Nadal, Fish among many stars to appear at 2011 ‘Taste of Tennis’ event in New York City.

"Rafael Nadal poses for the media during the 12th annual Taste of Tennis Hotel at the W New York Hotel in New York City Thursday, August 25, 2011."
"Tommy Haas poses for the media during the 12th annual Taste of Tennis Hotel at the W New York Hotel in New York City Thursday, August 25, 2011.
"Fernando Verdasco poses for the media during the 12th annual Taste of Tennis event at the W New York Hotel in New York City Thursday, August 25, 2011."
"Mikhail Youzhny poses for the media during the 12th annual Taste of Tennis event at the W New York Hotel in New York City Thursday, August 25, 2011."
"Janko Tipsarevic and his wife, Biljana Sesevic, pose for the media during the 12th annual Taste of Tennis event at the W New York Hotel in New York City Thursday, August 25, 2011."
"Gilles Simon poses for the media during the 12th annual Taste of Tennis Hotel at the W New York Hotel in New York City Thursday, August 25, 2011."
"James Blake poses for the media during the 12th annual Taste of Tennis eventl at the W New York Hotel in New York City Thursday, August 25, 2011."
"Vera Zvonareva poses for the media during the 12th annual Taste of Tennis event at the W New York Hotel in New York City Thursday, August 25, 2011."
"Mardy Fish and his wife, Stacey Gardner, pose for the media during the 12th annual Taste of Tennis event at the W New York Hotel in New York City Thursday, August 25, 2011."

After a bit of last minute planning, I got to shoot the 12th annual Taste of Tennis event at the W New York Hotel in Manhattan last Thursday night on behalf of the very hip tennis fashion and style blog, Tennis Served Fresh. An opening celebration of sorts as we gear up for the 2011 US Open, Taste of Tennis brought the world’s best tennis players and chefs together for a night of cooking, partying, and plenty of photo opps. Be sure to check TSF for a full report of the night’s activity.

This was the first time I’ve shot a red carpet event, although this carpet happened to be green. It was exactly like what we see on television at these types of occasions: hordes of photographers packed together like sardines for two hours screaming at famous people to look their way. 

I was beat by the end of it, but it was extremely exciting to be there. It’s exhilarating to be so close to so many tennis players my own teammates and I have watched throughout the years. 

Thank you to Nick McCarvel for allowing me to shoot for him, and to Ben Snyder for making the connections!

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