NEW YORK — As Usain Bolt’s smile as he crossed the 100 meter finish line reminds us, for all the video from Rio,
it’s a single frame capturing a single moment that tells some of the most
compelling stories.
Usain Bolt of Jamaica competes in the Men’s 100 meter semifinal on Day 9 of the 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on August 14, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
That’s no surprise to Howard Schatz. Capturing those moments is his day job. He is one of the world’s great
sports photographers.
“I want it to be heroic
and fantastic and magnificent, and I want to bring throngs of people to look,” Schatz said of his work.
Twenty-five years ago Dr. Howard Schatz changed careers. The eye surgeon left one set of lenses for
another, following a calling to
capture the brilliance of athletes like former boxing champ Sergio Martinez.
Boxer Sergio Martinez was photographed by Howard Schatz for a book titled “At the Fights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing,” which included six years of work. Schatz captured Martinez with multiple stroboscopic flashes in a studio showing an incredible amount of rhythmic movement.
“I hadn’t ever seen anything like it before,” Schatz said of the shot. He knew he’d nailed it.
Schatz’s work is part of the exhibit “Who Shot Sports” at NewYork’s Brooklyn Museum. It includes
everything from the oldest known sports photograph — dating back to 1843 — to
Muhammad Ali running underwater.
“Sports photographs
show us the beauty of the human body in motion. They show us the passion, the
sacrifice, the disappointment, and the victory,” said Gail Buckland, the curator.
The exhibit features 230 images — some iconic, some last seen in a long
forgotten daily paper. They document both the narrow slice of humanity where
excellence dwells.
“These people take human potential as far as
they possibly can,” Buckland said.
Howard Schatz
No, it may not be how most of us are following the Olympics, but there is
something about how one still image can move us the way video cannot. Schatz has made a career out of it.
“I shoot to surprise and delight myself,” he said. “Truly.”
He’s just one of many in the exhibit who
celebrate human movement by the way they stop motion.
