Great Golf Photographers - Mark Alexander
Mark Alexander is an award-winning photographer based at the Home of Golf. In a career spanning two decades, he has photographed over 150 courses, in 16 countries across six continents. To view more images, order prints or discuss commissions, visit www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM1/4 sec, f/14, ISO 160
“The challenge of photographing golf courses is often the difficulty associated with capturing the feeling of what it is like to actually be there - to capture the soul of the place, if you like. Nowhere has this been tried more often than at St Andrews; The Home of Golf, where the ghosts of golf’s past seem to haunt every fairway and bunker. I’ve been trying to seize that moment for a number of years and in this shot from 2014, I think I got somewhere close to it. Shot at 04:49am, the sun had only just breached the horizon and the resulting glow had an ethereal quality. The image shows the smooth run-up to the one of the toughest greens in the world, which somehow looks inviting in the warm light. Anyway, no photographic compilation would be complete without a picture from my home town!”
Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM1/20 sec, f/9, ISO 160
“Shot just as the sun was coming up, this image faithfully captures the shape of the green complex on the concluding hole of the Kings Course at Gleneagles. Like many avid golfers, I had viewed the hole from the hotel side, but I wanted to show how it would be played as part of a round. To do this, I had to climb up to the top of a specific ridge that would give me the height and vantage point to photograph the entire green and approach. I remember arriving at the course before 7am and although the sun was up, the surrounding mountains were casting a shadow over the course. I got into position and waited. Slowly the sun’s rays lit up the fairway, the green and eventually illuminated the surrounding bunkers. This shot required patience but it was worth the wait.”
Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM1/160 sec, f/14, ISO 100
“I travelled around the world to get this photograph, but it was worth it. The Hills on New Zealand’s South Island is a strange and private place where a beautiful mountain golf course meets abstract art in the form of a series of installations that weave themselves into the flow of the routing. Although I incorporated many of the artworks into my shots, I was increasingly drawn to the high peaks that provided jaw-dropping backdrops to almost every hole with many greens framed by ragged edges and steep facades. I wanted to link the golf to this imposing geography by compressing the image using a long lens. This image is actually two images joined together to create a wide-angle, telephoto shot; if there is such a thing! For me, it encapsulates the bond between the golf course and the stunning mountains that surround it.”
