Born in Berlin, Germany, but raised from the age of nine in Milwaukee in the USA, Heinz Kluetmeier was bitten by the photo bug at an early age. At 15, he was already shooting pictures for The Associated Press, capturing such people as Vince Lombardi, Paul Hornung, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. After high school, he was offered a full-time job as a photographer with the AP, but opted to study engineering. Throughout his college career, Kluetmeier continued shooting for the Milwaukee Journal and The Associated Press. After graduating in 1966, he worked for a year as an engineer, but it was not long before the lure of photography got the better of him. After a brief stint at the Milwaukee Journal as a staff photographer, Kluetmeier became a contract and then staff photographer for Time, Inc. where he shot for both Sports Illustrated and Life magazines. He has since shot over 125 covers for Sports Illustrated and twice served as director of photography. Kluetmeier is probably best known for his 1980 ‘Miracle on Ice' cover, and his underwater image of Michael Phelps at the determining moment he won the 100m butterfly during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
