Photo Show: Dylan Coulter

SI Staff | Jun 16, 2009

Photo Show: Dylan Coulter /

Photo Show: Dylan Coulter

Maria Sharapova

Renowned New York photographer Dylan Coulter has documented the titans of sport around the globe. The NFL, Nike, EA Sports, Adidas and more have trusted their brands to Dylan's eye. Here's a few of his favorites, beginning with Maria Sharapova. ''I don't think I've ever taken a bad photo of her," Dylan says. "No credit goes to me, she's just one of those incredibly photogenic people.''

A dream assignment, photograph Dr. J. I wanted to find a way to show his large hands, one of the tools that helped him perform truly amazing airborne feats with the basketball.

LeBron James

I like this portrait of LeBron, it's a quiet moment, different than how we normally see him portrayed.

Tiger Woods

This image is from the second time I photographed Tiger. I was set up for an action shot, but caught this unexpected moment at the conclusion of his swing. I've photographed Tiger three times and this is my favorite image of him.

The focus and intensity of badminton is not to be underestimated. I came away from this shoot with a whole new appreciation of the sport. This image, a composite of two different images of Howard Bach and Bob Malaythong, was taken in the unofficial U.S. badminton capital, Orange, Calif.

Michael Strahan

Pregame ritual, it says so much about sport. In this case Michael Strahan wrapping his wrists in the Giants locker room.

Carmelo Anthony

I've photographed Carmelo Anthony a couple times and this is my favorite. Visually it looks like Miles Davis' late '50s, early '60s jazz sounds. That's the best I can describe it. Regarding the tattoos, Melo grew up in a rougher part of Baltimore and many of his tattoos speak to that.

Sometimes in sports photography it's the quiet moments, those between action, or in this case, before action, that I find most powerful.

Eskil Ervik

This shot of Eskil Ervik, a Norwegian speed skater, was taken ahead of the 2006 Winter Olympics. It has a superhero quality to it and I think truly portrays the beauty, power and speed of long track. We had only an hour or so to shoot Eskil in a small town in northern Holland. We basically flew straight from the west coast to Amsterdam, then immediately drove several hours to the location. We had a few hours to rest, then started setting up for the shoot shortly thereafter.

Chad Hedrick

I took this photo of Chad Hedrick, long track speed skater, ahead of the 2006 Winter Olympics. He was extremely confident and that came across clearly in this image. One interesting note is that the swift suit he's wearing was designed for a bent-over skating position, so it was difficult for him to stand upright.

I love this image, but there's more to it than meets the eye. It's Dai Tamesue, Japanese Olympic hurdler in the lead. I photographed him in a suburb of Tokyo. The other hurdlers were shot later in LA. It's a powerful example of what's possible technically with photography today.

Elli Ochowicz

A portrait of Elli Ochowicz, speed skater. I took this after I had taken action shots of her and other team members skating.

Published Jun 16, 2009

SI STAFF