Just a Good Conversation Part 1: Robert Beck
Episode description
Robert Beck was a staff photographer for Sports Illustrated for over 30 years. Raised in California, he played and photographed “alternative sports” long before the term “X Games” was coined. The result of shooting outside the box has given Robert the platform to shoot even the biggest “American Games” in a slightly skewed manner with a very fresh eye. 1977 UCI history alumnus has been one of the nation’s premier sports photographers, a career he fell into almost accidentally while working as a middle school teacher and football coach. Robert borrowed his dad’s Canon AE-1 Program camera and started shooting high school sports, selling the prints to parents and students. Beck has shot 10 Super Bowls; a half-dozen Olympics; and countless games, matches and athletic achievements, such as Wayne Gretzky’s record-breaking 802nd hockey goal. He has also developed a reputation for compelling portraits. Using such props as Fruity Pebbles cereal, underwater furniture, Navy jets and a herd of sheep, he has coaxed intriguing poses out of everyone from skateboarder Tony Hawk and pitcher Madison Bumgarner to hurdler Lolo Jones and Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt.www.robertbeckphotography.com