Of all the photos I took over the week at the 2012 Travelers Championship golf tournament, this one struck a chord with a few readers who were kind enough to send along their gratitude.

“I was blown away by your photo on the first page of section B in Saturday’s paper. Looks like a painting – the composition is just exquisite! Just had to tell you!”

Connie Johnson
East Hampton, CT

 ”On occasion, I’ve congratulated your peers for very special images that have appeared in the Courant. And today, I was transfixed while studying the nuances of your artwork, John. I often wonder if an artist, such as yourself, realizes the effect his creations have on the viewer. Simply a wonderful composition. Thank you.”

Vic Neumann

 ”The photo with caption beginning “Jon Martel, of Bristol” was neat. At first I thought it was a Wyeth painting.”

Mary Wallace, Guilford

 ”Mr. Woike – That photo is “museum quality” for sure.  When I flipped to that
page, I thought I was seeing an Edward Hopper painting!  Lovely.
I am a docent at the New Britain Museum of American Art, and see a lot of
images. This was one of the best!”

Keep up the good work.

Charles Leach, M.D.
Farmington

This tournament had to be one of the most difficult ones I’ve covered in my 20 plus years of covering the event. The heat and humidity took it’s toll on me, more than I wanted to admit to myself.

Each year we deal with the challenges of the weather, there’s usually at least one rain delay and this year was no different. I was getting ready to leave the site after PGA officials gave the word play would be suspended for the day Friday evening and resumed 7:00 am Saturday morning, but I needed to find at least one image that kind of reflected that.

As I made my way around the clubhouse to head out onto the course I spotted a red umbrella (go figure – its only the Travelers tournament) making its way from the Fun Zone. I ran into a better position as Jon Martel continued his walk back to his car after a long day as hole captain on hole #2. Martel, it turns out, is from the same town I live in so we chatted a little before he left for his car and I back to the media center knowing I found what I was looking for.

Pro Tip: Carry all sorts of weather gear at an event like this. Hat, sun screen, LIQUIDS, and rain gear. I could have gone out in the thick of the storm to get the rain pouring down but I didn’t want to risk damaging the gear I have or possibly get struck by lightning. Waiting until the worst had past gave me the desolate look I wanted. A lone person walking through a field of battered wispy grass, the corporate tents all battened down for evening and the 16th green in the background, that was the weather shot I was searching for.

P.S. Thank you for the kind words from readers that felt touched by my photograph. I hope to keep meeting the standards you are used to seeing from our staff at The Hartford Courant.