Superbowl XLIV Was A Brees
February 12, 2010 by David Bergman
The email simply said, “Welcome to the club.”
The attached PDF showed that my photo of New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and his son Baylen had made the cover of Sports Illustrated.
This game was something special. The Saints lifted the spirits of a region by defeating the favored Indianapolis Colts and future hall of fame quarterback Peyton Manning.
It was my eighth SI cover (second of Brees!), but first from a Superbowl. Sports Illustrated assigned 12 photographers to cover the game so it was an honor to get anything published – especially working with a crew of SI legends. We collectively shot over 27,000 images that night.
(Sports Illustrated director of photography Steve Fine, top left, poses with some of the photographers before the game. Back row: Simon Bruty, Walter Iooss, Jr., David Bergman, Heinz Kluetmeier, John W. McDonough, Damian Strohmeyer, John Biever, Bob Rosato. Front row: Gary Bogdon, Al Tielemans. Not pictured: John Iacono, Peter Read Miller. Photo by Michael Zagaris.)
John Biever and Walter Iooss, Jr. are two of the four photographers who have covered all 44 Superbowls. The others are Tony Tomsic and Mickey Palmer, who were both at the game again this year.
Because we had so many shooters, we were all assigned photo positions ahead of time. Six shooters were on the field, four were in front row seats in the corners of the end zones, and two were higher up in the stadium.
I was given an end zone seat and shot 3,093 images with two Nikon D3 bodies.I put a 600 f/4 on a monopod and switched to the 200-400 f/4 (my favorite Nikon lens!) when the action got close. There wasn’t enough room for a second monopod, so I hand-held the other lens when I needed it.
I had easy access to my 24-70 because I put it in the cup holder.
(iPhone photo)
I was locked into that corner and no big plays came my way until the third quarter when Saints running back Pierre Thomas dove for a touchdown.
(Nikon D3, 200-400, ISO 4000, 1/1250 sec, f/4)
I was feeling good as Peyton Manning drove down the field late in the fourth quarter for what would have been a game-tying touchdown. He had to get into my end zone and was executing perfectly until he threw this pass:
(Nikon D3, 200-400, ISO 4000, 1/1250 sec, f/4)
I never thought that he would throw an interception to Tracy Porter, who ran 75 yards the other direction – straight away from me. I was able to get a shot of Manning vainly trying to make a tackle. He was simply pushed out of the way by Saints defensive end Will Smith.
(Nikon D3, 200-400, ISO 4000, 1/1250 sec, f/4)
I shot what I could, but I knew the best photos would be from the other side of the field.
(Nikon D3, 200-400, ISO 4000, 1/1250 sec, f/4)
Other than the third quarter touchdown, I didn’t think I’d have any chance of getting photos in the magazine. I assumed that Porter running down the field with his finger in the air would be the cover.
I was not in a great position for the post-game trophy ceremony either because the television angle had the players’ backs to me. When I saw Drew Brees bring his young son on stage, I shot whenever I could get a clear angle. As a father myself, I know how special it must have been for him to share this moment with his wife and baby.
Near the back of the podium after the ceremony was over, the Superbowl MVP lifted up his boy just like any father would do.
(Nikon D3, 600, ISO 2500, 1/800 sec, f/4)
The next night, David Letterman had Brees on his show and unveiled the SI cover. What Letterman said as they zoomed in on little Baylen summed it all up:
“That’s it. That’s why we play the game. That’s why we get out of bed every day.”
I saw that cover shot in a few days old local newspaper today. I thought to myself that it was a great shot, beautiful moment. Turns out it was by you
.
Congrats.
Congrats Dave! Definitely an emotional picture
Great job capturing it
A friend who is a sports shooter recommended your site a few years back. I have been reading it on and off since then. The SI post from the Super Bowl is the best I have read. Thank you for sharing the background to this wonderful cover and letting a still lifer peak behind the curtain of what makes a great event even more memorable .
