Sport
Iooss & Leifer
Exhibit
Nov 14, 2009 - Mar 07, 2010

In SPORT: Iooss and Leifer, the Annenberg Space for Photography presented the work of two photographers whose work transcends their genre – the oeuvre of sports photography. Walter Iooss and Neil Leifer’s work offer a dialogue not just about winning and losing, but all that it means to be human.

Over the span of their careers, Iooss and Leifer have captured the lives of our greatest sports heroes, contributing to the collective visual memory of our times. Their combined photographic experience amounts to nearly a century of documenting history in motion, and creating sports legends.

What shines through the still photographic images are the inner workings of aspiration and triumph; tremendous strength coupled with consummate grace; a keen sense of vision and personal drive propelled by amazing physicality. The exhibit examined the great heights and depths of human experience condensed into single, stirring, revelatory frames.

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Featured Photographs

  • Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY, December 28, 1958 In 1958, I started going to Yankee Stadium every Sunday for Giants home games. I couldn’t afford a ticket, but I discovered that about an hour before game time, buses from a veterans’ hospital pulled up outside the stadium with forty or fifty veterans in wheelchairs. They always needed people to help wheel the veterans into the stadium. I volunteered, quickly becoming a regular. We would position the wheelchairs up against the center field wall, a few feet behind the end zone. Under my coat, I always had my Yashica-Mat camera. On my sixteenth birthday, December 28, 1958, I found myself standing ten yards directly in front of Alan Ameche as he scored the winning touchdown in that famous “Sudden Death” game. What a wonderful birthday present! -- A picture that even today, fifty-one years later, is unquestionably one of my very best.
    Alan Ameche Touchdown, New York Giants vs Baltimore Colts, NFL Championship Game
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Shea Stadium, Flushing, NY, November 24, 1974 The Jets were playing the Buffalo Bills, and the Bills’ O.J. Simpson was only a few yards away from breaking the all-time NFL rushing record. My assignment was to focus on O.J. for the whole game. As it turned out, I “got lucky” and got a great picture of O.J.’s record-breaking run, which ran as the opening spread in Sports Illustrated that week. However, late in the game during a time-out, I turned towards the Jets bench. There was Joe Namath on the phone, perhaps twenty or thirty feet away from me. He was covered from head-to-toe in mud. Maybe he was just trying to “get lucky” after the game. I quickly forgot about O.J., turned my camera on Namath and shot until I had finished whatever number of frames were left in the camera. I knew I had a memorable picture the minute I took it.
    Joe Namath in the Mud, New York Jets Quarterback - NY, November 24, 1974
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Orlando, FL, January 1992 Kristi Yamaguchi was the perfect subject for this posed picture. She scratched an “x” on the ice and landed her jump right on that spot on every attempt. I took the picture at the Olympic trials in Orlando, Florida, January 1992. Kristi went on to win the gold medal at the XVI Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France.
    Kristi Yamaguchi - Orlando, FL, January 1992
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Griffith Stadium, Washington, DC, April 10, 1961 I was eighteen years old and the idea of sitting twenty feet in front of the President was more thrilling than shooting any baseball game could ever be. Unfortunately, by the third or fourth inning, it was clear that I hadn’t yet gotten any memorable pictures. I’d hoped that Kennedy would do something to make a good picture. He might eat a hot dog and end up with a little mustard on his lip. Johnson ate one, but he wasn’t the subject I was there to shoot. Kennedy didn’t order a dog, but he donned a fedora – which was not a bad picture. Finally, I got lucky when a foul ball came dangerously close to the presidential box, causing the President, Vice President, and Democratic and Republican leaders from both houses of Congress to all lean to the left. Surely it was the most bipartisan moment of 1961.
    President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Opening Day
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY, October 4, 1961
    World Series 1961, Game 1, Cincinnati Reds vs. New York Yankees
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, MD, May 31, 1960
    Casey Stengel, Arguing with Umpire, New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA, October 6, 1963
    Sandy Koufax After Winning the 4th and Final Game of the 1963 World Series
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Stanford Stadium, Palo Alto, CA, July 22, 1962
    Wilma Rudolph, Winning the 100 Meter Dash, U.S. vs. U.S.S.R. Track Meet
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico, June 21,1970
    Pelé, Brazilian Soccer Star after Winning the World Cup
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Churchill Downs, Louisville, KY, May 1, 1965
    Kentucky Derby
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Churchill Downs, Louisville, KY, March 5, 1973
    Secretariat, Winning the Kentucky Derby
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • St. Dominic’s Arena, Lewiston, ME, May 25, 1965 Muhammad Ali KO’d Sonny Liston with one punch two minutes into the first round of their heavyweight championship fight in Lewiston, Maine. A two-minute fight is surely a major disappointment for fans who pay dearly for tickets, but for photographers, it really doesn’t matter whether the fight lasts fifteen rounds or fifteen seconds. The first thing any picture editor looks for is a great picture of the final knockout. In Lewiston, that knockout happened exactly where I had hoped it would. I instantly knew that I was in the perfect spot on the apron when Liston went down. My only thought was, “Stay right there, Sonny! Please don’t get up!” A sports photographer must get lucky enough to be in the right spot at the right time. Obviously that was the case in Lewiston on that night. What I’m proudest of is that on that night, I didn’t miss.
    Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston - St. Dominic’s Arena, Lewiston, ME, May 25, 1965
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, Philippines, October 1, 1975
    Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Atlantic City, NJ, June 1988
    Mike Tyson, Heavyweight Boxing Champion
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Baltimore Colts vs. Washington Redskins Baltimore, MD, December 13, 1964
    Johnny Unitas, Hall of Fame Baltimore Colts Quarterback
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY, December 14, 1958
    New York Giants on the Bench, New York Giants vs. Cleveland Browns
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Orange Bowl Stadium, Miami, FL, January 14, 1968
    Vince Lombardi, Green Bay Packers Coach, After Winning Super Bowl II
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL, December 14, 1969
    Dick Butkus, Chicago Bears Middle Linebacker
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Pittsburgh, PA, November 1971
    Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Great Wall, China, December 1983
    Zhou Qiurui, Chinese Olympic Gymnast
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Mount Fuji, Japan, November 1983
    Koji Gushiken, Japanese Olympic Gymnast
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Queens, NY, 1978 Although 17-year-old Steve Cauthen only weighed 105 lbs., including saddle, helmet, boots and silks, he was as tough a competitor and athlete as any heavyweight champion I have ever photographed. I took this picture at Aqueduct Race Track in New York in 1978. Cauthen went on to win the Triple Crown that year.
    Steve Cauthen, Aqueduct Race Track
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Davos, Switzerland, January 1980
    Eric and Beth Heiden, American Olympic Speed Skaters
    Photo by: Neil Leifer
  • Bangkok, Thailand, 1995
    Kickboxing
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Kingston, Jamaica, 2008
    Usain Bolt
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Orlando, FL, 2009
    Arnold Palmer’s Putting Grip
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Bangkok, Thailand 1995
    Young Kickboxer
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Philadelphia, PA, 2003 It was easier to get Ali to pose for this picture than it was to get Frazier. Joe still resented all the torment Ali had caused him over the years. Joe finally agreed to pose when we offered to go to his gym in Philadelphia. There’s not much I shoot at this stage of my career that puts me on edge. But this was one of those pictures that I knew would never happen again: the greatest rivalry in modern sports history. I wanted something unique, something monumental. I brought a 20x24 Polaroid camera and near the end they were hamming it up in every shot, I said, “No, no. I don’t want you to do anything. Just stare in the camera, no smiles, just stare.” I did one frame, then a second, and there it was, the picture I was looking for: two battered warriors who’d left their lives in the ring.
    Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Houston Astrodome, Houston, TX, 1967
    Muhammad Ali vs. Ernie Terrell
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Westwood, CA, 1996
    Gail Devers
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Philadelphia, PA, 2005
    Boxer Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins and Posse - Philadelphia, PA, 2005
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Kahuku, Oahu, HI, 1999
    Malia Jones- Kahuku, Oahu, HI, 1999
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Highland Park, IL, 1998
    Michael Jordan
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Highland Park, IL, 1998
    Michael Jordan - Highland Park, IL, 1998
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Chicago, IL, 1998 The problem with shooting the NBA slam-dunk contest was that you never knew how the players were going to dunk, especially Jordan. As he sat in the stands three hours before the contest, I said, “Michael, can you tell me which way you’re going to go, so I can move and get your face in the picture?” He looked at me as if I were crazy but then said, “Sure. Before I go out to dunk I’ll put my index finger on my knee and point which way I’m going.” So later, when they announced his name, I looked over to him on the bench and there was his finger pointing left.
    Michael Jordan, Slam Dunk Contest - Chicago, IL, 1998
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Lisle, IL, 1987 I had the idea to paint this parking lot blue. I also trucked in an NBA-regulation basket that I could move to create a shadow where I wanted one. I stood in a cherry picker, some 20 or 30 feet above the ground, and looked straight down, waiting for the right light with a camera that took 14 frames a second Michael had young legs back then and could fly. Not only do you see his beautiful form from above, but you also see the same image from the side, in his shadow. Of all the pictures I’ve taken of him, it’s my favorite. It was just so unusual; no one had quite gone there before.
    Michael Jordan, Blue Dunk
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • New York, NY, 1997
    Michelle Kwan - New York, NY, 1997
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Baltimore, MD, 2002
    Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Mission Viejo, CA, 1984
    Greg Louganis
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Laurel Valley Country Club, Ligonier, PA, 1963
    Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Baltimore, MD, 2004
    Michael Phelps- Baltimore, MD, 2004
    Photo by: Walter Iooss
  • Miami, FL, 2005
    Serena Williams - Miami, FL, 2005
    Photo by: Walter Iooss

