Peter Read Miller–A Photographer Shooting Alone

After beating 11 male challengers under the wire in the Breeders' Cup Classic last Saturday, the 5-year-old Mare Zenyatta with thankful jockey Mike Smith aboard, posed for photographers on her way out of the winner's circle at Santa Anita Park. Zenyatta, unbeaten in 14 career races, became the first female to win the Classic. Credit Sports Illustrated. Photographer: Peter Read Miller

When I was around 10 years old, my brothers and I received a subscription to Sports Illustrated one Christmas.  Although I already had a growing interest in photography, this Christmas gift would push me over the edge in that every week I was inspired by sports photography that left me in awe.

What I didn’t realize then, but have since realized, was that a large portion of those photographs that made me want to take photographs myself were taken by Peter Read Miller.   Miller has made his legacy with his unique photographs which he is able to capture because of his all important and impeccable timing but beyond that, he is able to look at a scene differently than most.

I still get Sports Illustrated today and each week when a new issue comes I instantly pick it up and look at the photographs before anything else.  This week, four photographs into their “Leading Off” section, a photograph of Breeders’ Cup winners Mike Smith (jockey) and  Zenyatta (mare) pose for photographs on the track in front of–by my count–18 photographers.

The photograph is compelling in its own right but the one thing that drew me to it was the pure brilliance behind the photography of the image.  Instead of getting the same photograph as the other 18 photographers there, the photographer of this image decided to think outside the box and cover the event for what it is; pure spectacle.

It was no surprise to me when I saw who snapped the photograph, none other than Peter Read Miller.  Miller has hundreds of such photographs; images that are unique, compelling, and purely genius.   My goal as a photographer is to capture life in a way that most people otherwise wouldn’t see. No one practices this better than Miller.

Next time you’re covering an event and fighting for position with other photographers, take a step back and ask yourself how you can photograph the event in a way that no one else is.  You may come up short but that may be a small price to pay when 20 other photographers are getting the same image anyways.

Tags: breeders cup, peter read miller, si, Sports Illustrated, sports photography, unique photographs

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 12:56 pm and is filed under News, Photography Tips, Photojournalism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.