SBXLV Fan Feature

“SUPERFANS” – Faces of the fans entering Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas (Photos by Donald Miralle)

Super Bowl XLV was a different assignment this year for me. Outside of all the leadup events which I shoot for the NFL Players Association, I wasn’t going to be shooting on the field as in year’s past but up in an elevated position in the stands, contributing some photos to the New York Times. Because of this I really had a lot of creative time and space to do something different. I had a beer with Gary Bogdon the night before and I told him I wanted to do a fan feature and he mentioned a series would be a good idea. So I decided to set up a small step in and shoot photobooth for fans entering the game, using a 580EX flash of camera on a light stand synched to a pair of Pocket Wizard TT5‘s. Whenever an interesting Steeler or Cheesehead would walk by I would ask if they would like their photo taken. Keeping the lens, lighting, subject distance and pose fairly similar, I shot fans as they entered the stadium for about 2 hours and captured about 70+ portraits. My 50 favorite I made into the above collage, which I was very happy with. The New York Times ran five of these portraits in their monday sports section which was great, but I am still looking for someone to run the entire series as a whole. I had a blast doing this, meeting football fans as far as Scotland (i.e. the Steeler’s fans in kilts), to a Steelers fan preparing to have his 7th Lombardi Trophy tattooed on his arm on Monday, to fans from Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, and beyond. Below is a gallery of all the single shots, hope you enjoy!!!

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JAWS goes off on north shore of Maui

While I was in Hawaii during the Paula Finlay Cover Shoot for LAVA, I had one morning off so my wife and I went to go check out the infamous surf break “Jaws” on the north shore of Maui. The last time we were there was 8 years earlier before we were married and still dating to watch men braving 50 foot faces during the Tow-In World Cup. Conditions were primo with a large long period N swell producing waves in the 25′-30’range. We shot guys dropping in and some unfortunately wiping out for a couple hours before heading over to quaint town of Pa’ia for a nice lunch. I sent my favorite shot (above) of a man dropping into a monster from the nicest light early in the morning to ESPN the Magazine, and they are running it as a ZOOM double page spread in this weeks edition. Stoked!

Martin Kaymer Cover Shoot

The #3 Golfer in the World Martin Kaymer of Germany poses for cover of Golf Monthly UK (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images for Golf Monthly UK)

January has been a busy month, from going to Vegas,  Hawaii, Mammoth, and now Phoenix for a cover shoot for Golf Monthly UK. The #3 golfer in the world Martin Kaymer of Germany was the subject and this guy is not only legit (PGA Champion 2010, Dubai Champion 2010, Ryder Cup Team 2010) but he was as cool as the other side of the pillow. He was a pleasure to work with and the magazine editor was thrilled with the shots we got for the cover and the feature. Below is a little teaser slideshow for you…enjoy!

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Paula Finlay Cover Shoot

Triathlete Paula Finlay of Canada poses for a portrait in Maui, January 2011. (Donald Miralle for LAVA)

If you don’t know who Paula Finlay is (I didn’t until I had the assignment to shoot her for the cover of LAVA) come next summer’s 2012 London Olympic Games, you probably will. The 21-year old Canadian Triathlon prodigy is the forerunner to win the Olympics next year, coming out of anonymity until a breakout year in 2010, winning five races and two back-to-back on the ITU circuit. I spent a couple days with Paula and the LAVA writer/editor Jennifer Ward in the beautiful Maui, and we made the best of being stuck in paradise and came away with a nice mix of images. Below are some of my favorites from the shoot, enjoy and as always your feedback is appreciated!

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Happy New Years from UFC 125 Vegas Baby!

Jacob Volkmann (top) attempts a rear choke submission against Antonio McKee at UFC 125: Resolution at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on January 1, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  (Photo by Donald Miralle/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Long time no blog…For the first time in over 10 years I missed the Rose Bowl game and landed an assignment to shoot UFC for the first time, and in Vegas on New Years of all places! I had a blast and thoroughly enjoyed documenting mixed martial artists beating the crap out of each other inside the “octogon’. Shooting the official photography for the UFC through Zuffa LLC via Getty Images, I had the sole coveted shooting position over the fenced wall and actually felt bad that I was in “the” position over guys who cover UFC for a living. But everyone was super helpful and gracious to me as their guest; special thanks to photographer/editor Josh Hedges who helped me out all evening and to Brandon Lopez and Michael Heiman of Getty who passed the job onto me. Below is a slideshow of my favorites from the shoot, enjoy!

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Tiger Returns to Torrey

Tiger Woods tees off during the Pro-Am at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines on January 26, 2011 in La Jolla, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

Tiger’s much anticipated return to the PGA in 2011 and Torrey Pines, where he has won 7 times (6 Buick Opens, 1 US Open), was nothing short of flat. With two rounds over par, he was a non-story by the weekend and the other lefty Big Bubba Watson killed it with his massive drive and solid putting. The first two days of Torrey are very long days with players going off both the 1st and 10th tees on the North and South courses, and you find yourself running in circles chasing not only the big names but names you’ve never heard of who shuffle into the leader board every couple hours. Below are some of my favorites from the tourney, thanks for looking, and as always your feedback is appreciated!

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