Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Johnson, a.k.a. Tippy Toe Joe. Photo by Art Streiber for ESPN The Magazine.

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The thief-in-the-night concept for Art Streiber‘s recent ESPN The Magazine photo shoot with Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Johnson derived from the nickname Johnson earned for his sly moves on the court: Tippy Toe Joe. “The moniker is so perfect that we decided to bring it life in the first of a series of homages to those nickname-inspired posters made famous by John and Tock Costacos in the late ’80s,” explain the editors.

They sent Art a rough sketch of Tippy Toe Joe stealing a basketball from a posh gallery, à la Ocean’s Eleven. Then set designer Rob Strauss developed the idea, and Art brought it to life.

“Art was completely enthusiastic about the idea,” says the magazine’s director of photography, Karen Frank, in a behind-the-scenes look at the shoot at espn.go.com. “I chose Art not only because he’s a great photographer but he also loves a challenge and he’s a great collaborator.” Click on the screenshot below to read and see more.

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Click to read about the shoot at espn.go.com.

Tippy Toe Joe on set with (from left) ESPN The Magazine contributor Stacey Pressman; Karen Frank, the magazine’s director of photography; and Stockland Martel photo agent Khadijat Oseni. Photo courtesy Inna Khavison.

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Photo by Lauren Greenfield for ESPN The Magazine.

A Psy impersonator. Photo by Lauren Greenfield for ESPN The Magazine.

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Cameron Diaz. Photo by Lauren Greenfield for ESPN The Magazine.

Michael Douglas and Ron Howard. Photo by Lauren Greenfield for ESPN The Magazine.

Photo by Lauren Greenfield for ESPN The Magazine.

Photo by Lauren Greenfield for ESPN The Magazine.

Photo by Lauren Greenfield for ESPN The Magazine.

Photo by Lauren Greenfield for ESPN The Magazine.

Photo by Lauren Greenfield for ESPN The Magazine.

Photo by Lauren Greenfield for ESPN The Magazine.

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A screenshot of Steven Lippman’s photo of Anna Tunnicliffe at the American Photo website. Click to see all of the magazine’s picks for 2012 Images of the Year.

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Steven captured this shot, which was also a winner in PDN‘s The Shot contest in January, from a fishing boat. “Anna came at me at about 20 miles per hour and missed the boat by a foot, but she was in complete control,” he told American Photo‘s Michael Kaplan.

“For his part, Lippman had to angle his shots so as to strategically conceal Tunnicliffe’s nude form while he capitalized on a stormy backdrop and contended with a small-craft advisory,” Kaplan writes.

“I wanted a great picture,” Steven told Kaplan, “but I also wanted Anna to be safe and not demolish either of the boats.”

See the full gallery of 2012 Images of the Year here.

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To prepare, Matthias purchased a suitcase’s worth of books on iconic album art and brought to the editors at ESPN’s Connecticut headquarters, where they could keep them on hand as reference. “I also purchased the actual vinyl albums for the covers on eBay, and I brought them to the set so we could refer to them,” he says.

“Matthias Clamer did an amazing job matching lighting and all details from the original covers, traveling to Tampa, Los Angeles, Colorado Springs and New York City for this project,” Karen Frank, ESPN The Magazine’s senior director of photography, told SPD’s Grids blog.

Senior deputy photo editor Nancy Weisman produced the shoots, and Stacey Pressman, a writer, producer, and all-around contributor to ESPN The Magazine—she is also the person who pitched the album-cover idea to the magazine in the first place—wrangled the athletes and was on all of Matthias’ shoots. Below, Stacey shares her insights on what it took to make each cover happen. (Thanks so much for your time, Stacey!)

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Trent Richardson, LaMarr Woodley, and Marshawn Lynch as Run-DMC on “Ultimate Run-DMC.” Photo by Matthias Clamer for ESPN The Magazine.

