DAMIAN STROHMEYER //
‘SI PHOTOGRAPHER / MENTOR / FATHER / HUSBAND‘
When you think of 74 Sports Illustrated covers, you would never associate them with Topeka, Kansas, and yet that is where Damian Strohmeyer’s legendary career was born. I bet the photo editors at the Topeka Capital Journal had no idea that their new, young photographer would eventually become a Canon Legend, a staff photographer at Sports Illustrated and a respected mentor to future young sports photographers everywhere. I first met him at a sports photography workshop in Colorado Springs in 1991, where he was teaching and reviewing portfolios. We kept in touch as we worked alongside each other in Boston, and by the late 1990’s he gave me my start at Sports Illustrated by recommending me to the photo editors. I know I am only one of many photographers who has benefitted from Damian’s willingness to teach and take the time to help us hone our skills. Of course, he fit all this in while travelling the world, excelling at his own career and focusing on the love of his life Joanne and their three amazing children Jessye, Zach and Leah.
Adam Hunger, his former assistant at Sports illustrated, now a successful New York based photographer, will tell you he is the photographer that he is today because of the opportunities he had working alongside Damian. “He showed me what it took to be a professional sports photographer, how to carry and present myself and how to properly prepare for and tackle an assignment. He taught me the importance of always being ready and always thinking ahead to be able to position myself to be in the right place at the right time.” Apparently, Damian also turned Adam into a Canon shooter. “After my first assignment with him at a New England Patriots game, we were in his workroom unpacking from the game. I was a Nikon shooter at the time when he gestured to his cabinets full of Canon gear and told me that if I switched to Canon, I could borrow anything that was there. I made the switch as soon as I could!”
Steve Fine, the longtime Director of Photography at Sports Illustrated, when asked for a favorite memory of Damian, responded “that’s an easy one”. Steve and Damian’s sports loyalties went head-to-head in 2008 at Super Bowl XLII, where Steve’s underdog NY Giants went up against the undefeated Patriots. As Steve describes it, “Pats are up 14-10 late in the game when Eli Manning escapes the pass rush and throws a prayer downfield that Giants’ receiver David Tyree somehow catches with one hand while securing the ball to his helmet. I raced down to the opposite end zone where Damian was kneeling and asked gently, did you get it? He glared at me and showed me a 3-4 pic sequence on the back of his camera. I leapt in joy, snatched the card and went back to the workroom”. Following this first loss in the Patriots season, Steve said “He got the cover, it is iconic and memorable-one of the most famous pictures we ran at the magazine and, my team won”!
Damian had many other great SI covers besides this classic Super Bowl shot, including covers from the World Series, the Olympics, the NBA Finals, College Football National Championships along with many covers of Tom Brady. Another of Damian’s many iconic shots is from Fenway Park in 2004 when, after New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez was hit by a pitch and started barking at Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo, catcher Jason Varitek shoved his glove into A-Rod’s face sparking a bench clearing brawl. All of this plus so much more make him incredible deserving of the Boston Press Photographers Lifetime Achievement Award.
Alongside his career, Damien has always been a family man. Former longtime Sports Illustrated staff photographer Al Tielemans, who started working with Damian in the early nineties, notes his bonding with Damian over work and family. “Damian and Joanne were always a few years ahead of my wife Amy and me in the parenting department, so I got some good stories and advice to prepare me for what was to come. We always shared stories about the kids, missing events and leaving our wives home alone with the kids. The rigors of travel and being on the road was hard enough, but having someone to share both sides of the experience was always comforting. We worked together and essentially competed for space in the magazine every weekend, but that mutual respect and understanding as parents was a big part of what bonded us.”
Despite all his incredible successes professionally, the thing Damian has always enjoyed talking about the most is his family. His adventures with Joanne and how proud they are of their children and sharing all the updates and stories about their lives over the years. He has recently even started updates about grandchildren who he loves to visit. His upcoming move to the Atlanta area will bring him more of that family time that he loves, and although I will miss seeing him on the sidelines, baselines and photo pits, I know he will cherish making new family memories, and I wish him all the best! -By Winslow Townson