Buccaneers fans and photojournalists alike basked in the rejuvenating light of Super Bowl XXXVII, an event that marked the dawn of a new era for both.
For Bucs fans, the victory at San Diego's Qualcomm Field was a culmination of their team's long quest for vindication, a farewell to those days of being the laughingstock of the National Football League.
And photojournalism laid to rest the legacy of expensive, dark, smelly, messy chemical processing and traded it for the wide open, bright and exciting digital era of photography. Not a single roll of film was processed in the photo work area during this Super Bowl.
This was the year of innovation and new high-speed access, even wireless endeavors. Thousands of digital files were transported around and about by foot-powered messengers, hard-wired fiber optic cable and wireless means on game day.
Without question, word of Sporting News and Sports Illustrated's filmless operations zoomed throughout the temporary trailer village, erected for photographers and editors as a workspace.
Sports Illustrated Director of Photography Steve Fine traded the magazine's multi-member, elaborate wet-film processing team for two picture editors, five imaging techs and a network of PC laptops to digest, clear the PC cards, and then edit the shots provided by SI's 12 outstanding sports photographers.
Quote of the Day:
Amy Sancetta, Associated Press, is a nine-time veteran of the Super Bowl experience, as well as an accomplished digital photographer who has covered numerous sporting events. Poynter Online asked her, "When you go on the field today, what is on your mind with regard to all of this technology stuff?"
"I'm just thinking about making my first picture," she said. "Once that happens the rest will come. The technology is not against you, it is for you. Really, when you understand it, this lets you keep your head in the game. I like the fact that when I press the shutter, it (the picture) is already back in the work area being review by the editor."
Day of Champions
Without question, Jan. 27, 2003 was a day of champions in football and photography.
Sporting News Director of Graphics Fred Barnes shared, with a broad smile, that "the night went very smoothly," although initially the editing seemed slower. Barnes quickly noted that he would never go back to the old, wet way.
The SI team worked busily in silence, and picture editor George Washington put it, "We are doing something very new in our work flow, and digital is working for us."
This was true even though the SI plan ran into some "networking difficulties" and the Sunday night red eye portion had to be modified, according to Phil Jache, the technology wizard for SI.
According to Jache, "This would be a problem if we were a daily, but we are not."
While the the Bucs earned their respect on the field, so did Barry Fitzsimmons, Mike Feldman, Harry Walker, Todd Chappel, Julia Schmalz, Akili Ramsess, Fred Barnes and Win McNamee, to name a few. The photo team leaders provided instruction, innovation and insight that led to dramatic and compelling coverage for the world to witness.
Here are just some of the Super Bowl XXXVII image delivery innovations:
The Tampa Tribune, USA Today and Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service used high-speed DSL lines that zipped images back to Tampa and KRT-Direct (online access site). Todd Chappel, Photo Team Leader for Sports and Features at The Tampa Tribune said, "The Bucs did their part, and we did ours for the readers in Tampa Bay." Alan Greth, Director of Photography at the Contra Costa Times, said the KRT access was the "fastest darned DSL" that he had ever used.
The St. Petersburg Times, armed with the research and insights of Jack Rowland, Photo Technology manager, partnered with a new high-speed access group called NETHERE. Via the installation of a small antenna on the roof of the trailer, the Times transmitted close to 100 images on Super Bowl Sunday.
The Associated Press, sage veterans in the 100 percent digital world, upped the effectiveness of their digital delivery, and according to Senior Sports Photo Editor, Mike Feldman, they were "hardwire or wireless from every one of their 12 positions." Jim Dietz, Senior Project Manager for AP, explained that AP used the newest wireless network frequency network 802.11A via the AYAYA system. AP uses Nikon D1H cameras with this system.
Reuters, in its ongoing quest to be the best wire service, used a 802.11B system with 2.4 gigahertz and moved 250 or so images from the game to its service. Bob Covington, Senior Technician for Reuters News Pictures, says that with Bivato, a new wireless company, "It allowed a David to compete with Goliath, using a single antenna." Reuters, according to Covington, "has to be innovative in getting images to our customers quickly. We can't lay cable like others, but tonight, we were able to cover the entire field with a single antenna."
The Orlando Sentinel and other groups, Reuters included, did not send a primary picture editor. Orlando's photographers could have benefited greatly by having someone to guide their coverage. Reuters on the other hand, using the technology and approach perfected at last year's Super Bowl and Winter Olympics, filed all of their images to the server remotely, as Gary Hershorn made the master edit from the Washington office.
Orlando Sentinel Monday
