This Life Magazine Photographer Shot Culture-Defining Images

Apr 14, 2026

Matt Growcoot

A police bullet penetrated the windshield of the car but missed the driver, who ignored police calls to stop. 1965 © The LIFE Picture Collection. Image by Co Rentmeester.

You may not know his name, but you have seen his work. Co Rentmeester is described as Life magazine’s favorite cover photographer, and has been the recipient of the World Press Photo award not once but twice.

Among them is the world-famous Jumpman image of Michael Jordan from 1984, which was later replicated by Nike for its line of Air Jordan sneakers. The photograph was named as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential photographs of all time.

Michael Jordan, North Carolina, 1984 (Pre-Olympics) © Co Rentmeester.

A pioneer across a wide range of photographic genres, Rentmeester helped shape the visual culture of the 20th century. His images span battlefields during the Vietnam War, iconic advertising campaigns, wildlife, and sport. His diverse body of work includes war reportage, documentary photography, wildlife, sports, and commercial imagery

The Tank Gunner was taken during a search and destroy mission in the Iron Triangle in South Vietnam in 1967. The photo won the World Press Photo of the Year award that year. 1967 © The LIFE Picture Collection. Image by Co Rentmeester.

Close-up of Mark Spitz training. Photographed for LIFE’s 1972 Olympic preview. The photo won World Press Photo ‘Sports’ in 1973. © The LIFE Picture Collection. Image by Co Rentmeester.

The female snow monkey in the hot springs of Japan’s Shiga Mountains was Life Magazine’s cover on January 30, 1970 © The LIFE Picture Collection. Image by Co Rentmeester.

Rentmeester recently had his first major retrospective in the city where he was born, Amsterdam. The 89-year-old attended the show at Foam Fotografiemuseum. A book with the same name, Co Rentmeester: Witnessing Life, has also been released.

“Witnessing Life showcases Rentmeester’s extraordinary ability to move seamlessly across genres,” reads a press release. “The exhibition includes his early images from the Watts riots in 1965 and Vietnam, as well as his award-winning photographs of Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz and his iconic work for a major tobacco company.”

B-52 bomber dropping 500-pound bombs on enemy troops at the border of North Vietnam. With the camera mounted in the wing of the plane, Rentmeester, sitting in the plane, fired the camera by wired remote. 1968 © The LIFE Picture Collection. Image by Co Rentmeester.

Kecak Dance, Bali, 1968 © The LIFE Picture Collection. Image by Co Rentmeester.

Los Angeles Uprisings, 1965 © Co Rentmeester.

Rentmeester was a staff photographer for Life magazine from 1966 to 1972, producing 22 covers and earning recognition for his precision, visual clarity, and human storytelling. He remains the only Dutch photographer to have won a World Press Photo award twice. He received his first in 1967 for a striking image from the Vietnam War — the first color photograph ever to win — and his second in 1973 for his portrait of Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz.

Rentmeester first gained recognition not through photography, but through sport — competing as an Olympic rower for the Netherlands in 1960. After relocating to the United States, he studied photography at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles and began working as a freelance photographer for Life magazine. In 1966, he joined the magazine’s staff.

His career was briefly interrupted in 1967 when he was wounded by a sniper while covering the Vietnam War, after which he returned to the U.S. Following Life’s transition away from a weekly format in 1972, he continued working for publications such as National Geographic, The New York Times Magazine, and Sports Illustrated, while also becoming a prominent commercial photographer.