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Trent Richardson, LaMarr Woodley, and Marshawn Lynch as Run-DMC on Ultimate Run-DMC
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“Deciding who would play whom was tricky, but then Marshawn showed up with his own DMC glasses,” says Stacey. “Lamar begrudgingly allowed us to put facial hair on him (while Trent and Marshawn teased him). Trent made a perfect Rev Run. The guys were very dedicated to striking the right pose and assuming their characters’ spirit.”

Behind-the-scenes gallery: http://espn.go.com/espn/photos/gallery/_/id/8915270/

Behind-the-scenes video: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8915711

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Allyson Felix as Beyoncé on “Dangerously in Love.” Photo by Matthias Clamer for ESPN The Magazine.

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Allyson Felix as Beyoncé on Dangerously in Love

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“Allyson is a huge fan of Beyoncé and listens to her song ‘Diva’ before a big race,” says Stacey. “The top was custom-made by premier costume designer In-House Atelier, which creates costumes for Beyoncé (Super Bowl), Lady Gaga, Shakira, and many others. It took 35 hours to make the top, which was constructed of chains and Swarovski elements. It was stunning but posed a challenge, requiring lots of attention and hands on set to hold it in place.”

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Behind-the-scenes gallery: http://espn.go.com/espn/photos/gallery/_/id/8914927/

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Ryan Lochte as the baby on Nirvana’s “Nevermind.” Photo by Matthias Clamer for ESPN The Magazine.

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Ryan Lochte as the baby on Nirvana’s Nevermind

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“Admittedly, Nirvana is not #1 on Lochte’s playlist (his favorite song is “The Sky’s the Limit” by Lil Wayne), but he knew the album cover and was excited to re-create it,” Stacey says. “It was difficult finding a pool to close down for us on a Saturday, even for Ryan Lochte! Gold’s Gym in Colorado Springs came to our rescue. Ryan had amazing body awareness and control under water, and was great at taking direction from Matthias, adjusting in the tiniest ways to get as close to the baby’s pose as possible.”

Behind-the-scenes gallery: http://espn.go.com/espn/photos/gallery/_/id/8914979/

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Behind-the-scenes video: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8915692

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Josh Freeman as Michael Jackson on “Thriller.”

Josh Freeman as Michael Jackson on “Off the Wall.” Photo by

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Josh Freeman as Michael Jackson on Thriller and Off the Wall

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“Before he cut his afro,” Stacey explains, “Josh had been called ‘Tito’ (Jackson) by his coach, Raheem Morris. When his transformation with wig and styling took place on set, Josh admitted that the resemblance was striking. Josh loves animals and fell in love with the 6-week-old tiger cub from Big Cat Habitat in Sarastoa, FL. Josh was so happy with the shoot that he just changed his Twitter avatar to the Off the Wall image Matthias shot.”

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Behind-the-scenes gallery: http://espn.go.com/espn/photos/gallery/_/id/8915428/

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Behind-the-scenes video: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8915721

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Jimmie Johnson as Bob Dylan on “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.”

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Jimmie Johnson as Bob Dylan on The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan

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“Jimmie is a fan of all sorts of music and really loves artists like Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. This album cover seemed a perfect fit for him: He got to work with his wife, Chandra, and the location is meaningful, as it’s very close to his own home in NYC,” says Stacey. “We shot in the same location in the West Village of Manhattan, on Jones Street between Bleecker and West 4th, as the original album cover. The buildings on the street were covered by scaffolding and trees that hadn’t been there at the time when the album cover was shot, so we adjusted on set by shooting in the opposite direction, which got us pretty close to the original look. All the cars were sourced from different companies. The white Dodge in the front was actually newly painted lime green. It was our best option, so we grabbed it and changed the color in post. With everything in place, we only needed an overcast day to complete the magic, and luckily we got one! (We also got some falling snow, which kept things interesting.)”

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Behind-the-scenes gallery: http://espn.go.com/espn/photos/gallery/_/id/8915030/

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Behind-the-scenes video: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8915654

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James Stewart as Rick James on “Street Songs.”

