I’m bringing back The Shot Behind the Shot series, as I look to have deeper conversations with photographers on their process and learn more about what goes into photographs that I meme/become viral.
I’m about two months late here, but in my defense, these images - the Megan Keller goal and Connor Hellebuyck save - are timeless. Both were captured by the talented Jared C. Tilton via remote cam, and I zoomed with him to talk through how he was able to pull both off.
LJ (ArtButMakeItSports)
To start, I know your work from mostly motorsports; do you consider yourself primarily a motorsports photographer, or…
Jared
I’d say for the first part of my career, 15 years or so, yes, with it being 95% of my work. Within the past 5 years or so I’ve started to explore other sports.
I started my career with an internship at a company that was primarily motorsport-based, and I said, alright, let’s give this a go, despite not necessarily being a fan. I’m very thankful for it, but obviously happy to have the opportunity to shoot other sports now.
LJ
Were you shooting other sports at the Olympics, or just hockey?
Jared
A handful. I shot a bit of figure skating along the way, and did some of the short track racing, which was also in the figure skating venue. But mostly hockey more than anything. It was my first Winter Olympics. I went to Rio in 2016, and then Paris in 2024.
LJ
Did you request the ice sports?
Jared
Talks around robotics had started about a year and a half ago, and my name was thrown into the mix. Once I got that role, that solidified me going to the Olympics and what sports I would be covering. When I was there, I only operated the robotics. I’m constantly raising my hand for different things and wanting to learn. I really gravitate towards the technology side; the world of sending data, how we can view it live, and how quickly we can get it out, etc. That intrigues me.
LJ
Can you walk me through your setup? (PBS News did this awesome breakdown below that’s a great primer)
Jared
The proprietary robotics program has a joystick and some different buttons, so I swapped in a PlayStation controller out of comfort and muscle memory. The controller in the center operates the center robotic/remote camera above the ice, and then I have two stream decks on each side that operates our other two cameras. So it’s a lot of back and forth of moving what’s firing what, seen via laptop. I had a button that would fire all three at the same time, but you’re typically sitting there watching and waiting for that moment to hit the button. We turn it down to around 15 frames a second instead of the 40 that you can typically shoot at, but you’re still picking your moments.
For the Keller goal, I wouldn’t say I almost forgot to fire, but the move she put on that defender, that deke, almost left me speechless. I was amazed just watching the move, and was like, oh gosh, I hope I hit the right button, because I was so into what she was doing in that moment.
For the Hellebuyck save, at that point, there’d already been one shot put on net, so I was already firing the remote, knowing there was action around the net. And then, at that point, you can either stop because you see that he made the save, or continue to fire. Luckily for that one, I continued, and it just…I wouldn’t say, you know, it’s all luck, but as far as the puck being perfectly between the two sticks like that, I couldn’t hit that again if I tried. It’s how fast that puck is moving, and how fast the action is, the placement ended up being so lucky. But, we put ourselves in that position to make that photo starting months/years in advance; it says a lot about the team’s preparation and just how it all comes together.
LJ
Did you realize that that images were going viral?
Jared
I don’t even open up social media or our website until an hour or so after the game. Luckily we have editors in London that are sitting there, and they’re waiting for these pictures to hit, and they’re amazing, they do everything for us. I mean, all we do is take the photos, they caption them, and they send them out to the world or the places they need to be in a timely manner. I trust the editors fully whenever we’re doing this job, and just hop on social media on the train ride home once I’m all packed up. I was sitting there with my AirPods in for a bit, and start seeing it on all different places.
LJ
Where do those shots rank on your Mount Rushmore of images that you’ve captured?
Jared
Aesthetically, I have other favorite shots that have more color, more motion. But I’d say the importance of it being the Olympics, and the gravity around the save/shot, they’re up there. Top 5 for each one, for sure.
LJ
When I’ll think back 30 years from now, my memory won’t be the actual television feed of the moment, it’ll be your two images.
Jared
That’s cool to hear. They’re going be burned in my head for a while as well. I keep joking with friends that say congrats, or, you know, nice photo, that I think this is going to have some shelf life haha.
Jared’s work can be found across numerous outlets, and on his Instagram. Make sure to give him a follow!
Also, friendly reminder that if you’re in NYC tomorrow (Saturday), to come to the new Sotheby’s in the old Breuer building to hear my discussion with legendary photographer Nat Butler, at 6pm. It’s free, but RSVP here so they can get a sense of headcount/buy a book if you haven’t already. I’ll be sticking around after my talk signing books, so come say hi!
-LJ