Joe McNally: Photographing the Olympian, Part One
August 4, 2024 | Source: Monroe Gallery of Photography
August 2, 2024
In 1996, I photographed the US Olympic team–in the nude. It was controversial back then. Now, not so much. But I ended up on the Today Show, Good Morning America and all sorts of news outlets, with commentators and pundits breathlessly exclaiming to me about the audacity of it. Some loved it, others were offended. Which was ok by me, ’cause it meant somebody actually looked at the pictures.
At the time, Gail Devers was the fastest woman in the world. She overcame Graves’ disease to become one of the most decorated female athletes of all time. I went to Los Angeles to photograph her and used a studio located in a hangar at Santa Monica Airport.
She made it plain she would not do a full nude, so you get creative. I was after unadorned body parts as well. Genius that I am, I wanted to photograph her legs. They were the engine, right? So I made this picture. Nice enough.
We were running down on time and starting to pack up. I was happy with the photo. But then I asked, “Is there any other physical attribute you can think of that is responsible for your success as a sprinter?” She replied, “Well, I’m pretty strong.” And did this.
We grabbed a couple of v-flats, put a black one behind her and filled in the cloudy daylight with a bit of bounced light from another large white board, right there on the tarmac outside the hangar. Shot it in about five minutes. It won first place in the Portrait Division at the World Press Awards that year.
You never know. Always ask the question, otherwise, it can be a long plane ride home.