Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Jon Wertheim

SI Photographer Heinz Kluetmeier’s Eye for the Iconic Made Him One of a Kind

This shot of swimmer Michael Phelps posing underwater at the University of Michigan was one of Kluetmeier’s favorites. | Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated

You’ve heard the joke about music criticism. It’s like dancing about architecture. There’s something similar about trying to use words to capture a man who had mastered the art, the heft, and the weight of the image. 

Heinz Kluetmeier, who died on Jan. 14 at the age of 82 due to complications with Parkinson's disease and a stroke, didn’t take photos, he gave photos. Putting into the public domain visual gems that told stories, evoked feelings, memorialized events, and sometimes, literally, reset limits of possibility. 

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.