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When Leo Mason traded a career in advertising for a shot at becoming a professional photographer in 1974, he set four goals for his new life, declaring that it should be both fun and financially viable; that it must involve travelling the world, meeting interesting people; and that his photography must be just a little better than average. Leo was aiming high, yet in his own words: 'That's pretty much how everything worked out.'
Leo's love for photographing the sporting world's greatest moments is plain to see - from a surreal experience with Sir Richard Noble's Thrust 2 team out on the Bonneville Salt Flats and shooting US Open tennis from a never-before-seen overhead viewpoint, to capturing dramatic America's Cup racing from a helicopter and spending a career-defining week with Muhammad Ali.
Not only filled with famous faces from the sporting world, this book is also a visual record of Leo's creative and technical journey, his transition from film to digital, as well as his recollections of the times spent capturing these moments. He has led an extraordinarily interesting life, as many of the stories and anecdotes behind his images attest. Leo's passion, craft and creative eye for the unusual are evident on every page, and his hugely significant contribution to the historical sporting record is his enduring legacy.
About the author
Leo Mason began his professional photography career working at The Observer and other national newspapers before forming the Split Second Photo Agency. Over the next 40 years he contributed to Sports Illustrated, Time magazine, GQ, USA Today, Stern, Paris-Match, Life magazine, L'Equipe and many other international publications. He has covered sporting events from the obscure to the Olympics and everything in between, is an Associate of The Royal Photographic Society and has collected 18 major photographic awards. His images have been exhibited in many of the UK's most prestigious galleries.
