Walter Iooss: A Lifetime Shooting Sports & Beauty

Even if you haven't registered his name in the pages of Sports Illustrated (like EW, a Time Inc. publication), there's something intimately familiar about Iooss' photographs — and not just the ones of Elle Macpherson preening poolside in a thong. During his nearly four decades at the magazine, Iooss has consistently elevated photojournalism into high art, whether his subjects are obscenely rich and famous (Michael Jordan and Ken Griffey Jr.) or completely anonymous (young Thai kickboxers and sun-kissed surfers). In his fetishistically detailed pictures, the mundane becomes metaphor: A shot of Larry Bird taking warm-up shots becomes a larger statement on the Celtic's maniacal dedication to perfection. But more than anything, you get the feeling that Iooss is first and foremost a fan, albeit one who's very gifted with a Nikon. A