The photographer behind the already iconic image explained to Newsweek why it might be his « best work. »
A stunning photograph of U.S. gymnast Simone Biles performing a perfect rotation has taken the world of social media and beyond by storm. The already iconic image was captured by Irish photographer Bryan Keane. He is in Tokyo covering the Olympics for Inpho Photography, a sports photo agency in Ireland. Assigned to the Far East to predominantly chronicle the Games from an Irish perspective, Keane revealed to Newsweek there was an element of chance to him photographing Biles at her brilliant best. « I was in the press room when I noticed the American gymnasts were up on their rotation, » he said. « She’s the biggest star in the sport and part of me was curious to see what she does in the flesh. I was in a very privileged position to do that as someone who is working but also a spectator. » While as many as 30 photographers were following Biles and the rest of Team USA during that day’s floor exercise, Keane decided to focus his efforts on getting a memorable picture from their next rotation, on the vault. « There was a shot there I had done with one of the Irish athletes that worked because of the black background that was behind them when they launched into the air. « The contrast it creates when you put an athlete into that space just takes away everything else. Whereas if they are down a bit lower things make the photo a bit more cluttered. You obsess over things like that as a photographer. » While the rest of the photographers were over on the floor exercise, the Irish photographer positioned himself low down to maximize the impact of any pictures he got. « There was no pressure on me to get a shot. It meant I could take bigger risks to try and get something great, » he said. « I was down there shooting, kind of looking up at them.
