Swimsuit

Tale of Two Photos

Alex Hampl

Rachel Hunter :: Robert Huntzinger/SI

Ashley Richarson :: Robert Huntzinger/SI

Sports Illustrated has a new book out celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Swimsuit Issue, and it contains a short oral history on the development of the iconic issue -- in addition to all the most famous photos of course. One behind-the-scenes anecdote in particular demonstrates the editors' painstaking attention to detail on every single shot. Here is photographer Robert Huntzinger in his own words:

"For the 1990 issue, we shot in St. Vincent. I noticed this huge piece of driftwood floating and we dragged it up on the beach. I took a shot of Rachel Hunter with the driftwood, and we went back to New York and they told me they wanted me to go back down. The original was shot in 35 millimeter, and they wanted me to shoot it in 4-by-5, which gives you a sharper image, and they wanted me to get the clouds differently. So back we went. Rachel Hunter was not available, so we took Ashley Richardson and the wood was still on the beach. The photo became a four-page foldout, with Ashley Richardson lying on this humongous piece of driftwood."

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