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James Stewart as Rick James on Street Songs
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“MotoX sports star James Stewart used to make videos of himself as ‘Rick James’ Stewart and put them online. It was a no-brainer to sign him on to this project, as he was able to take Rick James to a whole new level and do it in a real way. We shot at Universal Studios, on their Brooklyn street lot, the location for the original Rick James album shoot. The red boots we hoped James would wear were too high for him—he could barely stand in them—so we painted a pair of flat black boots red, and voilà!”

Behind-the-scenes gallery: http://espn.go.com/espn/photos/gallery/_/id/8915582/

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Behind-the-scenes video: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8915730

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Alex Morgan as Katy Perry on “One of the Boys.”

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Alex Morgan as Katy Perry on One of the Boys

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“Alex is a fan of Katy Perry and was very excited to re-create the One of the Boys cover,” Stacey says. “Set designer Rae Scarton and her team used 12 different types of flowers (only one of which was real: primrose—the dark purple, pink, and yellow clusters in the foreground); 120 square feet of live, overgrown grass; 16 feet of fencing; and rose vines. The lounge chair was custom fabricated in about seven hours because the one used for the original Katy Perry album cover was lost in a fire a few years ago when part of the prop house where it was stored burned down.”

Behind-the-scenes gallery: http://espn.go.com/espn/photos/gallery/_/id/8915141/

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Behind-the-scenes video: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8915608

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Giancarlo Stanton, Justin Upton, Brandon Phillips, Evan Longoria, and Shane Victorino as Devo on “Freedom of Choice.”

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Giancarlo Stanton, Justin Upton, Brandon Phillips, Evan Longoria, and Shane Victorino as Devo on Freedom of Choice

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“ESPN Creative Director of Print and Digital Media John Korpics really wanted to find five guys to re-create this cover,” Stacey explains. “I had been talking to Giancarlo Stanton, who wanted to be part of the project. I sent him the Devo cover and he thought it was hilarious, and the rest of the cast followed. Although none of the ballplayers had ever heard of Devo, they thought it was a cool image that would be fun to do and really got into character on set. It took 10 days to make the suits; the fabric had to be specially made.  See tweet below from Gerald Casale of Devo…”

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Behind-the-scenes gallery: http://espn.go.com/espn/photos/gallery/_/id/8915324/

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Behind-the-scenes video: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8915645

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A screenshot of the winners’ gallery, featuring Steven Lippman’s photo of Anna Tunnicliffe (right).

Anna Tunnicliffe. Photo by Steven Lippman.

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Credits

John Korpics, VP/Creative Director Print and Digital Media
Karen Frank, senior photo editor
Nancy Weisman, senior deputy photo editor

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Jeremy Lin and James Harden of the Houston Rockets. Photo by Art Streiber for ESPN The Magazine, December 10, 2012, issue.

Photo by Art Streiber for ESPN The Magazine.

Photo by Art Streiber for ESPN The Magazine.

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Anna Tunnicliffe. Photo by Steven Lippman for ESPN The Magazine’s 2012 “Body Issue.”

Anna Tunnicliffe. Photo by Steven Lippman for ESPN The Magazine’s 2012 “Body Issue.”

Anna Tunnicliffe. Photo by Steven Lippman for ESPN The Magazine’s 2012 “Body Issue.”

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…But you didn’t know the story behind the shoot. Until last week, when Nancy Weisman, the magazine’s deputy photo editor, wrote a post at the ESPN site about what it was like to bounce around the waves while Steven got the shots. Here’s an excerpt:

“Anna, now on her radial sailboat, removed all her clothes on her boat and then came zipping past the stern of our boat where Steven was leaning over and shooting. Anna was going so fast and came so close that I thought for sure with these crazy conditions she would crash right into us. Every time I expected to hear a thud. Steven would then show me the shots on the back of his camera. Looking at them only made me more nauseous. Before I knew it I was hanging over the edge of the boat feeding the fish my morning pumpernickel bagel. Anna was incredible, and Steven, bless him, nailed those shots in incredible fashion. But I was very much looking forward to getting back to my cubicle!”

