February, 1987 in Seattle Washington. Walter Iooss Jr. is at the NBA Slam-Dunk contest to make a photo diary of the event. This was his first slam dunk contest, and naturally as a photographer he tried to do his prep the days and weeks before the event. Weeks of prep for only a few three second shots of dunks. Michael Jordan won the contest, as he was on his rise to worldwide fame and fortune. Iooss however looking back at his shots, was less than pleased. He made a key discovery of the dunk contest photos, stating, “If you don’t see the players face, there is no picture.” So one year later, Iooss came back to the contest in Michael’s city, Chicago, Illinois, to capture the event again. Naturally, Iooss decided to ask Jordan if he could get a little bit of help with his photos. A few hours before the dunk contest in 1988, Iooss approached Jordan in the stands and asked if the Bull’s legend could help him out. The two created a system so that Iooss could get a perfect and legendary photo; Jordan would put his hand on his knee and signal Iooss which way he would be going. Jordan came up with the idea, and when Iooss asked if he would remember, all Jordan said was, “You watch.” It is Jordan’s final attempt, Iooss is positioned under the basket, and Michael puts his hand on his knee. Two pointing signals to the right. Iooss repositions to the right of the basket. Simple as that, one of Jordan’s most famous photos is born through Iooss’s longshot full with elements of focal planes, color and space. By looking at Walter Iooss Jr.’s iconic Michael Jordan free throw line dunk photo we see how Jordan won the slam dunk championship in 1988, captivating a worldwide audience and cementing his legacy as the best dunker in the world.

Everything in the arena is centered around what Jordan is about to do, and Iooss illustrates this in his photo with Jordan as the focal point of the picture, and all of the surrounding focal planes pointing to Jordan in the middle of the shot. All of the eyes in the arena are pointed towards one figure: Michael Jordan. The entire audience is captivated by Jordan and what he is about to do. There is not one set of eyes in the arena that is not pointed at Jordan. Intensity streaming from the gazes of the audience beats down on Jordan. This picture holds so much intensity, it looks like the frozen time could be shattered like ice. All of the gazes are object oriented and Jordan has the power. He holds the attention of every single person in the picture, he is essentially the ruler of the audience’s thoughts and attention. The audience’s focal planes also show the look of suspense and unknowing, as they have no idea what MJ is about to pull off. Another focal plane that we as the audience see is the bright beaming light in the upper left hand corner. It is pointing directly on Michael. This resembles the iconic moment that is taking place. Beaming down from the sky, the light can symbolize the north star, and Michael Jordan in this context can be compared to Christ. That is the way that people are looking at Jordan in this picture, as a God. At one point in time more people in the world recognized Jordan than Christ. Helping direct us to Jordan, this north star helps symbolize that a legend was further born from this dunk, it shows a landmark in a legendary career. Focal planes show the key points and objects in every photo, and in this shot, it represents how Jordan became a worldwide icon, cementing his legacy. 

Iooss brings out colors in this iconic photo that creates a greater understanding to the photo as a whole. Red is the color that no doubt catches the eye at first glance in the photo. Although the color red has very many meanings behind it, it is made clear in this photo. In the context of the photo, red is symbolizing that the dunk contest is over after this dunk, it is finished. It shows that this dunk is what put the contest away, ended it, and helped Jordan become the back to back slam dunk champion. As well, red is a color of great passion. Michael shows that passion on his face, which Iooss so desperately needed for the photo to turn out with meaning and passion. The passion represented in Michael’s facial expressions are further brought out by the color red that is heavily represented in this photo, and is the first color that is seen. Another color that is shown and represented in the iconic photo is black. Yet again, the intensity of the photo is represented by the color of black that fills the background behind the audience, showing their full attention on Jordan. Intensity is represented by the dark background shades of black. Power is also again represented by the color of black in the background with a light foreground. Everything surrounding Jordan in the background is dark and black, which makes him shine forward and out of the blackness. This represents the power that he holds on everyone in the audience watching him. He single handedly holds the power of the people in the arena, which is represented by the color of black. Color helps create a further understanding of the photo and the themes of domination and the making of a worldwide icon. 

Iooss utilizes the space in this picture to show the dominance and power that Jordan has over all of the people in this photo. There is no one close to Jordan in this photo. He is by himself with no one else around. The closest thing to him is the basket and then the audience in the background. It is just MJ and the vast emptiness that surrounds him, making him the biggest part of the picture, making him look dominant. The scoreboard and background images also help to give some background information to someone who has never heard of this story before. As the score on the scoreboard in the background states, Jordan is losing at this point, and needs a perfect score of fifty points to win. Shown twice in the background, this also shows that Jordan is about to win the contest and defeat Dominique Wilkins. Space again shows the power of Jordan, and also gives background information of how Jordan is about to cement his legacy as the best dunker in the world. 

Walter Iooss Jr.’s photo shows how Michael Jordan won the 1988 dunk contest in walk off fashion while cementing his legacy as one of the greatest dunkers of all time. Iooss is no rookie photographer, and days, weeks, and even months before the contest he thought of every way to use different elements and techniques to help bring out one of the most iconic sports pictures ever taken.
