Photojournalist Profile

By Sam Stockhamer

Neil Leifer

Neil Leifer

Photo By- Christopher T. AssafImage Source- http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/2013/09/photographer-neil-leifer-images-we-remember/

Neil Leifer

• Neil Leifer is a very famous sports photojournalist. Neil also worked in other areas of photojournalism but is best known for his work in the sports field. He has taken countless historical photographs in sports and other areas. He is a very talented photojournalist. Some of the most famous photos in sports history were taken by him.Larry Berman said “Neil Leifer has photographed 15 Olympic Games, 4 World Soccer Cups, 15 Kentucky Derbies, lots World Series games, the first 10 Super-bowls and almost every big heavyweight title fight starting in the 1960’s.” Some people say he was just very lucky and he just always seemed to be at the right place at the right time. There are people that think was just lucky and not that skilled of a photojournalist.

Career Path

Career Path • Neil Leifer worked for Sports Illustrated when he first

started in photojournalism. At age 16 he sold images to Sports Illustrated. He actually had his first cover shot for Sports Illustrated at age 19. After a while he wanted to branch out and cover a wider range of things. He decided to go work for Time Magazine. He also had work published in Saturday Evening Post, Look, LIFE, and Newsweek. His worked was published in these publications numerous times. He also published some of his work later in numerous books that he created. These books were very successful. He was able to share lots of his great photographs in his books that were never published before.

Photo by- Neil LeiferImage source- http://neilleifer.com/portfolio/julius-erving/?g=134803997

Taken On- 3-9-1997

This is a photo of Julius Erving (Dr.J). He is dunking on the Denver Nuggets at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. The light in this photo is perfect. The lighting draws your eye to Dr.J while he dunking. The really cool thing about the lighting is how there is some burst of light behind Dr.J. This burst of light really adds to the photo. Dr.J’s expression is very intriguing. He looks so focused and intent on dunking the ball. It looks like he is shutting everyone out and just focusing on the rim. He is not hamming it up for anyone. This is defiantly not a posed photo as he is in the middle of the game. The focusing of this photo really adds to the image. Dr.J is in focus and really pops in the photo. The other players and fans are a little blurred. This draws your eye right to Dr. J. I am a big Dr.J fan and I really enjoy watch clips of him playing. He was such a talented player and this photo really showcases his highflying ability.

Era

Era• Neil said in an interview that he

“started taking pictures around1954 or 1955”. Photojournalism was really gaining traction as a profession when Neil started. He started at a very young age. Sports photojournalism was starting to bud as a profession during this time. Neil really was in the midst of the start of the big boom of sports photojournalism. During this era boxing was very popular and capturing the fights with photojournalism was very big. An example of this is how Muhammad Ali one of the greatest boxers of all time liked Neil’s work so much he only liked Neil to photograph him.

Motivation

Motivation• Neil had a lot motivation. He grew up on the Lower East Side

of Manhattan. He grew up in a poor and a very tough neighborhood. His motivation was to get out of that neighborhood and to be successful. He used photojournalism to do this. He always really loved sports and photography. When he was young he combined his to passions. He started going to sporting events and taking photos while he was there. Neil is quoted saying he “began shooting sports pictures because it was combining two things that I liked. The idea of getting the best seat in the house at an event and doing something I enjoy doing, which was taking pictures, the combination was perfect.” This was is motivation to to be a photojournalist. He also said the he liked to see his name in print next to the photos he took. This motivated him to perfect his craft. He really enjoyed going an photographing the local teams like the Dodgers baseball team (when they were in New York).

Technology

Photo by- Neil LeiferImage source-http://neilleifer.com/portfolio/vince-lombardi/?g=134803997

Taken On- 1-14-1968

This is a photo of Vince Lomardi. Vince Lombardi had just coached the Packers to victory over the Raiders in the second ever Superbowl . He is being carried by Jerry Kramer. The main subject of the photo is Vince Lombardi, he is in the middle of the frame. If Jerry or the other players were left out of the photo it would really detract from the photo. The photo would not have the same feeling if they were not in the image. Vince is not crowding the edges of the photo he is perfectly captured in the frame. The use of lines really draw your eye to Vince. The way he is contorted in the photo and the use of horizontal lines adds to this photo. The contrast is very appropriate. The top portion of the photo where Vince’s head is light because of the stadium lights. The darker lining of the clouds really adds to the image. The bottom portion of the photo where Vince’s legs and feet are, is darker which draws your eye to the top of the photo. The contrast in this photo is perfect and really makes the picture incredible. While I am not a Packers fan I am a big fan of Vince Lombardi he is one of the best coaches of all time in all sports in my opinion. The pure happiness on his face and Jerry’s face adds so much character to the image.

Technology • When Neil first started taking photos at age 13 he could not afford a camera.

He was lucky enough to go to a community center that was able to provide them with cameras. These cameras were all donated. This camera and film that was given to him helped him to realize his passion. Neil talks about how around 1958 he had a “Yashica Mat, the poor man’s Rolliflex, and shot a few pictures.” Neil also used something called strip photography in the 1970’s to photograph athletes. Matt Christopher said strip photography is a “technique is a photographic and cinematographic process where a moveable slide, into which a strip has been cut, is inserted between the camera and the subject to be photographed.” Another example of an interesting turn of events with technology is when Neil photographed the Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston boxing match. He was one of two photographers to have color film in his camera when Ali knocked Sonny out. That photo became one of the best sports photos ever taken. It is a lot easier now for photojournalists to get great close photographs. It is amazing that Neil was able to get the amazing photos he did. Sports photography was heard because people were constantly moving and it was not as easy as it is today to get great action snapshots. Neil did a fantastic job of doing this with the little technology he had. It just goes to show that a great camera is not everything, you have to have an eye and a special talent to get the pictures he got.

