YEARBOOK
A fun look at some past work of Eric O’Connell. Memorable, and sometimes pivotal photo shoots done for magazines and advertisers. Most of this was shot on film with either my Mamiya RZ67, any number of Hasselblads, Wista 4x5, Nikon F cameras, or a Contax G2. I’ve tried to provide some limited caption information, and am continually adding…. Enjoy!
This is a work in progress. Not all the stories are written (as of mid-February, 2025). Please check back occasionally for updates.
Omar Visquez. Famous short stop. This was for ESPN magazine, shot in Florida at a spring training camp. Those who know baseball know he was awesome. He wond 11 Golden Gloves awards in his career. It was HOT in middle Florida in the middle of summer. Hot and muggy. Omar was a bit frustrated that he had to do the shoot. We were not granted access to shoot in the beautiful looking stadium where they have exibition games, but instead headed to the open practice fields. Nothing special to look at. Noon. After having him field balls for 30 minutes—he was known at the time for catching balls behind his back, and other tricky grabs—I had him do the shot you see because conceptually it was his hands, his "magic hands" they called them that was his key to success. I underexposed the ugly background as best I could, used strobe and got the shot you see.
FBI undercover agents, Dale and Connie Jakes at an udisclosed location in the Southwest. This assignment was a blast, filled with mystery, and intrigue. I was not allowed to know where I was going until about 30 minutes before I got there. I drove 3 hours, then had to make a call (cell phones in those days flipped open, and a an antennae was pulled out) from a designated geographical point, and given further map instructions which took another 45 minutes of driving. There was a secret code I had to do with the car when I pulled up. They were in hiding. And, on Dale's right side, there is something (or lack of something) I was not allowed to show. It was wildd. In the world of undercover espionage, one always wonders, who's playing whom?
Most people might not remember this magazine. What a fun job this was! This is shot on Ted Turner's ranch in New Mexico, my home state. The editors had this idea, had a prop (the sign) built in NY, and Fedex'd it to me (we did everything by Fedex then). I was given access to Mr. Turner's ranch, which was the largest prvately owned piece of land in New Mexico at just a tad over 500,000 acres. A foreman accompanied me and my assistant and off we went to find a location that clearly said, LAND. It was cold, but beautiful. We stuck the sign in the ground (where you see it), balanced the lighting with strobe, shot, left. It was the cover image.
