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If it’s outside, I love to shoot it!
Outdoor/adventure photographer and permanent nomad Aaron Ingrao lives full-time on the road in a van with his girlfriend and two dogs, seeking the best mountain bike trails around the country and able to support his clients’ needs at a moment’s notice, just about anywhere. Late autumn 2022, he’d set his “Travel Plans” for Denver, which is how the NFL found him.
They were looking for a Landscape, Outdoors photographer who knew Arizona locations well. They found me through the Find Photographers feature on WonderfulMachine.com.
Though not having previously worked with a professional sports league, and not even being a traditional ‘stick and ball’ sports fan himself, Aaron was no rookie to photographing athletes having spent years working with pro mountain bikers on location—that, teamed with the spread of Southwestern landscapes in his portfolio, helped Aaron secure the project.
My skill set was landscape photography mixed with an ability to think quickly and be nimble with studio strobes on location. I gained a lot of experience shooting on location with lighting from years of being in the woods photographing pro mountain bikers.
I started going to Moab, Utah in the early 2000s, and through the following years, I began exploring the entirety of the Southwest. Golden hour sun on the red rocks with blue skies fascinates me—so much so that it became my branding color.
After being awarded the project, Aaron joined in on the pre-planning about a month before the shoot.
There were five locations in total including the stadium and Papago Hole in Phoenix, Rattlesnake Canyon in Page, three locations in Sedona, and Guano Point on the very western rim of the Grand Canyon. We needed to deal with securing permits for photographing in National Forest lands, the logistics of travel from location to location. Two of the locations, Rattlesnake Canyon and Guano Point, required tour guides be present as they were both on Native American land.
My knowledge of Arizona helped a lot. The Super Bowl host committee who worked with the NFL had made the location selections before hiring me. That said, I actually suggested the Merry Go Round location in Sedona that we ended up shooting.
As for the goal of the project, here’s a word from NFL Senior Creative Director, Stephanie Borgese.
In developing the concept for the Super Bowl LVII style guide, among many things, we considered that there had been three prior Super Bowls in Arizona, so there was a real desire to create something very unique. The overarching concept was inspired by the vast Arizona skies, the vibrant cultures of the local community and the sense of celebration and unity that Super Bowl brings. We knew the photography had to communicate that in a strong way.
Visually, the theme was brought to life with super saturated images of the most iconic Arizona landscapes, cityscapes and the stadium. The reflective Roman numerals acted as a window to these stunning environments, offering a unique view of Arizona.
But no photo shoot is without its hills to climb. Werner Herzog often tells young filmmakers, “Carry bolt cutters everywhere.” Perhaps, for Aaron, it’s appropriate footwear and a capable 4×4.
Some spots were easily accessible, but most were not. Hiking into locations and traversing slot canyons were a big part of the shoot and a challenge—but a really fun one! It put my assistant, John Berry’s climbing skills to the test. He’s just amazing.
The Merry Go Round location in Sedona required a 5-mile drive up Schnebly Hill Road, a very very muddy and very rocky road. I used to drive jeep tours up that hill, so I was very familiar and made sure that we rented a capable 4×4 high-clearance pickup. I did all the driving. The crew was giddy getting bounced around the vehicle. It was one of my favorite moments.
Beyond the locations, each landscape photo was to feature the LVII steel Roman numerals positioned in the foreground. This offered its own set of challenges.
We had multiple strobes, five team members, equipment cases, and of course the 16″ Roman numerals which had to be handled with great care. Lighting the reflective steel required a lot of finesse. They were highly polished and needed to stay that way. The idea was partially to have the numerals reflect the landscape features while also making them look heroic.
With every outdoor shoot, the weather is a constant variable.
Unfortunately, we did encounter a few days of gray skies. Luckily there were some blue pockets that magically arose and we were able to capture some of the magic you see here.
And shooting on location is rarely a closed set.
Some of the locations were tourist spots and we had to make sure no tourists were taking photos of the props. This was a very controlled production and the NFL wanted no leaks of imagery to go out before they began releasing the images to their partners for promoting the big game. When tourists tried taking photos, we did ask them not to, while also being fully aware that we have no authority to do so and that it most certainly was a favor to ask them not to photograph our set.
That said, an open set teems with surprise!
When the monks descended on the Airport Mesa Vortex location in Sedona, at one point they all sat down in the Lotus position and began praying. At that moment I shut down production for the duration of the prayers out of respect. This lasted about 5-10 minutes. When it was all over, the monks started taking selfies!
Here’s a closing note from Aaron.
As always, shooting in the American Southwest is amazing. The energy on location was really great. The sense of adventure and understanding that what we were doing and where we were shooting was just so damn cool! I’m so thankful that I can make my living this way.
See more of Aaron’s work on his website.
Further Reading
Read more about Aaron on our Published blog.
Credits
NFL Senior Creative Director: Stephanie Borgese
NFL Photo Editor: Annie Sullivan
Photo Assistant: John Berry
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