ATHLETE BY WALTER IOOSS

Walter Iooss never thought he would be a professional photographer. As a teenager, it was just a hobby. But then at age 18, he got his first assignment for Sports Illustrated.

Michael Jordan Lisel, IL – 1987

No one captured Michael Jordan’s personality, his joy for the game, or his most personal moments, the way Walter Iooss has. For this photograph, Walter trekked to Jordan’s basketball camp for kids in Lisel, Illinois. He had one side of a parking lot painted red and another side blue, not knowing which uniform Jordan would wear to the shoot. When Jordan arrived, Iooss perched himself above the rim in a cherry-picker and had an hour to capture Jordan with the proper light and shadow. In later years, Jordan would never do an hour-long shoot. “When he played those two seasons for the Wizards,” says Iooss, “he never posed for a single photographer.”

He was to photograph and octogenarian sailor in Connecticut, who had built a boat with no plans and sailed it to Florida and back. Similarly with no plans, Iooss built an unparalleled photographic collection that has captured virtually every icon of professional sport: Ali, Jordan, Pele, Koufax, Gretzky, Unitas, Arnie and Tiger among hundreds of others. He has also photographed the most beautiful women on the planet for the world famous Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. “If you’ve got the best looking women on the planet and the best locations, it isn’t that hard,” Iooss says. Turning the pages of Iooss’ book, Athlete, is like taking a visual tour through the last fifty years of American sports history. From Kyle Rote to Brett Favre, from Wilt to LeBron, Iooss’ camera has focused on the icons of every major sport under the brightest lights looking for the story not yet told. This feature is just a small representation on the colossal body of artwork that Iooss has created and continues to expand every day.

Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier Philadelphia, PA – 2003

“Originally, this shoot was to be for a story about rivalries – Evert vs. Navratilova, Nicklaus vs. Palmer. They couldn’t get enough people to pose for the story. The magazine wanted them smiling for the photo, they want everything happy. And in color. By the end of the shoot, they were playing around for the camera. I had brought a 20×24 Polaroid camera and shot mostly color, but for the last few images, I switched to sepia film. I told them, ‘Just stare into the camera. No smiles.’ And I was able to capture the photo I was looking for—two warriors who left their lives in the ring. They ended up liking this photo the most. I think they liked it because it showed them as they really were.”

Tiger Woods Orlando, FL – 2002

Iooss captures golf ’s greatest talent showing a little of his personality, something he rarely does during shoots. “Tiger has been schooled by Michael Jordan,” Iooss says. “He doesn’t get photographed a lot and when he does it’s all business. It’s unlikely you would ever see poses like this again.”

Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus Ligonier, PA – 1965

“Arnold Palmer is definitely in my top five athletes to photograph,” says Iooss. “It was a rush to follow Palmer around when the gallery was watching. He had a charisma like no other. Tiger is great, but in his day, Arnold would definitely have given him a run for his money.” Here, Iooss captures a light-hearted moment in the Palmer/Nicklaus rivalry during the 1965 PGA championship at the Laurel Valley Golf Club.

Dwight Clark and Everson Walls San Francisco, CA – 1982

“People have called me a lucky photographer. In some cases that’s true, I’ve definitely been lucky. But I love watching football, and I especially love to watch receivers. I try to follow their patterns and tendencies. Chance favors the prepared man.” Here, Dwight Clark makes one of the most famous catches in NFL history in 1982, propelling the San Francisco 49ers into the Super Bowl.

Swimsuits

Iooss started working on the world famous SI Swimsuit issue in 1972. “At the time, I was about 29 years old, sexy girls, exotic locations—it was a dream job.” Having photographed some of the most beautiful women in the world has taken Iooss to locations such as Vietnam, South Africa, Brazil, and too many Caribbean islands to mention.

Kobe Bryant Los Angeles, CA – 2000

“Kobe said, I’m not going to look at the camera for this shoot,” said Iooss. “I wanted him to wear his nicest Italian clothes and drive around in his beautiful sports car, but he insisted on wearing his track suit. That’s the kid in him, always testing people.” Here, Iooss captures one of the few times Kobe looks at the lens.

Steffi Graf Cabo San Lucas, Mexico – 1997

Steffi actually approached the magazine wanting to do the shoot. Midway through the afternoon, her agent called me and asked me not to take any profile shots of her, because she was self-conscious of her nose. From that moment on, her nose was like a weather vane. Everywhere my camera moved, her nose followed it. She didn’t like the photos, but just about everyone else did.”

Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford Tampa, FL – 2001

“Going to Spring Training was always like going back in time. When you went in the 60’s, it was like watching baseball in the 1940’s. When you went in the 80’s, it was like watching in the 60’s. The fans were so close to the players. Everyone was much more laid back. Guys in the media wouldn’t even cover most of the games, so I would be at a batting cage with maybe two other photographers. Those days are long gone.”

Kyle Rote Bronx, NY – 1962

Iooss started toying with photography as a teenage hobby. He started attending NFL games with a camera. He was able to capture this compelling portrait of New York Giants running back, Kyle Rote. “I got a sideline pass for the day,” Iooss remembers. “My dad was a musician and he worked with WNEW. It’s amazing, you could spend so much time preparing for a photograph, and then something that you take in 30 seconds as an 18-year-old holds up well over time.”

Johnny Unitas Timonium, MD – 2001

“At the time, Unitas was one of my last living heroes,” Iooss says. He wanted to photograph Unitas badly for Sports Illustrated. “When the magazine was doing a story on former NFL players who were suffering from injuries and what little help they were getting from the league, they finally sent me. Here was the man with the golden arm and he couldn’t even lift that arm to drink a cup of coffee…when I was done, I welled up in the car. To see my idol living on hard times, it was an emotional day for me.

Wilt Chamberlain Boston, MA – 1966

“In those days, the strobe lights would be in the mezzanine. People would be smoking, so there would be this haze. And you can sit right up on the baseline. You could even put your camera on the court if the play wasn’t coming your way. Now the strobes are up in the ceiling. What makes photographs like this are the backgrounds. You just don’t have those opportunities anymore. Especially when you’re three or four feet behind the baseline.”

Boys Playing Stickball Havana, Cuba – 1999

“Cuba was a gold mine for photographers. The only sport I still play is golf. And in that moment when you bring the club back before it strikes the ball, there’s nothing else going on in the world. Just that. In the same way, when that ball is being pitched and the boy is about to hit it, there’s nothing going on in the world. It’s that childhood purity of sport that makes it so special.”