A photograph can be powerful. It possesses the ability to capture the raw emotion of a singular moment and preserve an otherwise fleeting snippet of time, telling a story in the process.
Over the next few weeks, we’re taking a look back at 10 of the best photos from the 2023-24 season along with commentary from Chiefs’ Director of Photography Steve Sanders.
Unlike in previous years, this isn’t a countdown of Sanders’ top images, but rather the chronological story of the Chiefs’ championship season told through some of his favorite photos.
Here’s a look at what we’ve covered so far:
No. 10 | No. 9 | No. 8 | No. 7 | No. 6 | No. 5 | No. 4
We’ll continue with No. 3:
“Elation”
BTL3
Game: Super Bowl LVIII
The Subject: Quarterback Patrick Mahomes collapses to the ground in joy following the Chiefs’ second-straight Super Bowl victory.
Taken By: Kyle Rivas
Camera Model: SONY ILCE-9M3
Focal Length: 600 mm
Exposure Time: 1/2,500
Aperture: f/4
Steve Sanders’ Thoughts:
Q: This is an obvious one, but tell me about this photo and how Kyle captured it.
Sanders: “This photograph was an entry into the NFL Hall of Fame photo contest, where it took third place overall,” Sanders said. “Kyle was positioned in the upper level at the Super Bowl, where he was trying to tell that story from the top. This was right after the game-winning touchdown, and on the field level, it was craziness. I was trying to track Patrick down, and we ended up running right by one another. He ran behind me, and I had to try to catch up with him, but Kyle was able to track him all the way out of the end zone. He stuck with him until he reached the area by the bench, and that was where Patrick just kind of collapsed. He was celebrating there by himself for just a split second before he was surrounded by the team, and Kyle was able to capture that moment where he was all by himself in a field of gold. With Patrick being in the red jersey, it made such a great picture. You can just see his emotion and his elation of winning the Super Bowl again.”
Q: As the leader of this group, how did you prepare for successful moments like this?
Sanders: “We were able to have six photographers on the field, so we divided everything up. We also had two photographers upstairs, and everybody had assignments for post-game, whether we were to win or lose the game,” Sanders said. “We really tried to plan that out, and Kyle’s post-game assignment was to stick with Patrick. He clearly crushed his assignment.”