Stories Behind the Photographs

  • Michael Jordan, Slam Dunk Contest - Chicago, IL, 1998
    As he sat in the stands three hours before the contest, I said, “Michael, can you tell me which way you’re going to go, so I can move and get your face in the picture?” He looked at me as if I were crazy but then said, “Sure. Before I go out to dunk I’ll put my index finger on my knee and point which way I’m going.”
    Walter Iooss

    Walter Iooss

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Featured Photographers

 
  • Neil Leifer

    Neil Leifer

    Neil Leifer’s photography career has spanned almost 50 years.

  • Walter Iooss

    Walter Iooss

    Walter Iooss has been a professional photographer since the age of 19, shooting a cover for Sports Illustrated when he was 20.

Iris Nights Presenters

 
  • Not pictured

    Bruce Hall & Corinne Marrinan

    Bruce Hall has been a scuba diver and underwater photographer since 1983. Corinne Marrinan won an Academy Award in 2006 for the film A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin.

  • Jimmy Chin

    Jimmy Chin

    Jimmy Chin’s passion for travel, climbing, skiing, exploration and photography has taken him on breakthrough expeditions around the globe.

  • Rick Rickman

    Rick Rickman

    Rick Rickman’s work has taken him around the world into extraordinary situations involving people, cultures, natural resources and world events.

  • Steve Fine

    Steve Fine

    Steve Fine has been Director of Photography at Sports Illustrated since 1996.

  • Lucy Nicholson

    Lucy Nicholson

    Lucy Nicholson is a senior staff photographer with Reuters News Pictures.

  • Kevin Lynch

    Kevin Lynch

    Kevin Lynch is internationally recognized for his growing portfolio of conceptual portraiture.

  • Not pictured

    Aimee Mullins & Howard Schatz

    Aimee Mullins is an athlete and model photographed on Life Magazine and Sports Illustrated. Howard Schatz is a world-renowned photographer whose work concerns people, human motion and the human form.

  • Neil Leifer

    Neil Leifer

    Neil Leifer’s photography career has spanned almost 50 years.

  • James K. Colton

    James K. Colton

    James K. Colton is currently the photography editor for Sports Illustrated.

  • Walter Iooss

    Walter Iooss

    Walter Iooss has been a professional photographer since the age of 19, shooting a cover for Sports Illustrated when he was 20.

  • Art Brewer

    Art Brewer

    Art Brewer is a largely self-taught photographer, his only formal instruction being a seminar with Ansel Adams.

  • Laila Ali & Mikki Willis

    Laila Ali & Mikki Willis

    Laila Ali, an athlete and champion of health and fitness, is a role model for today healthy, on-the-go women. At the age of 25, Mikki Willis founded his first business endeavor, The New York / Los Angeles Theater of the Arts.

  • Jessica Mendoza & Marla Rutherford

    Jessica Mendoza & Marla Rutherford

    Jessica Mendoza has been a member of the US Women’s National Softball Team since 2001. Marla Rutherford has worked in both the fine art and commercial worlds.

Slideshow Night Photographers

 
  • Joel Grimes

    Joel Grimes

    Joel Grimes has been working as a commercial advertising photographer for nearly 30 years.

