Olympic Gymnasts Simone Biles and Suni Lee Photographed NFL Action
Olympic gold medal-winning gymnasts Suni Lee and Simone Biles traded uneven bars and balance beams for Sony Alpha cameras this past week to photograph NFL action, becoming the latest in a very long series of pro athletes who have picked up a camera to shoot sports.
As the NFL shared on its social media pages during week 17 action, Sunisa “Suni” Lee photographed her hometown Minnesota Vikings as they battled the Detroit Lions on Christmas Day.
Lee was kitted out with the super-fast Sony a9 III camera and G Master lenses. Beyond photographing the game itself, Lee also captured the halftime show, featuring Snoop Dogg with guests Lainey Wilson, Huntrix, and the father-and-son operatic duo Andrea and Matteo Bocelli.
A few days later, Lee’s Olympic teammate and 11-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles picked up a Sony a7R V to photograph the Sunday Night Football matchup between the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, California.
Unsurprisingly, Biles spent quite a bit of time photographing her husband, Jonathan Owens, who plays safety for the Chicago Bears.
Admittedly, there is an aspect of marketing involved with something like this. The NFL loves this type of attention. It is a business, after all. However, cynicism aside, it’s always nice to see celebrities pick up a camera, as it may inspire others to give photography a try. It also stands to reason that athletes who have been photographed as much as Suni Lee and Simone Biles may bring a fascinating, distinct perspective to sports photography.
Lee and Biles are far from the first athletes to pick up a camera. Some former professional sports stars are passionate photographers, including notably MLB Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson. Former NFL superstar wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is also a noted passionate photographer, who picked up the camera long before he retired from a Hall of Fame football career. Sports photography is a highly competitive field, so it makes sense to me that people who made their living being competitive on the field may take to a profession that channels the same spirit on the sidelines.
Image credits: NFL
