"This photograph of Kobe was taken in a ballroom of a hotel in Oklahoma City. I was shooting digital for this particular shoot. Part of the beauty of digital for a shot like this is that you can see what you are doing as you go along—we could both correct ourselves. We talked about dunk moves, passing the ball through his legs, etc. Kobe was an athlete that moved beautifully. He made my job so easy because of his gracefulness. Afterward, he, my long-time assistant Welch and I talked. Our conversations were always my favorite part of seeing Kobe."
Walter Iooss Jr.
January 2022
