A photograph holds the power to capture a moment’s raw emotion, preserving a fleeting snippet of time. Over the coming weeks, we will revisit ten of the best photos from the 2024-25 season, accompanied by commentary from Chiefs’ Director of Photography Steve Sanders.
The series begins with photo number ten: “Wearing the Grass,” taken during Week 15 in Cleveland. The subject is defensive end George Karlaftis adjusting his helmet on a rainy day. The photo was captured by Steve Sanders using a Canon EOS R1 with a focal length of 400 mm, an exposure time of 1/2,500, and an aperture of f/2.8.
Sanders shared his thoughts on this photograph: “What I like about this picture is the way the grass is embedded in his helmet, so you can tell that he recently made a diving tackle low to the ground. His glove and his tape are grass-stained as well.” He added, “He also has a certain look in his eye. It was cold and rainy that day, and you can tell that he’s feeling the emotion of the day.”
Describing how he captured this image, Sanders explained: “This play happened inside the numbers, so as he came up onto a knee, I was also on a knee when I shot this picture, which provided the perfect angle to capture this.”
Discussing the photo’s color contrast, Sanders noted: “The tones work really well together. You can see right into his eye, and the grass stains really contrast well with the red of his helmet.”
When asked what story this photo tells, Sanders concluded: “I think it shows how hard he worked that day. Anytime you’re covered in grass stains – especially when there’s grass in your helmet – it means you’ve been after it a little bit.”
