Heinz Kluetmeier
Encyclopedia
Heinz Kluetmeier is a German
-born American sports photographer for Sports Illustrated
. He has covered every Olympic Games
for the magazine since the 1972 Munich games except one, and has over 100 Sports Illustrated cover photographs to his credits. He has served two stints as the magazine's director of photography and received the Lucie Award for outstanding achievement in sports photography in October 2007.
, Germany
and raised in Bremen
, and at age nine, moved with his family to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
in 1952. He attended Custer High School
in Milwaukee, where he was a varsity swimmer and captain of the tennis team. By age 15, Kluetmeier was working as a freelance photographer for The Associated Press, and covered the Green Bay Packers
and the 1960 presidential campaign
.
He attended Dartmouth College
as an engineering major at the urging of his father, who "never believed that photography would develop into a career". Kluetmeier shot photographs for Dartmouth athletics and campus events and for the AP's Boston bureau, and continued to freelance in Milwaukee during the summers.
After graduating from Dartmouth in 1965, he worked for two years with Inland Steel, and then a year and a half at The Milwaukee Journal. In 1969, Kluetmeier joined the staff at Time, Inc. as a photographer for Life
and Sports Illustrated
.
for Sports Illustrated
at the 1972 Munich games, and was twice the magazine's director of photography. He is currently the magazine's senior staff photographer.
Kluetmeier's work with SI includes the March 3, 1980 cover that shows the American hockey team celebrating its semifinal game win over the Soviet Union
in the "Miracle on Ice
" game at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid, New York
. The cover is the only one in the magazine's history to run without a headline or caption, because, in his words, "It didn't need it. Everyone in America knew what happened."
He has also created new techniques and gadgets to create his shots. At the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Kluetmeier devised a way to use a remotely-operated camera near the race finish line. He successfully caught the face of Sebastian Coe as he won the 1,500-meter race. Kluetmeier was the only photographer to place a remote camera, but "Now," he said in 1996, '"You go to the Olympics and there are like 50 remotes at the finish line."
In 1992, he became the first photographer to place a camera underwater to capture swimming events. Sixteen years later at the 2008 Beijing games, Kluetmeier operated an underwater camera that showed the final second of the 100-meter butterfly race. The photographs in sequence showed Michael Phelps
touching the wall before Milorad Čavić
, even as Čavić appeared to win the race from above water.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born American sports photographer for Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
. He has covered every Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
for the magazine since the 1972 Munich games except one, and has over 100 Sports Illustrated cover photographs to his credits. He has served two stints as the magazine's director of photography and received the Lucie Award for outstanding achievement in sports photography in October 2007.
Early life and career
Kluetmeier was born in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and raised in Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
, and at age nine, moved with his family to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
in 1952. He attended Custer High School
Custer High School
Custer High School is a public high school located on 5075 North Sherman Boulevard in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The school had 450 students during the 2010-2011 school year. Custer is located on Milwaukee's far north side. Dennis Leonard is the Principal....
in Milwaukee, where he was a varsity swimmer and captain of the tennis team. By age 15, Kluetmeier was working as a freelance photographer for The Associated Press, and covered the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
and the 1960 presidential campaign
United States presidential election, 1960
The United States presidential election of 1960 was the 44th American presidential election, held on November 8, 1960, for the term beginning January 20, 1961, and ending January 20, 1965. The incumbent president, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, was not eligible to run again. The Republican Party...
.
He attended Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
as an engineering major at the urging of his father, who "never believed that photography would develop into a career". Kluetmeier shot photographs for Dartmouth athletics and campus events and for the AP's Boston bureau, and continued to freelance in Milwaukee during the summers.
After graduating from Dartmouth in 1965, he worked for two years with Inland Steel, and then a year and a half at The Milwaukee Journal. In 1969, Kluetmeier joined the staff at Time, Inc. as a photographer for Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
and Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
.
Sports Illustrated career
Kluetmeier covered his first Olympic GamesOlympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
for Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
at the 1972 Munich games, and was twice the magazine's director of photography. He is currently the magazine's senior staff photographer.
Kluetmeier's work with SI includes the March 3, 1980 cover that shows the American hockey team celebrating its semifinal game win over the Soviet Union
Soviet national ice hockey team
The Soviet national ice hockey team , was the national hockey team of the Soviet Union. The Soviets were the most dominant team of all time in international play. The team won nearly every world championship and Olympic tournament between 1954 and 1991 held by the International Ice Hockey Federation...
in the "Miracle on Ice
Miracle on Ice
The "Miracle on Ice" is the name in American popular culture for a medal-round men's ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, on Friday, February 22...
" game at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
. The cover is the only one in the magazine's history to run without a headline or caption, because, in his words, "It didn't need it. Everyone in America knew what happened."
He has also created new techniques and gadgets to create his shots. At the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Kluetmeier devised a way to use a remotely-operated camera near the race finish line. He successfully caught the face of Sebastian Coe as he won the 1,500-meter race. Kluetmeier was the only photographer to place a remote camera, but "Now," he said in 1996, '"You go to the Olympics and there are like 50 remotes at the finish line."
In 1992, he became the first photographer to place a camera underwater to capture swimming events. Sixteen years later at the 2008 Beijing games, Kluetmeier operated an underwater camera that showed the final second of the 100-meter butterfly race. The photographs in sequence showed Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals—six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008, becoming the most successful athlete at both of these Olympic Games editions...
touching the wall before Milorad Čavić
Milorad Cavic
Milorad Čavić is an American-born Serbian swimmer.-Swimming career:...
, even as Čavić appeared to win the race from above water.