As the Atlanta Hawks photographer for the past 40 years, Scott Cunningham has captured key moments night after night, year after year — from a high-flying Dominique Wilkins to a finger-wagging Dikembe Mutombo to a more recent image of a fearless, ultra-fast Dennis Schroder.
Standing in front of a poster-size image of a soaring Wilkins taken in 1991, Cunningham smiles wistfully and reminisces.
“I saw his entire career. It was so much fun. When he played, you couldn’t take your eyes off of him,” he said.
The spectacular athleticism. The acrobatic dunks. The spin moves.
Cunningham captured the Human Highlight Film — in photos.
An exhibit last year, titled “From the Baseline: 40 Years Beneath the Rim,” put a spotlight on Cunningham’s photographic journey last year and included more than 50 photos displayed from Cunningham’s career as an NBA photographer covering the home team, as well as Atlanta’s Braves, Falcons, Dream, Thrashers and Flames franchises, along with photographs from other major events including Stanley Cups, NBA All-Star games and Princess Diana’s funeral.
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Cunningham’s vast photo archives of more than 20,000 pictures capture thrilling moments in sports history.
Next to that poster-size image of Wilkins is a large photograph of Michael Jordan, rising up for a dunk, captured in 1997.
“When they played each other, it was like Christmas,” Cunningham said about a Wilkins-Jordan matchup.
As a freshman in high school, Cunningham took a six-week photography class and loved it. He was also playing baseball and hockey at the time, but by his junior year, he knew he wasn’t going to make a career out of playing professional sports. Meanwhile, “the only thing I loved to do was taking pictures of games and sports,” he said.
Still in high school, Cunningham took photos of Virginia Tech basketball and football games. And at the young age of 18, he moved to Atlanta and presented the Atlanta Hawks organization with his portfolio. It was a small collection of photos, but it was enough to land a team photographer job.
“This is not a job,” said Cunningham, who’s now 59 and lives in Marietta. “This is 40 years of not having to work.”
Cunningham’s photos have graced four Sports Illustrated covers, as well as national publications including SLAM and Hockey News, and have been featured in advertising campaigns including Nike. In 1997, fans voted his shot of Michael Jordan driving the lane against the Milwaukee Bucks as the Photo of the Year on NBA.com. Cunningham, a Virginia native, also co-authored “Dale Earnhardt: Image of Greatness,” a book of photos chronicling the life of the NASCAR legend on and off the track.
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Cunningham uses Nikon cameras and has been taking digital images for the past 17 years. He typically sets up two or three cameras and four to six strobe lights (which serve as flashes) in Philips Arena, sometimes setting up cameras behind the backboard, which can lead to some impressive shots.
In an interview during the exhibit last year, Wilkins said he admires Cunningham as a photographer. And he said the two have grown close over the years.
"I can't tell you how much enjoyment I have had being around him and working with him over the years," said Wilkins, who is now the vice president of basketball for the Atlanta Hawks and is an analyst for Hawks telecasts on Fox Sports Southeast. "He has been a wonderful fixture for the Hawks. I have never seen him upset about anything, he is always an upbeat type of person, and that's rare."
Wilkins said he has several photos taken by Cunningham, including his favorite, which hangs large in Wilkins’ man cave.
“It’s not me dunking,” Wilkins said. “It’s just me running down the court. It’s the expression on my face.”
The determination, the intensity.
“Being fired up,” Wilkins said. “It’s the moment. He captured the moment.”