Ethics

Ethics • Everyone faces ethical dilemmas. Neil was not exempt from

this he too has faced ethical dilemmas. He covered many different types of events and I am sure faced many ethical dilemmas. He covered wars, athletics, politics and many other things. One example is when he photographed the Ali vs Williams fight. He photographed Williams laying on the ground after being knocked out. Ethically that can be a bit of a dilemma because he is photographing a man who has just been knocked out. As I said before he photographed wars as well which is very tough ethically. This is because it is hard to know what is ethically okay to photograph. I have looked at a number of Neil’s photos and no of them appear to me that any of his original photos were tampered with. They all look very real and un-doctored to me and that is conformed by my research.

Bias

Bias• Every photojournalist has biases. We all actually have

biases. One bias that he might have had was that he was pretty close to Muhammad Ali. He might have tried to photograph Ali only in a good way because they were friendly. It would have been easy for Neil to take photos of Ali that made him look really good. It also would have been easy to take photos of Ali that would have affected his image. Neil never did that he only got photos of Ali that were pretty much good for Ali’s image for the most part. Since Neil was from New York it would have been easy for him to have a bias towards the New York based teams. As I said before everyone has biases whether we know it or not. Neil most likely has biases that he does not even know that he has.

Photo by- Neil LeiferImage source-http://neilleifer.com/portfolio/ali-williams-overhead/?g=134803997

Taken On- 11-14-1966

This is a photo of Muhammad Ali knocking out Cleveland Williams. The use of shadows in the photo are really neat. The shadow of Ali raising his hands in victory is very cool. Also on the other end you see the shadow of the referee waiving his hands to stop the fight. This is a very simple photo. It is basically just of Ali standing up and Williams on the ground. The simplicity really makes the image so good. The white floor of the ring adds a shinny texture to the image. It really makes the people around the ring and the boxers really stand out. The shiny floor draws your eye to ring immediately. The exposure time of this photo is perfect. It was a fast shutter speed to capture all of these peoples movements in the photo at the perfect time. It is perfectly clear and not blurry at all. The fast shutter speed caught Ali , the referee and Williams at the exact perfect time. I really enjoy boxing a lot and I have actually watched this fight a few times. This is a great image.

Impact

Impact• Neil had so many great photos that affected

society. His photos told a unique story. He always seemed to capture the best moments. A great example of his impact is one photo he took captured millions of peoples attention. One of perhaps his greatest photos and arguably one of the best sports photos of all time is a photo he took of Muhammad Ali. He captured Ali standing over Sonny Liston after he knocked him out. This photo spoke to a lot of people because of how powerful it is. The photo spoke to a lot of people about how hard work pays off. He changed the way that sports photojournalism was done. He impacted the entire industry with his will and tenacity.

Sports Management

Sports Management • I chose Neil Leifer because he is such a big part in

documenting sports over the years. He has taken some of the most famous photos in the sports world. Since I one day want to work in the sports industry this really caught my attention. I want to be a sports agent. I realized that these photos helped tremendously with marketing athletes and what it did for there careers. It also did not hurt that one of my favorite photos of all time is the photo he took of Ali standing over Sonny Liston. I can only imagine the field day that Ali’s agent and manager had with that photo. That photo is and was everywhere there client was all over the world and on every front page. Sports photojournalists play a giant role in the sports world.

Viewpoints

Viewpoints• Some people see Neil as a great photojournalism.

Others say that he has just been very lucky. Some see him as having a great and powerful impact on photojournalism, especially in sports photojournalism. He also has his detractors. Neil has branched off and done things in video and has received a lot of criticism for his work that area. Some people say that he should have stuck with sports photojournalism and should not have branched out. He cover many things sports and not sports related in his vast career. There are always going to be people that say he was just in the right time in the right place. While Sports Illustrated called him “one of the best in the business”. There were also people who did not condone boxing and did not like the boxing photos he took. They thought that it promoted violence.

Photo by- Neil LeiferImage Source- http://neilleifer.com/portfolio/muhammad-ali-vs-sonny-liston-1965-world-heavyweight-title-2/?g=134803997

Taken On- 5-25-1965

This is a photo Muhammad Ali famously knocking Sonny Liston out. I spoke about this photo numerous time in my presentation. I did this because I really like this photo a lot it is one of my favorite photos of all time. The background really adds to this photo. You can just see the people in complete shock at what Ali was able to do. He knocked Sonny out without really even breaking a sweat. The people in the background really personify the shock that everyone was feeling. This photo is representational of passion. The amount of passion Ali has on his face is ridicules. You can just see the passion pouring out of him after he knocked Sonny out with ease.This photo creates a lot of feelings for me. This photo proves that anything can happen and that we should not underestimate others. This photo is an iconic sports photo. This photo makes me believe that if I work hard enough no matter how impossible a goal seems I can succeed and reach my goal. This photo is in color because Neil actually was one of two photojournalist who happened to have color film in there camera at the time this photo was taken.