Sunday, March 06, 2011

YouTube had nothing on him.

This week, the media world lost its favorite son Frank Chirkinian.

Not only was he christened the father of televised golf, he was so far ahead of his time, that YouTube legions continue to be inspired by his imagination of camera-use.
From his efforts to show sports at angles that hadn't even been dreamt of, he created a show within the show.
He was the first to put a camera on a blimp to show the game (experimenting with college football at first, then rolling his idea to other events)...which today, still remains, to me at least, one of the best angles in golf...the overhead view of a golf ball as it travels down the fairway, or onto a green.
His showcase for all his talents is on obvious display at The Masters, where he honed and refined his amazing skills...the biggest being his attention to detail. His ability to position cameras that did not take away from the beauty of the event while showing the nuances of what makes Augusta special.

From cameras to microphones in the Lob Lolly pines on the grounds, Bluebirds and Eastern Towhees never sounded so good...

Nature was on display when Frank was in charge.

Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,

JFB

1 comment:

Mike Leopold said...

From what I understand, he did a lot for the game of golf. Especially for us fans that watch it on tv.