"At first, I couldn't helicvc it," looss continues. "nut then I rcali7cd ...... we each see something different in a photograph. To me that was as good an action picture as I'll ever take. What really establishes a great photogra- pher is when he creates an image that has his signature.

"This is what we all want, to make an image that we control: back- grounds, setups, lighting, composition. Controlling a picture is what thr art of photography is about, because most of our lives are out of contr-' If you can put a person in position where you want him, with the light j right, it's yours, it's no one else's."

Reprinted courtesy of Spom Iiizut~atrdNovember 14, 1994. Copyright 0 1994. "

Inc. All rights reserved.

SPOTLIGHT Bruce Benne t t , p r i n c i p a l . Bruce Bennet t S tud ios

In March 1974, Bennett, an accounting student at C.M. Post, was look

ing for a way to earn extra money to help pay his tuition. A photo~rapllv and sports buff, he snuck into the photo area at Nassau Coliseum dtrr in~ .I New York Islanders hockey game. Shooting in black and white. hr 5111,

sequently sold a roll of film to The Hockey News for three dollars a phot11 More than 20 years later, Bennett is still taking photos at hockcv p,:lriir\

And his company, Bruce Bennett Studios, has grown into the world'\ Ir.111

ing provider of hockey photographs. Bennett and his staff of 14. I>n\r(I 1 1 1

Hicksville, Long Island, account for an annual placement of somc 5.()1111

hockey images in editorial and licensed products. Rennett photo\ I ~ . I + appeared in such major publications as Sports Illustrated, Lifi, 7i'mr. i ' r ~ ~ ~ : ~ Us, The Sporting News, and Newsweek.

"Before you go on an interview, you should gain a passing knci\\lrlIEc of every phase of photography so as not to appear to be in ovrr yol~r 111 1 6 1

I didn't pick up a camera until my first year of college, in I')'.\. \r I t 1 I I I started taking scenic photos for fun.

"All my photography was self-taught. I went to the lihrary anel r t l t l L ~ W I

every photography book, one at a time, to learn about thc cr:~lr . I I I ~ ~ ,I&( ferent techniques. I took classes in college for the easy credit\ .~tlr.t I u w already working in the field.

"After graduating college in 1978 [with a hachclor of \ 1 1 1 t V 1 4 I*

accounting from C.W. Post], I worked for Long Island Ma!!:~rir~r. I q o r t r . r

years as photographer and photo editor. 1 shot rvcrythin,: .~r~al t

everything myself. There I got rhc rxpcricncr 1 ncrdrd to c l t r ~ I I I I I , . : oo(1)

than hockey. You don't livr i r i t liis I>usinrss hy bring a spccialist. You liavc to he able to shoot interiors, exteriors, portraits, and products for corpo- rate work.

"My big break was The Hockqr News buying my pictures. Not so much because of the three-dollar price tag, but because they'd give me an occa- sional media pass to a game. Right away I noticed that all the photogra- phers were sitting in a corner of the press room eating together. O n the other side of the room were all the writers. I'd find an open seat and sit with the writers. I'd start off a discussion, to show them I was educated. That led to many breaks. As these writers would work on projects For books or magazines, I would be the first person they would call for photography.

"I always had a good basic knowledge of hockey, and that helped, but there's no substitute for experience. Instinct and anticipation is a function of experience. The more games I shot, the better I got at anticipating the

play. "When I got started and needed experience, I went to the local hockey

rink a couple of nights a week. I'd photograph adult leagues, industrial Iragucs, pee wee leagues, then come back with contact sheets. For $5 a print people would order them like crazy. The following week I'd come Imk with 8x10 prints and collect a ton of money. Most of that money I rcinvcsted back into the business."

Rennett now shoots about 140 games per year, and often works seven tl;~ys a week during hockey season. He has shot the Stanley Cup playoff \rric-s for the last 19 years, and the NHL All-Star Game for the last 15. I'hrorlgh his lens, he has captured some of hockey's most historic IIIO~IIC~~~S-such as Bobby Nystrom's overtime goal that won the Islanders I I I C Stanley Cup in 198 1 -and Bennett's images are viewed by a world- \ v n l r ;~utlience.

"I'rohahly my most recognized picture is of Wayne Gretzky scoring his '- ' th go;11 [during the 198 1-92 season] to break Phil Esposito's [single-

\(..1\ori1 record. I was in Buffalo on assignment for Timemagazine. Funny, I! ' \ not a shot I would say is a great hockey photo, but it is THE moment \I 1 1 1 1 rhc puck crossing the goal line. That shot has been sold almost

' 1 ) fi~iirs. " \ ' I ~ I I never know what you've shot until the roll is developed. You

1~11!ht think you have it and when you process it got a referee ' I I ~ , kirig half the frame. Even if it's 11250th of a second, that shutter is a I t l \ c . t l :I[ thr split scc-ond it's taking the picturc, so you can't really see what o l ~ ~ ' v r !:or. You r ~ ~ i ~ : h t Ii:~vc. :I good inkling. I'ut soriironr might he hlock-

111. v o l l r view o r vt111 ~ i ~ i ~ : t l r I'c O I I ~ of ~'OCII\.