@davidbergman

I haven’t been a photo assistant in a long time, but when Neil Leifer asked me to help him photograph Muhammad Ali, I jumped at the opportunity.

(Nikon D700, 24-70 at 70mm, ISO 200, 1/250, f/4)

Ali turned 70 years old this week. Whatever you think of his political or religious beliefs, there’s no denying his status as a cultural icon. At one point, he was considered to be the most recognizable person in the world.

Neil Leifer‘s career will forever be tied to Ali’s. If you don’t know him by name, you’ve definitely seen Neil’s iconic photograph of Ali standing over Sonny Liston during their fight in 1965. Ali knocked out Liston with one punch during the first round.

I helped Neil make the transition to digital photography a few years ago for a special project and am proud to call him a friend.

He’s a filmmaker now and rarely picks up a still camera, but with the birthday just around the corner, Neil ventured to Ali’s house in Arizona to make rare portraits of the man at home for Sports Illustrated. He asked me to come along and help with the technology.

How could I say no?

(Nikon D700, 24-70 at 24mm, ISO 320, 1/60, f/13)

I certainly wish I could have covered Ali in his prime, but it was still an amazing experience to finally meet the man. He is a kind soul who is respected everywhere he goes. One night at a restaurant, everyone stood and applauded when Ali came in the door.

His 30-plus year battle with Parkinson’s disease is well documented and it makes photographing him more difficult than in the past. But Neil and Ali are old friends, so they were able to make some classy, timeless photos over the course of the three days we spent out west.

(Nikon D700, 24-70 at 52mm, ISO 160, 1/250, f/14)

You can see Neil Leifer’s new photographs of Muhammad Ali on SI.com and in this week’s Sports Illustrated magazine.

(Photo (c) 2012 Neil Leifer—Nikon D700, 24-70 at 24mm, ISO 200, 1/250, f/14)

Sometimes you just wind up in the right place at the right time.

Last week, I went down to Red Bank, New Jersey because Bobby Bandiera was hosting his annual Hope Concert at the Count Basie Theater. I wanted to show my support for Bobby, but also knew that Jon Bon Jovi was going to be making a surprise appearance at the event and thought I might be able to make some unique behind-the-scenes photos.

Jon was also ready for his next photo lesson. As Bon Jovi’s tour photographer, I began teaching him how to use his DSLR camera during the European leg this summer. We spent hours walking through parks in Vienna and Barcelona shooting pictures and talking about aperture, shutter speeds, and ISO values.

Photo by Matt Bongiovi

I photographed Jon at rehearsal in New Jersey and then went back to his house to talk about flash compensation and other geeky photo things.

That’s when things got weird.

A rumor on the internet said that Jon Bon Jovi had died.

After the initial shock, we all had a good laugh since Jon was right there in the room opening Christmas presents with his kids. He was very much alive.

Almost immediately, all of our phones began to explode with calls, texts, and emails. The news had spread like wildfire online. I picked up the phone saying, “No, he’s not dead.”

After about 15 minutes of this, I suggested that we shoot a photo or video to show the world that Jon was fine and this was all just a sick joke. I thought he should be holding a newspaper to prove the date or at least a handwritten sign telling his fans that he was perfectly OK.

He came up with a great line to write: “Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey.” He added the date and time so there would be no question that it was a current photo.

I put him in front of the Christmas tree in his living room, snapped a few quick frames, and posted one to my Twitter feed and Facebook page. We also put it on the band’s official Facebook and Twitter accounts so everyone would know that it was legit.

(Nikon D3, 24-70 at 40mm, ISO 2500, 1/30, f/4. SB-900 flash bounced off the ceiling.)

Later that night, when Jon came out on stage at the benefit, he said, “Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”

Overnight, the picture went viral. It had 110,000 “likes” on Facebook and was shared over 60,000 times in one day.

I fielded media requests all day and my agent licensed usage to CNN, TMZ, The View, Extra, Access Hollywood, and The David Letterman Show among others. It was everywhere.

A number of parodies quickly popped up including a photoshopped version with the face of deceased North Korean leader Kim Jong-il by Mad Magazine.

It was a surreal experience being in the middle of this international story as it happened. I had a similar viral experience with my Gigapan at President Obama’s inauguration, but I obviously couldn’t have planned this one.

Maybe my next photo lesson for Jon will be “How to photograph celebrities to prove that they’re alive.”

** UPDATE: The guy who started the rumor has come forward and regrets his actions.

As Bon Jovi’s tour photographer, I’ve been on the road for most of the year. We’re currently on a two-month stadium run across Europe.

You’ve got to love a place where the “golden hour” often lasts until 9:30 pm or later.

(Nikon D3, 24-70 at 24mm, ISO 320, 1/500, f/5.6)

If you’d like to see new tour pictures as they’re posted, join my TourPhotographer.com page on Facebook. My personal profile is DavidBergmanPhoto.

Sports Illustrated did something this week that they’ve never done before.

I covered the Jets big playoff win over the Patriots in Foxboro and made a photo of QB Tom Brady getting sacked and losing the ball. The image ran on the cover, my ninth for SI (10th if you count the Auburn commemorative in 2005).

@2shear on Twitter said that it looks like Brady is watching someone steal his car.

Since there were four playoff games, it had already been decided there would be two regional covers with different teams on each. SI’s director of photography wanted my photo to be seen in all copies of the magazine, so they published the full-frame horizontal version as a Leading Off in the other edition (John Biever’s photo of Chicago QB Jay Cutler is on the cover).

(Nikon D3, 200-400 at 360mm, 1/800, f/4, ISO 4000)

It’s the first time that a photo has been published as both a cover and a Leading Off in different versions of the same week’s issue.

I also covered last week’s Packers – Eagles playoff game and had a two-page photo of Philly LB Ernie Sims trying to bring down FB Quinn Johnson.

(Nikon D3, 600mm, 1/1000, f/4, ISO 3200)

I suppose I should blog about Sports Illustrated’s Leading Off more often.

Want to hang out with me and bunch of other photographers in New York City? There are two events in the next 7 days that I’ll be attending.

First, I’m speaking at the Pictage User Group (PUG) meeting next Wednesday, Jan 12th at 6pm. I know plenty of wedding and event photographers who use Pictage, and the NYC PUG is run by my good friend Brian Friedman.

It’ll be a casual evening of pizza and wine. I’ll show some images and take as many questions as you can throw at me. The event is FREE and open to all professional photographers (you don’t have to be a Pictage member to attend).

Click here to RSVP on Facebook and get location info.

I’ll also be attending an Fstoppers party this weekend on Saturday, January 8th. Fstoppers founders Lee Morris and Patrick Hall, the the cool dudes who made my Bon Jovi behind-the-scenes video, are both in town this week so they thought it would be fun to gather for drinks. Everyone is invited so come on out and say hello.

More info is on the Fstoppers site.

See you soon.