Famed photographer Michael Zagaris was born in the Bay Area during the 1940’s and knew from an early age exactly what he wanted to do with his life. Surprisingly his dream had nothing to do with photography. “I had it all planned out,” he says. “I was going to play football in high school, go to college on a football scholarship, play football in the NFL, run for Congress, then for Senate and then for the presidency.” His plan began taking shape when he received a scholarship offer from George Washington University in Washington D.C. and even was given a tryout for the Baltimore Colts once his college days were over. But, sadly a career ending injury put an end to his plans. He turned his focus to politics where he worked on numerous local and national campaigns, but once again a singular event forced him to reconsider his plans. “I was right there, behind Robert Kennedy, when he was shot,” says Zagaris. “That really did it for me. The country really changed after that and I didn’t want to have anything to do with politics.” He turned to his next love, Rock and Roll. “I kept seeing all these British musicians reworking American blues songs,” he says. “So I started working on a book about English rock-and-roll.” Through his research he interviewed such greats as, Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton, and Mick Jagger. During each interview he would constantly take photographs and became so good that his subjects would actually offer to pay for his prints, this lead to him being taken aboard on lengthy world tours as the band photographer. His impressive behind the scenes photographs earned him much acclaim in the world of rock and roll. “I was in the band,” he says. “You’re backstage, you’re putting makeup on with them, and you are the band. I wanted to do lifestyle, take people back and show them what it’s really like to be in a band.”
Like all rock stars the touring and time spent on the road can take a toll and leave one yearning for a break and a need to settle down. He returned to his first love, football. He wiggled his way onto the scene by posing as a photographer for a small sports magazine. “I called and told them that I was with a magazine, ‘Football’s Best,’ and that I wanted to shoot the training camp,” says Zagaris. “They gave me credentials and let me onto the field.” He spent the entire season taking pictures for a non-existent magazine until the 49ers realized they needed a team photographer and brought Zagaris aboard. He now follows the team to every game, home and road as well as working with the Oakland Athletics in the same position.
Zagaris takes a very personal in depth approach to his work. He prepared like the players to insure that he captures the true emotion experienced on game day. “It’s my job to make you feel like you were there,” he says. “I can get as close as I want, I can be in the dugout in the bench area, on the sidelines with the coach and the ref. I’ve done this long enough that I have cachet with the people I work with.” He has been known to get dressed in the locker room adorning his body with many of the same pieces of the equipment worn by the players. He begins his day getting his own ankles tapped up and wears knee pads below his broken in jeans. "I don't go into the locker room as a photographer. I'm on the team and I take photographs when I see something interesting." His style can be best described as a true behind the scenes approach that is rarely found. It goes beyond the faux behind-the-scenes work sometimes seen and instead gives you an image previously only seen through the eyes of the actual players.
While Zagaris had no direct inspirations growing up other than his instincts there are many contemporary photographers who have spent time working in a similar field. The most notorious of these is most likely Walter Iooss of Sports Illustrated fame. He, like Zagaris, spent his childhood out on the ballfield more than behind the lens. As he grew older he found that he could gain increased access to the sporting events he loved with the magical tool of the press pass. He spent many days roaming the sidelines at small high schools and colleges with dreams of someday making it to the pros. He discovered the power of the background in his photography and his work has graced the cover of Sports Illustrated over three hundred times.
- http://www.photoshelter.com/user/U0000_sIn_3J8ziE
- http://www.apple.com/pro/profiles/zagaris/
- http://www.nfl.com/videos/san-francisco-49ers/09000d5d8066f281/Exclusive-Michael-Zagaris-interview
- http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/michael-zagaris/memorabilia/?ra=0
- http://www.walteriooss.com/
- http://www.pdngallery.com/20years/sports/images/09_walter_iooss.jpg
- http://www.govindagallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/walter-iooss-web.jpg
