Meeting the Masters at the
6th Annual Lucie Awards, part III By the time John Iacono walked on stage to accept his Lucie statuette for Outstanding Sports Photography at the October 20 awards ceremony, presenter and boxing guru Bert Sugar had already coaxed smiles from the audience, with his trademark black fedora and big cigar and a flamboyant red-and-black boxing-themed tie draped around his tux. Sugar ran a close second to Tony Bennett as the presenter who most roused the crowd. “I have just two minutes to introduce a man whose name I can’t pronounce,” Sugar began, leading into one of the evening’s most memorable remarks: “Iacono. It sounds like a man falling down the stairs.” Try it: I-a-co-no. The Lucie’s producers made a perfect match in choosing this Runyonesque celebrity from the boxing world to introduce the down-to-earth, entertaining, and much-loved legendary sports photographer, John Iacono. Stories from those who’ve experienced Iacono’s generosity attest to the “much-loved” part. The photographs stand alone, countless jaw-dropping images of sporting events worldwide–from the Olympics, the World Series, the Super Bowl and hampionship Boxing to Golf, motorsports and horse racing–and that’s just for starters. The Lucies montage of Iacono’s images and magazine covers pumped up everyone’s adrenalin with their raw energy and visual eloquence, the reasons the man is a.k.a. “Johnny Eye.” From those images we’ve included here: Jackie Joyner-Kersee in a long jump at the Goodwill Games in Moscow; the brilliant picture of that unforgettable play in Super Bowl XLII, Giants wide receiver David Tyree leaping up to receive Eli Manning’s 32-yard pass, and then pinning it against his own helmet, away from New England Patriot Rodney Harrison; and New York Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter, with both legs off the ground as he fires the ball.
The level of detail in Iacono’s photographs can’t
be found by watching events live, on television,
or even in slow motion playback. A master sports photographer elevates a moment to the heroic and
timeless, lets us breathe in the subject’s rhythm,
grace, courage and strength, which in real time are
invisible or less visible to the eye. It’s ironic that
many people take for granted the compelling sports
photography that enriches the leading magazines. The best of these photographs are as stirring, revelatory and worthy of study as any fine art photographs. They reflect the values, morality, achievements and dreams that define and inspire peoples’ lives. Making these photographs can be a major undertaking. Take Iacono’s idea for a strobe-lit extreme wide shot of the first Light Heavyweight Championship bout held at Radio City Music Hall, January 15, 2000. Once he had the go-ahead from Steve Fine, his Sports Illustrated boss, he had to get permission—from the unions, HBO, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, and Madison Square Garden. The actual setup took more than 24 hours. “To shoot from the stage, my Hasselblad was on a platform below the TV camera, directed toward the audience. Four Nikon cameras were hooked up along the sides and back. Eight big Speedatron strobe units aimed at the people and the background created side lighting left to right.” Here’s the kicker: Iacono was allowed to shoot only during the first round, for just three minutes. He got off eight or ten shots. And just as he figured, Roy Jones Jr. (right) and challenger David Telesco are center ring.
Not surprisingly, the ability to consistently deliver electrifying images derives from the same qualities that characterize great athletes–commitment, drive, dedication, humaneness, passion, staying power and an acknowledgment of life’s dualities: life and death, good and evil, joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, pleasure and pain, victory and defeat. Iacono’s experience has encompassed all of these, and throughout, his higher self, brighter side, and generous attitude have prevailed. His earliest influences nurtured him in these directions. But his saving grace may be his sense of humor, especially considering the number of serious on-the-job accidents he’s survived.
While he was loading in gear at Madison Square Garden, for example, a dolly with 1000 pounds of camera equipment broke free and crushed his knee. In London he stepped in a trench and tore his cartilage. He was sucker-punched in the ear at a riot after a Riddick Bowe fight. The most dramatic blow came at him about 80 miles an hour, during baseball playoffs at Shea Stadium—the Mets versus the Diamond Backs, October 8, 1999. His photo position was first base, field level and he was changing cameras when a wild ball fired to first base crashed into the right side of his face, breaking his jaw. Surgery the following week was successful but the dental work would take years. Meanwhile, Iacono posted “Wild Throw,” his own account of the event (www.sportshooter.com December 12, 1999). “Entering the mergency room the doctor on duty looked at me and said, ‘Oh my God!’ In return I said, ‘You think that’s bad, you should see the baseball.” Whenever he gets hurt, Iacono explained, “I seem to make light of it by joking around. Maybe it’s a defense mechanism inside of me, hiding my fear. If that’s so, I recommend this remedy.” A career as a sports photographer is definitely not for the weak of heart. When I asked Iacono how he got his start, he immediately singled out one person: “There was a wonderful woman named Nelley Pisschowitz, our Henry Street Settlement teacher. We learned it all from her. She got twin-lens reflex de Jur cameras donated to us. We had a darkroom. She arranged for us to be part of a Photo Exhibit at the New York Coliseum, where people from Life Magazine stopped by and invited us to visit their photo lab. Once there, I asked if I could get a job and they said come back after graduation. When I showed up then, in 1959, Life hired me as a photo assistant. Years later I asked them, what made you give me a job anyway? ‘We were afraid of you then. . .and now!’ they said. They were kidding, but back then I dressed all in black, black leather jacket, motorcycle boots, hair kind of slicked back, you know, the whole look at that time. Maybe I did intimidate them a little.”
