Seahawks photographer Rod Mar explains why photos are still king

It’s the bottom of 11^th inning, Ken Griffey Jr. is on second base and Edgar Martinez at the plate. Photographer Rod Mar has prepared for this moment, and as Martinez slaps a ball down the left field line, he watches Griffey round third and slide into home. He’s set up, ready to capture one of the most iconic moments in Seattle sports history.

“And I’m already thinking, ‘OK, he’s safe, there’s nothing there,’ I switch over to Edgar, figuring they’re going to run out and mob him,” Mar told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson. “And as I’m shooting that, I turn and see this pig pile at home plate. I just didn’t stay with that moment long enough. And I’m convinced I was just thinking too much.”

Mar had missed it. That was Oct. 8, 1995. Griffey’s smiling face at the bottom of the pile still haunts him to this day.

“It’s an epic photo, and every time I see it, I kind of throw up a little bit in my mouth,” he said.

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The art of sports photography is as intricate today as it was more than two decades ago and Mar, who takes photos for Seahawks.com told Dori about the importance of still photography in the age of video.

“If you think about all the great moments in history that you can picture in your mind, they are from still photographs,” he said. “The flag being raised at Iwo Jima, the Chinese protester standing n front of the tank. Or, if you’re a Seahawks fan, the ball being knocked away by Richard Sherman in the NFC Championship game. You don’t remember the video of it, you remember the still frame.”

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