Congratulations on the SI cover. Your comment about not having a great angle on the award ceremony, then getting the cover from that less than ideal position is a great example of not giving up when situations are not ideal.
Congrats, David. What an inspiring moment captured by your eye. Thank you for the inspiration to snap more frames! I can’t wait to see your next SI cover!!
Hey David! Nice cover shot! Congrats!
That’s a hell of a photo. Hell of a game. Congrats, man.
Knowing you were shooting the super bowl when I saw the cover on Letterman I said to myself, “Gee I hope Bergman took that shot. Can I send you SI and have you sign it?
CONGRATS DAVID!!!!!
Congratulations. Absolutely amazing shot especially from your vantage point.
David,
Your photo of Pierre Thomas’ touchdown dive was excellent! I slow-mo’d my TV on that play over and over, freezing at what I thought was “the moment”…and it was exactly the moment you chose.
Combine that with your cover photo, and you get my vote for Super Bowl MVP (most valuable photographer).
You rock, David! Thank you for inspiring the rest of us. (It’s why we get out of bed every day)
Guess dinner with Preston and I before you went to Miami was your good luck charm!
Congrats man!
Mark
Great shot! It’s one of my favorite SI covers. I’m sure that the moment you captured is one that the Brees’ family will cherish forever! Thanks for sharing the behind-the-scenes of what made that cover shot happen.
David,
That cover shot says it all. It’s a beautiful shot even if it didn’t happen at the end of a superbowl. A uniquely human moment in the chaos of post-superbowl mayhem.
Congratulations.
Bill
David- great shot of a very special SB moment. Props should also go to the photo editors for picking something like this instead of a nice, safe shot of the game itself.
Congrats!
-Matt
David,
Congrats! Both of those images are amazing, but the cover captures an amazing amount of emotion.
Well done!
John
Congrats! Lovely shot.
Congrats. Awesome honor and a wonderful sentimental shot.
Keep it coming!
Wonderful image… congrats on the cover!
David,
Congrats! It’s great pictures and many thanks for the technical parameters. I have only one question. Why so high iso with so short time? By 1/500 sec isn’t blured the player (i think). What was the reason?
Thanks,
Gabor
Gabor, I have found that 1/500 isn’t enough with digital cameras so I try to bump my shutter speed up as much as possible. I’m confident that 4000 ISO looks great on the D3, so I was able to get a faster shutter speed and avoid potential motion blur.
What an awesome photograph. I would have liked it before I just had a son, but now that I am a father, you get a whole new perspective and view on life. Brilliant photograph, congrats on scoring the cover.
CONGRATS MAN! Looks like everything is going well.
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Great shot David. Congrats to the cover and Congrats to my next favorite city in the US.
Beautiful shot, and what a great story. Looks like you’re a pretty good writer as well. That was fun and interesting to read.
Thanks.
you always seem to bring a smile to my face from bare naked ladys where we met to every picture you post thank you
Thanks Dave you made me feel like I was there with you. How captivating and stressful at the same time. SPECTACULAR photo as always! Congratulations on your accomplishment!
You should market that cup-holder/camera rest. Maybe call it the “Camera Caddy”. You could sell them at major sporting events from the “Camera Caddy Shack.”
So you got that going for ya……which is nice.
David, First of all thanks for letting me use the photo on my blog, with your credit and linked back to this page on your blog. Second, I have to say that as a dad myself, I was so happy when I saw that photo as Letterman that night. It chokes me up, to be honest. So I wrote my blog piece with that in mind and appreciate your support. I’m also glad that Brittany is in your photo, because my own mom, as my post tells the story, was a big part of our life in football. What a great photo. I enjoyed your own narrative here on how you shot the game- what a great experience that must have been. Cheers, John
Wow - that’s some high ISO! I’ve always wondered about the lighting in a stadium and what you had to do to get great shots. What did you do to reduce the noise?
Great photo and congrats on the SI cover. They just discussed that photo on Thursday Night Football 9/9/10 so I googled it, found your page here. I love the photo of Pierre Thomas as well.