In this last installment of our four part series on Neil Leifer, we will look at Neil’s legacy in his five decades as a sports photographer. Neil does not engage in sports photography anymore these days. He now spends his time directing and producing films. The only photographs that he takes these days are those of his family. But Neil’s place in the history of sports photography is secure. Nothing can detract from his achievements in a field that considers him as one of the best ever.

We consider Neil’s legacy to be the honest inside look that he has given us into the lives of our finest athletes in the past five decades. Our athletes have showcased humanity’s indomitable spirit. Our athletes’ triumphs have been our triumphs. What is it that our athletes are thinking? What are the stirrings inside them? What drives them to push themselves beyond barriers to reach new heights? Neil’s sports photography helps us get some of the answers.

We see our athletes as some kind of gods. Indeed, Neil’s images portray our athletes in their shining moments. But at the same time, Neil’s images make it possible for us to see our athletes in all their humanity. Our athletes have amazing talents that make them special. But in a lot of ways, our athletes are just like you and me. Through his photography, Neil gives us the opportunity to see our athletes in a way that we have not seen them before. Neil’s photographs tell us the stories of our athletes who are as special as they are real.

In many ways, Neil’s photographs are more revealing than the videos of these same athletes. There is a big part to the athlete’s story that Neil’s still picture can tell but which a moving picture can easily miss out on. A passing look or expression from an athlete’s private moment is easy to miss in a movie. But Neil’s still picture can freeze and preserve every intimate moment to reveal the athlete for all that he or she really is.

We conclude our four part series on Neil by acknowledging his enormous contribution to our understanding of the extraordinary men and women who are our athletes. Our athletes and, to no lesser extent, Neil himself have inspired us to strive and reach for the heavens in our quest to realize the infinite possibilities of our human potential.

From Sports Illustrated.

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