  • Aaron Poole

    Aaron Poole

    Aaron Poole is a photojournalism student at Brooks Institute with a focus on sports photography.

  • AJ Mast

    AJ Mast

    AJ Mast has been taking pictures for a long time, over 30 years.

  • Not pictured

    Al Satterwhite

    His photographic prints are in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), George Eastman House, and numerous private collections.

  • Not pictured

    Andy Batt

    Andy Batt likes to tell stories with his photography.

  • Ben Liebenberg

    Ben Liebenberg

    As a photographer based in Los Angeles, photography has always been Ben Liebenberg’s number one passion.

  • Bob Scott

    Bob Scott

    Bob Scott has been shooting photgraphy for over 20 years.

  • Brad Mangin

    Brad Mangin

    Brad Mangin is a freelance sports photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area where he regularly shoot assignments for Sports Illustrated and Major League Baseball Photos.

  • Brian Bielmann

    Brian Bielmann

    Brian Bielmann lives in Hawaii. His work takes him around the world to the most beautiful locations.

  • Dave Collyer

    Dave Collyer

    Dave Collyer is an artist working with chemistry, metal and glass to create hand made photography using the wet plate collodion method from the 1800’s.

  • Not pictured

    David Allio

    As a veteran motorsports photographer, David Allio instinctively looks ahead to capture the legendary people and that breathtaking moment in motor sports photography.

  • Dustin Snipes

    Dustin Snipes

    Dustin Snipes is a freelance photographer located in Los Angeles California.

  • Not pictured

    Fredrik Clement

    Fredrik Clement shoots sports because the perfectionism and the fierce determination to push boundaries that any athelte is possessed by, is the stuff of great photography and great stories.

  • Jay Beyer

    Jay Beyer

    Jay Beyer never planned on being a photographer.

  • Not pictured

    Jennifer Cappuccio Maher

    Jennifer Cappuccio Maher is a staff Photographer for The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, a Los Angeles News Group publication

  • Not pictured

    Jim Russi

    Jim Russi has traveled the world serving as a Senior Staff Photographer for all the major U.S. surf magazines and has produced images for Quiksilver’s Roxy ad campaign for a decade.

  • Joni Sternbach

    Joni Sternbach

    Joni Sternbach was born in the Bronx, New York. She graduated from New York University/International Center of Photography with an M.A. in Photography in 1987.

  • Mark Gamba

    Mark Gamba

    Mark Gamba is an adventurer, an environmentalist, a fine artist and a photographer.

  • Matias Callejo

    Matias Callejo

    Matias Callejo, 38, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Freelance sports photographer shooting mostly polo.

  • Matt Brown

    Matt Brown

    Matt Brown is recognized as one of the most innovative photographers in the photo industry today.

  • Not pictured

    Nate Abbott

    Nate Abbott is a photographer based in New York, NY.

  • Pier Nicola D’Amico

    Pier Nicola D’Amico

    Over the course of his twenty-something career, Pier Nicola D’Amico has worked tirelessly to develop the unique photographic style that has put him on the vanguard of advertising photography.

  • Robert Beck

    Robert Beck

    Robert Beck is a staff photographer for Sports Illustrated.

  • Ryan Tatar

    Ryan Tatar

    Ryan Tatar is a 31 year old photographer and surfer based in North Carolina and California.

  • Sean Davey

    Sean Davey

    Sean Davey specializes in shooting lifetsyles in, around and under the water.

  • Not pictured

    Smiley Pool

    Since the mid 1980’s, photojournalist Smiley Pool has been collecting images that capture the critical stories of our time and the memorable moments in individual peoples lives.

  • Not pictured

    Thor Jonsson

    Thor Jonsson’s photographic work has been presented both at Fotografiska Museet – Stockholm, and The Annenberg Space for Photography – Los Angeles, of which in 2010, he was chosen as one of the worlds top 20 sports-photographers.

  • Tim McKenna

    Tim McKenna

    Leading figure in action sport photography, Tim McKenna has become recognised as one of the best outdoor photographers in the world.

  • Wally Skalij

    Wally Skalij

    Wally Skalij has been a photographer for the Los Angeles Times for the past 12 years that has taken him all over the world covering world sporting events including five Olympics and will be in Vancouver in February.

  • Zak Noyle

    Zak Noyle

    Zak Noyle is a 24 year old surf photographer from Hawaii.

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