A six time NBA champion, six time NBA finals Most Valuable Player, and five time NBA most valuable player among numerous other prestigious accolades, Michael Jordan is renowned as one of the greatest athletes of all time as well as the greatest basketball player to ever play the game. Through his accomplishments, supernatural athletic ability, competitive drive, innovation, passion, and determination to be the best he could possibly be, Michael Jordan not only changed the game of basketball; he provided both tangible and intangible innovations that will be discussed in the following paragraphs. Jordan's profound impact that he had on the game of basketball and the world around it will be illustrated through analyzing Lee Houck's photo essay on Michael Jordan. By analyzing each image in Houck's essay based on the colors, background, symbolism, and placement among others, the reader can develop a sense of why Michael Jordan is considered the greatness of all time and how his influence has forever changed the game of basketball.

The foreground of the first image shows an asymmetrical Michael Jordan in his world famous signature dunk at the NBA slam dunk contest where, although not depicted, he ran from half court and dunked the ball from the foul line. The vintage photograph was taken from a side view, where the first thing the viewer notices when looking at Jordan is how compared to the background every facet of his form, aspect and color resiliently stands out as he soars through the air. The gravity defying presence the picture brings, coupled with his supernatural athletic ability and outstanding accomplishments, this picture of Michael Jordan seemingly flying represents to young basketball players, athletes and all people alike that anything is possible and that the sky is the limit. Looking at his facial expression and demeanor, you can see the athletic prowess, focus, and determination. His fixed gaze on the just out of reach basket, though unspoken, clearly represents to keep your eyes on the goal. Through hard work and sheer grit Michael Jordan willed his way to fly high and surpass all expectations, which has inspired millions of young athletes that anything is possible if you want it bad enough. With his head held level to the rim, this symbolizes that no goal is too high or far to accomplish. Focusing on the background of this same image, a completely packed stadium of a diverse, awestruck audience is present. This being one of the most iconic sports pictures ever, Michael Jordan is presented as someone who defied what man thought was possible and what isn't. This symbolizes his profound influence on the people and how he captivated the world which also shows the extent of his influential reach on the people.

The second, third and fifth photographs of Michael Jordan communicate to all the world that to reap the material fruits of accomplishment, man must not only be strong physically but mentally as well. In the second photo, Michel Jordan is seen with his head bowed down and eyes closed, with a blue light that seems to radiate from his being while in the background a full stadium of people and banners of all his MVP's and Championships hang from the rafters. The light hue that seems to emit from his body highlights the contours of his physical prowess and captivates his unworldly greatness when combined with the background of all the people and banners which represent his physical accomplishments. Depicted similarly in picture five, Michael Jordan is centered and the main focus in the picture holding up one of his five NBA MVP trophies. The picture draws attention to both the trophy and how its presence is obviously of great importance, but also expresses Jordan's humbleness. He appears extremely classy to the sport with his warm-up uniform appearing very clean and proper. Also, the small smile on his face preaches how humble he was, that even after winning the league MVP, all he gives back to himself is a small smile for all of his hard work and accomplishments. In picture three, Michael Jordan is seen in a black and white and asymmetrical photograph guarding a player to the side, with a quote from him saying, "The best evaluation I can make of a player is to look in his eyes and see how scared they are. I own the guy guarding me." The contrast and lack of color in the picture sets a more serious tone which emphasize the quote and provide more of an impact to the reader, where the opposing player in the picture symbolizes the obstacle and the ball is the goal. Furthermore, the quote itself conveys to the reader that in order to achieve greatness, one must be mentally strong as well as physically strong, and impose both of those strengths on any obstacle to overcome it.  All of these pictures exhibit a strong, calm, composed, and focused demeanor that when coupled with this visual of humble godliness illustrates a man who is sound physically and mentally and inspires the readers and viewers to strive to be the same.

Finally, the introductory photograph, fourth, eighth and ninth photographs symbolize Michael Jordan's impact on the world off the court. In the introductory and last photograph, Michael Jordan's world famous jersey number "23" is depicted, where in the last photograph symmetry and the element of light is manipulated which highlight the contours of his retired jersey number to make it stand out, exemplify the greatness of his legacy and revere it. In picture four, an in color Michael Jordan surrounded in an aura of white is depicted in what appears to be a black and white China in the background with a sea of Chinese children reaching for him and holding the basket for him to dunk on. This abstract photo with his aura and the countless amount of Chinese kids reaching for him symbolizes not only his inspirational influence to kids but when coupled with the eighth picture of a Jordan sock with his logo, represents an icon that from a business aspect broken down barriers and expanded the NBA from a national to international level. The artist uses a contrasting background as well as the white colored aura around him to capture and highlight Jordan's appeal and influence on the entire world.

Although Michael Jordan seems surreal, realism in photographs of him in action and his accomplishments, combined with the manipulation of light to emphasize contrast, color and form, prove to show that he has become an inspirational icon in popular culture across the globe. Not only has he become an inspiration to millions of youths in the world, he has changed the world in both the aspects of basketball and globalization, where the tangible and intangible benefits of creativity and the idea that the sky is the limit are exemplified through the use of abstraction, form, contrast, and color in these pictures. Through these pictures Michael Jordan's tangible and intangible contributions to the world are made even apparent, and that he is truly the greatest of all time.

