as if he was a kung fu master … “let the swing will find you, young grasshopper”.

Photographers feel similar pressure. You reach a point where your images stand out, others recognize you’ve got some skill or, God help you, you win an award. You start chimpin’ like crazy. Each click of the shutter is like a judge’s gavel – the image better be flawless. In this anxious state you miss the ’zen’ that separates good pics from the average ones.

Photographers and golfers frequently attack the yips with the same, flawed approaches. We blame bad light, poor greenskeeping or even those around us for interfering with our concentration. We buy instructional books, DVDs and read every blog we can get our mouse on. And we buy more gear. I’ve known many a golfer who was convinced a new putter would solve everything. Substitute “photographer” and “lens” in the above, and you’d be where I’ve been.

In the end, the only way I’ve beaten the yips was to follow my father’s advice… relax. Keep at it, and good images will find you. The last time I suffered the yips, I was camping in Northern Michigan. I just about drove my lovely bride nuts with all my fussing and the incessant chase of the perfect camping picture. Good thing she loves me – it’s tough to be around someone in that state of mind.

I went out shooting the first morning with lackluster results as my only quarry. It wasn’t until the next day I found my groove. We were hiking through Taquanamen Falls on a day where the mosquitoes couldn’t have been worse. With my mind distracted by the mosquitoes, I forgot all about the yips and got this…

And this…


You’d think the irritation of mosquitoes would make it harder, and while they did, nothing is worse than the yips. Funny how that works, isn’t it?

D