Iacono‘s job was interrupted from 1964 to 1966, while he served in the Army. Stationed at Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Washington, he was one of a small contingent of Post Photo Photographers. During this time he took First Place in the Military Photo Contest, out of 20,000 entrants. After wartime service, Life offered Iacono his job back, and soon he was on assignment 200 days a year. But no one can predict where a photography career may lead: Iacono’s life was to intersect with the most memorable political events of all time, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The President had been shot in Dallas on November 22, 1963, while Iacono was still an assistant in the Life photolab. Immediately after the tragedy, Life had acquired all rights to the super 8 home movie of the assassination, filmed by Abraham Zapruder: the most famous 26 seconds (486 frames) of film in modern American history. In 1967, Life assigned Iacono the job of managing and screening the Zapruder film for various agencies and dignitaries. Traveling to Austin to screen the film for Governor Connolly, who had also been shot in Dallas, made Iacono uneasy: “Others had already been killed, and I was there with the original film. One of the Governor’s assistants kept asking me where I was staying. I got nervous and decided to go straight home after the screening. I called the hotel and said, ‘Don’t send my clothing home. I’ll send you a check for the room.’ After that I told Life they should have copies of the film made. In fact I took the film to the lab and stayed with it while all three copies were made.” When Life folded in 1970, Iacono moved to Sports Illustrated, rising from freelance to contract to staff photographer. After 48 years as a major sports photographer, his retirement date came shortly after this year’s Lucie Awards—talk about good timing. I asked him if there had been any major surprises about the way his life has turned out. “I’ll tell you this: I didn’t expect to be at all these major events all over the world. When I was just a little kid listening to the radio with my uncles, who were real fight fans, little did I know that I’m gonna be ringside one day, photographing the masters. It’s been like the greatest show on earth. I am happy to be alive.” John Iacono: role model as a photographer and an influence for the good. Witness: “Gray Matters: Be Friendly,” an article by Jim Merithew of Wired.com (sportshooter.com/news, November 11, 2008). Merithew had been “thinking through” the hostile behavior among photographers he encounters in his travels, when he flashed back to 1996. His article was the result, in which he recounts his first trip to New York City, in 1996, when as a staffer at the Kalamazoo Gazette he was sent to cover opening day at Yankee Stadium—one of his few times photographing “Major League anything.” Sitting self-consciously by himself in the press lunchroom, he saw another photographer making his way toward him. “There were plenty of empty tables but the dude came right at me. . . He sat down, and started asking me questions. . . He told me a couple of baseball stories and we made small talk. . .he seemed genuinely interested, and kind.”Afterwards another photographer told Merithew who the friendly guy had been: Johnny Eye, Johnny Iacono. “A Sports Illustrated photographer extraordinaire decided to sit with me instead of the hot shots at the other tables.” Applying that to today, Merithew concludes: “Hell, I am sure that is how he lives his life. If Johnny Eye can be friendly and kind in the press room or on the field, why do the rest of us have to be such a bunch of punks? I, for one, am going to make the effort to be a little more Johnny and a little less punk.” Words to live by, and catchy at that.
When Iacono accepted his Lucie, his remarks were short and heartfelt. He thanked his wife Nancy, his daughter Alexis, and his Uncle Sal. And then, true to form, he made fun of himself: “I would be one of those pesky photographers screaming in the front row, ‘Kiss the trophy!' Here’s to all those athletes!” Did I say Johnny Eye retired? Soon he’ll be back freelancing for Sports Illustrated. The next Super Bowl is his first assignment. His equipment nowadays is simple. He shoots digital, uses a D3 Nikon, and says “with just three lenses, the 200-400 zoom, 70-200 zoom, and 24-70 zoom, I’m protected, whether near or far away.” He’s also bought himself a powerful telescope. He can’t wait to start photographing the stars. ©Mary Ann Lynch Coming Next: part four, Erwin Olaf John Iacono lives on Long Island with his wife of 40 years, Nancy, “the backbone of the family,” their daughter Alexis, a film and theater actress (and often photo assistant to her father), and Eddie, their Westie dog. Contact John Iacono at: www.sportsshooter.com. Lucie Awards: www.lucieawards.com Mary Ann Lynch has written about popular culture, the arts, and all things photographic for a number of publications including: Camera Arts, the Honolulu Advertiser, Imago, National Geographic Travel New York, Shots, and View Camera. Her photography exhibit, “Marilyn Monroe: More Than You Know” can be seen online at www.tccphotogallery.com
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© Red Dog Journal, 2008 |