Read more here or by clicking on the screenshot below…

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Anna Tunnicliffe. Photo by Steven Lippman for ESPN The Magazine.

Anna Tunnicliffe. Photo by Steven Lippman for ESPN The Magazine.

Anna Tunnicliffe. Photo by Steven Lippman for ESPN The Magazine.

Daniela Hatuchova. Photo by Jeff Lipsky for ESPN The Magazine.

Daniela Hatuchova. Photo by Jeff Lipsky for ESPN The Magazine.

Suzann Pettersen. Photo by Jeff Lipsky.

Suzann Pettersen. Photo by Jeff Lipsky.

The U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team. Photo by Art Streiber for ESPN The Magazine.

Nellie Spicer of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team. Photo by Art Streiber for ESPN The Magazine.

Megan Hodge of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team. Photo by Art Streiber for ESPN The Magazine.

Destinee Hooker of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team. Photo by Art Streiber for ESPN The Magazine.

Megan Hodge, Heather Brown, and Cynthia Barboza of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team. Photo by Art Streiber for ESPN The Magazine.

Alisha Glass of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team. Photo by Art Streiber for ESPN The Magazine.

Stacy Sykora of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team. Photo by Art Streiber for ESPN The Magazine.

The U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team (from left): Allisha Glass, Heather Brown, Megan Hodge, Stacy Sykora, Nellie Spicer, Destinee Hooker, Cynthia Barboza. Photo by Art Streiber for ESPN The Magazine.

Click to watch a behind-the-scenes video from Art Streiber’s shoot with the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team.

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See the full Body Issue “Bodies We Want” photo gallery here.

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Danica Patrick. Photo by Art Streiber for ESPN The Magazine, June 11, 2012, issue.

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For the cover story of its June 11 issue, photographed by Art Streiber, ESPN The Magazine looks at NASCAR star Danica Patrick and her canny management of her brand. Below, an excerpt from the story, written by Janet Reitman, as well as video that features scenes from Art’s shoot with her:

“I’m particular,” she says. “I like things to be a certain way.” She is particularly particular about her image—the brand 00 and she loves photo shoots, she says, because she gets to direct the whole thing, including how and where she should stand and how her hair looks. It looks perfect, by the way—long, dark tresses gently curled and cascading halfway down her back—as does the rest of her. She’s attired head to toe in labels: a sequined black sleeveless top by BCBG, black J Brand jeans and taupe Miu Miu stilettos with a rose-color Balenciaga bag on her arm. Her brown eyes are highlighted with just the right amount of makeup, her skin is flawless, her arms toned, and on her wrist is a chunky platinum watch that looks like a $6,000 Rolex.

Except that it’s a $600 stainless steel Tissot. “One of my sponsors,” Danica explains. That means she wears the watch all the time, including at the photo shoot. She also donned, or at least held, her William Rast sunglasses—another sponsor, which also designed the blazer draped across her shoulders—so she could be photographed with them as well. “Every single aspect of myself,” she starts, and then stops. Whoops. What is she doing? Is she complaining? “Let me put it this way,” she continues carefully. “It’s all about trying to incorporate. It’s about trying to weave the web and keep everyone happy. And of course,” she smiles, “it’s about giving value to those people so they continue to sponsor me.” (Read the full story here.)

CREDITS

John Korpics, VP/Creative Director of Print and Digital Media
Karen Frank, senior photo editor
Stephanie Weed, photo editor
Art Streiber, photographer

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Photos by Art Streiber for ESPN The Magazine.

Click to view ESPN The Magazine’s video piece on Danica Patrick, which features scenes from Art Streiber’s shoot with the NASCAR star.

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