Crossing the Digital Divide

In his 44 years behind the lens, there wasn't much in the way of
sports photography that Walter Iooss Jr. hadn't done. He had
snapped Super Bowls and supermodels, spent a season with Michael
Jordan and gone underwater to shoot swimmer Dara Torres. But
until last week's Super Bowl, he had never worked with a digital
camera.

Iooss tried the new technology for a simple reason: SI's director
of photography, Steve Fine, asked him to as part of Fine's plan
to make XXXVII the magazine's first all-digital Super Bowl. Each
of the 12 photographers working the game for SI was equipped with
a Canon EOS-1D, the only digital camera capable of shooting eight
frames per second. Digital cameras also function better than
traditional cameras in low-light conditions (a consideration in
the second half), eliminate the time and expense involved in film
processing and allow images to be edited on a laptop and
transmitted to the office in New York City.

In San Diego on Sunday the digital dozen snapped more than 12,000
images. They had all the angles covered, too. Iooss, who with
SI's John Biever is one of just five photographers to have worked
all 37 Super Bowls, was the only photographer of the 147
credentialed to have behind-the-scenes access to the Bucs all
week. He shot strong safety John Lynch and his family frolicking
on the beach, rode on a team bus to Qualcomm Stadium and took
pictures in the locker room before the game and during halftime.

Iooss spent the game behind the Tampa Bay bench shooting the
on-field action and players' reactions while five other SI
photographers were spread strategically around the field. The
remaining six of them shot from seats in the stands to provide a
higher perspective on the action. That strategy paid off last
year when photographer John W. McDonough, sitting above the end
zone, was in the perfect position to capture New England receiver
David Patten's second-quarter touchdown catch. The image appeared
on the opening spread of SI's Super Bowl coverage.

Anita Kunz

Though her paintings and sculptures can be found in museums and
in the permanent collection at the Library of Congress, Anita
Kunz says it is the illustrations that she does for magazines
such as SI, Time and GQ that give her the most satisfaction. "I
enjoy being involved in telling a story, even if it's only
visually," says Kunz (self-portrait, right). In this issue she
focuses on former Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders (page
64), who inexplicably retired in his prime.

COLOR PHOTO: STEPHEN DUNN/GETTY IMAGES STAKING OUT THE JOINT SI's camera positions at Qualcomm Stadium. Damian Strohmeyer John W. McDonough John Iacono John Biever Al Tielemans Robert Beck Bill Frakes Walter Iooss Jr. V.J. Lovero Bob Rosato Peter Read Miller Heinz Kluetmeier

COLOR ILLUSTRATION: ANITA KUNZ