All sports photographers have only one goal – to capture a moment that would last a lifetime, a photo that transcends a message to the people who will be looking at it. Sports photography has become the face of the reality of sports. It has been the mirror of many victories and success, as well as the agony of failures and defeats. With all the moments, there is an eye that sees what others cannot. As every great person starts in a humble beginning, same goes with Bob Martin.

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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…

In this third installment of our four part series on Neil Leifer, we will feature an exhibit at the Annenberg Foundation in Los Angeles, California. Neil shares the limelight with a colleague. The exhibit honours and showcases the achievements of probably the two best sports photographers of all time, Neil Leifer and Walter Iooss, Jr. The name of the exhibit is ‘Sport: Iooss and Leifer.’ It runs from 12 November 2009 to 7 March 2010.

Being honoured is not something new to Neil. Honour comes with being good at what he does and for having done it for so long. It must be wonderful for one to love doing what one is so good at. Such a combination can only lead to greatness. We can only wonder if Neil knew that he was on to something when he started in sports photography as a teenager. Neil must have realized that people were responding positively to his images. But…

In this second installment of our four part series on Neil Leifer, we will explore the factors that have contributed to Neil’s success as a photographer. It is hardly ever just one thing. It is almost always a combination of things. The rules are hardly ever hard and fast. We can only try our best to capture as much of the reason for Neil’s success as we can. If we had to sum it all up in two things, it could very well be these two:

1. Being at the right place at the right time.

We know it only too well. Timing is everything for a sports photographer. It is the stuff of which great sports photography is made. Timing is something that Neil had going for him all those decades. Neil had to be at the perfect place to take his photograph. He had to be there at the perfect time. There and then, he had to be ready…

We have the honour to feature a legendary sports photographer in a four part series on his life and photography. We are talking about no other than Neil Leifer. His photographs have graced the covers of Sports Illustrated magazine, Time magazine, Life magazine and People magazine. He has devoted no less than five decades of his life to his photography that has largely been sports photography. On the list of top sports photographers of all time, Neil figures at nothing less than the apex along with his colleague Walter Iooss, Jr. whom we have covered quite a bit on our blog.

We have charted Neil’s journey as a photographer. Neil started his extraordinarily distinguished career as a professional photographer in his teens during the 1960s. Neil began as a freelancer and eventually became a staff photographer of Sports Illustrated magazine and then Time magazine as well as a contributing photographer of Life magazine. Neil presently holds the record as…

Today I’m going back to basics. Yes, simple you may say, but it all comes back to getting it right from the start. So many people ask about the camera, but really, we all know its not all about the gear.

Sports moments are destined to last for a long time. Sports photography made it happen. It is the art of capturing sports happenings that is preserved in history. All photos virtually taken during any sport event is considered as sports photography. All can also be called sports photographer as long as one has a camera and the will to take the shot.

Primary factor of a good sports photo is the ability and skills of the photographer to capture picture perfect images. The angle of shots is very critical on the outcome of the image. It is advisable to take different shots for comparison. Moments cannot be rewind, neither can be repeated. It passes by…

We do our best to share as many photography tips as we can with you for a good reason. To a fair degree, photography is a science. It involves techniques that can be studied and learned. But as our photographers will remind you, photography is more than just about techniques. It likewise involves heaps of judgment as to what exactly to do with the techniques and how and when to apply them. Photography is thus equally an art. It is in that critical interface between science and art where greatness comes and the perfect shot happens.

If there is anybody who understands photography as both a science and an art and can tell us more about it as an authority on the matter, it is a photographer like Walter Iooss Jr. A master of light and composition, Walter is a highly respected and much admired photographer.  As a longtime photographer of Sports Illustrated, Walter enjoys a great deal…

I have been checking out Jerry’s website “Catching the Light” and I think it is one of the best presented websites.  His sports page is filled with 25 years of wonderful black and white and color pictures with good captions for you to study.  You can learn a lot just by studying the photos-the vision, position, expression, angles, and lighting.

You will also enjoy reading through each topic on Jerry’s tips and techniques web page.  Each topic is filled with brief, well written, straight to the point, not too wordy prose.  Have you checked out other websites- they overwhelm you with so much information that you are exhausted or overwhelmed.  Not Jerry’s, so take some time to go through his “Tips and Techniques” page.

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Harry began with no photography background, but he had the drive and the perseverance, and he pursued a profession he would truly enjoy.

Today, Harry is a very successful sports photographer.  No matter what professional level you are at, new or have been around for awhile, you will gain something from Harry. So let’s spend a few minutes listening to Harry’s video.

Then come back to this blog to get some ideas. And share some of your own thoughts and experiences.

Okay now you that have listened to the video, let’s open this up for discussion about Harry’s topics.

1.  Building Your Portfolio
So Harry talked about the importance of building a portfolio. Let’s think about what actually needs to be in your portfolio. Your images, date of images, location and the type of event. And if your images were published in any print media such as the school newspaper, community newspaper and so forth. Make sure you get a copy of that publication…

We know it takes time and money to attend professional workshops.  You may be fortunate to be a staff photographer, and if so, these workshops are usually your perks.  But if you are independent and living on a modest salary, these classes may not be fit it in your schedule or your budget.

One of Blinq’s goals is to provide you with useful and reliable resources. So we will do the crawling for you so you do not have to search through millions of links trying to find a useful webinar, podcast or webcast, or even a book. That’s right, a workshop in a book!  Oddly enough,  I was thinking how nice it would be if there was a workshop in a book.   Good thing, there’s a very good one.

Dave Black has been sports photographer for thirty years.  He’s made a name for himself through his passion of teaching. He has a great online tutorial called “Workshop at…