Miller - Peter Read Miller on sports photography: a Sports Illustrated photographers tips, tricks, and tales on shooting football, the Olympics, and portraits

A Sports Illustrated photographers tips, tricks, and tales on shooting football, the Olympics, and portraits of athletes

PETER READ MILLER ON SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY
A Sports Illustrated photographers tips, tricks, and tales on shooting football, the Olympics, and portraits of athletes
Peter Read Miller

New Riders
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Copyright 2014 by Peter Read Miller

Acquisitions Editor: Ted Waitt
Project Editor: Valerie Witte
Senior Production Editor: Lisa Brazieal
Developmental and Copy Editor: Anne Marie Walker
Photo Editor: Steve Fine
Proofreader: Erfert Fenton
Composition: Kim Scott/Bumpy Design
Indexer: Valerie Haynes Perry
Cover and Interior Design: Mimi Heft
Cover Images: Peter Read Miller

Notice of Rights

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact .

Notice of Liability

The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Peachpit shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it.

Trademarks

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Peachpit was aware of a trademark claim, the designations appear as requested by the owner of the trademark. All other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

ISBN-13: 978-0-321-85712-5
ISBN10: 0-321-85712-7

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Printed and bound in the United States of America

To my maternal Grandmother Josephine Cullen Culliton, who gave me my first camera.
I always said I would dedicate a book to her; I just never thought Id write one.

And to my dearest Kallie for all her love, patience, and support now and forever.

To my parents Donna Miller and Lewis Miller, and my paternal grandmother Marion Miller, who all contributed in their own loving way so that I could have a career I love.

To four of the greats of sports photographyMark Kauffman, John Dominis, Robert Riger, and John Zimmermanwhose work and friendship encouraged and inspired me.

To John Wiebusch and David Boss of NFL Creative Services, who gave a grad school dropout a chance to shoot the NFL and started my career.

To all the photographers, editors, and photo assistants with whom I have worked, and to my many other friends in this crazy businessyou have all made me a better photographer and a better person.

To the students who have attended my workshops and all those who managed to stay awake during my lecturesyou have inspired me with your passion and your desire to learn this craft.

To the folks without whom this book would never have been written: Ted Waitt, who put me up to this (I forgive you, Ted!) and kept gently pushing me until the project was completed. Thank you, Ted, for your patience, your friendship, and your time.

To my long-suffering Peachpit team at Pearson: Valerie Witte, Anne Marie Walker, Lisa Brazieal, Mimi Heft, and Kim Scott. Thanks for putting up with me and for taking my words and pictures and turning them into a smooth read and a great layout. And dont worry; I promise I wont write another book for at least a couple of years.

To Linda Clarke and her team at MJI Premedia who took 35 years of negatives, transparencies, and digital files and transformed those hundreds of photographs of wide-ranging origin and quality into solid image files that look fantastic on the printed page. It was an enormous and, at times, daunting project. Thank you.

To my closersSteve Fine and Bob Roewho came into the game late and got me a win; you both deserve credit for a save on this one.

Barcelona, Spain, July 25, 1992

In 1992, the XXV Summer Olympic Games were held in Barcelona. I flew in from Los Angeles on a Wednesday, two days before the Games were scheduled to start. After a long trip, I was tired and hungry, and all I wanted to do was have a quick dinner and a long sleep. But my boss and good friend Steve Fine (then Deputy Picture Editor at SI) had a different idea. He insisted that we attend the dress rehearsal of the Olympic Opening Ceremony.

Opening Ceremonies are when the host country makes a statement to the world about who they are and how these games will reflect the culture of the country. It is always a really big, elaborate show with a good part of the world watching. Its also when all the worlds media compete for the best pageantry pictures on a day when there are more than 1,000 photographers in the stadium and no sports are being played. Its the ultimate win-or-die moment for photographers.

So instead of chewing on some paella and then resting on a soft pillow, Steve and I sat through a beautifully surreal rehearsal performance. At the end we learned one important fact: The Olympic torch was to be lit with a flaming arrow.

If the Opening Ceremonies are the host countrys statement to the world, the lighting of the torch is the exclamation mark. It is also the official beginning of the Games. In other words, its a big deal and a visually dramatic one that Steve and I were determined to catch in a way no one else would.

After the rehearsal, Steve and I hiked around the stadium until we found a spotnot, I should add, in an approved photo areawhere I could mount a remote camera that would, with a sufficiently long exposure, cover the entire flight of the arrow from the archers bow all the way to the torch.

On the night of the actual Opening Ceremony, I was in position as the archer drew back his bow and I made a tight shot of him with a 500mm lens. At the same time my remote camera with the wide angle (28mm) lens fired, and I made the overall shot of the arrows flight. The picture ran as the opening spread of our first weeks coverage of the Games, with the shot of the archer on the preceding page.

This photo illustrates a number of the elements that I believe make a great sports photo. There was planning and forethought; that is, we had a concept. I had the technical knowledge to set up and fire the remote camera, and I had a good bit of luck.

The hardest thing to do when you are shooting an Olympics is to make a photo that no one else has made. By dragging mejet-lagged, hungry, and tiredto the Opening Ceremony rehearsal, Steve enabled me to make that rarest of Olympic images: a unique onea memorable one.