October 2, 2009
Purdue photographer captures campus life, cover of Sports Illustrated
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As a photographer for the Office of Marketing and Media, Andrew Hancock sees his photos of Purdue research, faculty, students and events appear in a variety of media outlets, including newspapers, magazines and Web sites.
Hancock's photos chronicling life on the West Lafayette campus also appear in his Twitter feed, PurduePhoto.
Now, his photo skills have landed his work in another prominent spot: the cover of Sports Illustrated. Hancock's twilight shot of Comerica Park, home to the Detroit Tigers, is on the cover of the Sept. 28 issue. This is his second photo to reach the SI cover.
Here, Hancock talks about his cover assignment, his work at Purdue and PurduePhoto on Twitter.
Q. How long have you been working for SI, and how did you get started?
A. I have been shooting for SI for more than two years. I got started initially as an assistant for one of their staff photographers five years ago at the Kentucky Derby. After working my second Kentucky Derby with the magazine the following year, I was then accepted to the Eddie Adams Workshop, which is held in upstate New York and is viewed as the most elite photojournalism workshop in the world. Only 100 photographers are accepted each year and if accepted, you work with 150 faculty members, who include about 20 years' worth of Pulitzer Prize winners.
Most all of the top magazine, newspaper and wire agencies have their top photography editors there to scout talent, and that is where I met the senior photo editor at Sports Illustrated for the first time. Several months later he called with my first assignment for the magazine.
At that time I was just considered a freelancer for the magazine. I am now among the magazine’s regular contributing photographers, which is right below staff photographer. There are 18 or so staff photographers and only about 10 regular contributing photographers across the country.
Q. What sports do you usually cover for SI?
A. I cover a wide range of assignments for SI. My first assignment was a feature on PGA golfer Zach Johnson right after he beat Tiger Woods to win the Masters in 2007. I cover most every sport from the college to professional level. I also do feature stories and portraits on athletes from all sporting backgrounds.
Q. What was your first cover?
A. My first cover was for the NCAA basketball March Madness preview issue, which came out in March of last year. It was a portrait of Xavier’s Drew Lavender. (View the cover here.)
Q. Talk about your recent SI cover.
A. The cover for the Tigers story I was working on was a big one. The assignment was shot over the course of five games spread out over three weeks.
I had actually been to Detroit earlier in the year for another assignment covering the opening day game for the Tigers. At that time, the magazine was looking at doing a story on whether or not the team could afford to keep three of the top (and most expensive) players -- Miguel Cabrera, Magglio Ordoñez and Carlos Guillen, given the economic situation facing Detroit.
It was speculated that the team would not be able to afford to keep each of those players on the roster and there was much speculation that one, two or all three of them would have to be traded. However, that story was cut later that week when the owner came out and said there is no way they were going to trade any of those players.
The move paid off, and the team went from having an abysmal season last year to being in first place in their division heading toward the end of the season while trying to keep their lead in the playoff race over the Twins. Their success this year has really given the people of Detroit something to rally around, which led to the most recent SI story on the team, the fans and the city.
The assignment was a look at Tigers fans and how Detroit has been affected by the economic downturn. Things are really rough in Detroit right now, and the Tigers are a bright spot for the city and the fans.
The first two games of the assignment were spent roaming the stadium, inside and out, with the majority of my time spent roaming outside the stadium and across downtown showing Tigers fans in a variety of places while contrasting that with how rough things have gotten for Detroit. Once the story was submitted, they had me go back for a third game and work things more from a fan's perspective.
At that time the story was picking up steam, and they let me know this was a cover possibility. Between the second and third games that I covered, they also brought in one of their top staff photographers to work the story as well. After my third game, they had two images of mine that they really liked as cover possibilities and created mockups of each. However, they then decided that they wanted to see those same shots taken at twilight.
Once that decision had been made, they sent in the staff photographer for a night game, and then I followed him for the next night and following day games. It was during that night game that I made the photograph that was selected for the cover.
Q. How does it feel to have two covers?
A. Having two covers is tremendously exciting and incredibly difficult to obtain. Many photographers spend their entire career hoping to have a photo published anywhere in Sports Illustrated, and the overwhelming majority never are able to do so. I am very fortunate to be where I am in my career and where I am in working with the magazine. It has taken a lot of hard work, long hours and time on the road. The cover of Sports Illustrated is the most valuable real estate for a photograph in all sports photography. It is also one of the most coveted covers among all magazines.
Q. What other freelance projects do you work on?
A. I do documentary work and also shoot for the New York Times and Germany’s Stern magazine among others.
Q. When did you come to Purdue, and what do you do as a photographer within Marketing and Media?
A. I started at Purdue in September 2008. I shoot most photos that accompany press releases that the University sends out. These may be for a research announcement or the dedication of a building. I shoot for and put together photo galleries of various campus events and happenings. Aside from use in press releases and other news-related materials, my photos are used in marketing materials, brochures, Web sites, University publications such as Perspective, Inside Purdue, Purdue Today, Impact and Think magazines, and prints around campus.
Q. Why did you decide to create PurduePhoto on Twitter?
A. I decided to start up the PurduePhoto Twitter account to better connect directly with the Purdue family. It gives me another place to showcase images I have taken with the Purdue community both locally and beyond. It also gives me the avenue to display work that otherwise might not be used or seen and allows me to be creative in showing what I find around campus.
One thing I have pushed for when I arrived on campus was for a greater use of photo galleries, and the PurduePhoto Twitter is another way for me to post links to galleries from assignments and events that I cover.
Q. What have been your favorite Purdue photos/subjects?
A. As is evident from my work with Sports Illustrated, I love sports and greatly enjoy covering Boilermaker athletics. I enjoy getting to cover the great research that is being done on campus. There are really some great minds doing some incredible things, and I enjoy getting to help tell their story through photographs. I enjoy covering all facets of the Purdue community and helping to show everyone what makes this University so special.