Sports Photography is Not Dead

Story and Video by Kristin O’Grady.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Video continues to prove itself as the most popular digital medium for transmitting journalistic content, and this is due, in part, to the ease with which videos are made. Everyone has a smart phone, so anyone can shoot a video. It is easy to take for granted what the era of technology has allowed people to accomplish, and it is even easier to forget how technology advanced toward its current state. Video production would not exist without the art of photography. Photography increases the value of a journalistic piece in ways that videos cannot. Capturing a moment at the very instance it occurs is extremely difficult. Photography is a risk, but therein lie the thrill and the true value of photo-journalism.

Learn more about Walter Iooss in his online biography.

Check out a recent portfolio of Iooss' work.

Get an inside look at some of Iooss' favorite shots.

Young Walter Iooss hard at work. Photo Credit.

Below is the transcript of the video commentary.
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Kristin O'Grady: Photo-journalism is very important, especially in the sports world, and here’s why:

Despite its seeming lack of emphasis in an increasingly cinematographic age, sports photo-journalism is not dead. Sure, you can take a screen-grab of already-shot video footage, but there’s something about taking a photo in the moment and capturing that moment with the sustained risk that you might actually miss the moment. Award winning photographer Walter Iooss talks about taking that risk, when he says that some people call him lucky—but “lucky” is just an attribute. “Lucky” comes second. There’s something about having the sense. There’s something about having the feeling—feeling that moment, and taking that risk—and that’s what makes photo-journalism so special. People say that “a photo is worth a thousand words,” but photo-journalism is so much more than that. A really great photo is juxtaposed with an already written piece and it enhances and emphasizes those words. Photo-journalism will continue to enhance journalism for a very long time.