Judge 2007

Karl Stein

PHOTO EDITOR, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

ON HAVING YOUR CAKE AND EATING IT, TOO: "I think I have a nice mix of both: I prefer doing more candid and landscape [shots, personally], but professionally I do the intense action photo."

Often in life, we choose between two sides of a coin. And for Kari Stein, Sports Illustrated's photo editor, her two passions couldn't have been more opposite: "It was always between animals and art," she laughs. While pursuing her bachelor's degree in biology at Syracuse University in the mid-'90s, Stein still found time to indulge in a few photo and art classes. But in 1998, she says, a conversation with a friend weighted the scales away from science and in favor of the creative sphere. "I have always enjoyed photography, I've always done it, but it was never something I had thought of professionally," she remembers. "A friend of mine worked here [at Sports Illustrated] and told me they had an opening doing scanning and color corrections." After two or three months in production, Stein made her move over to the light table. "I've always loved hands-on jobs artistically, and I could never decide [between biology and photography]. It got decided for me. I was just helping some people out and they liked what I was doing, and I liked what I was doing, and it worked out really well." Eight years later, Sports Illustrated is still the magazine Stein calls home.

A passion for being outside-when time permits, Stein loves to mountain bike and hike-led her to collaborate with other Sports Illustrated staffers to form SI Adventure in 2000, an offshoot project focused on action and outdoor sports. Though the magazine ceased publication in December 2005, the subject matter is one Stein continues to enjoy. "It was great to work with those people who were so passionate about what they did and were willing to make happen what needed to happen with the picture," she recalls. "In football or baseball, you don't really need to be able to do [the sport itself]. You can really just stand on the sidelines and get the picture. With action sports it's much more involved and intense."

On climbing from the bottom rung to the top:
"I liked where I was at when I started here," says Stein of her rise from color corrections to calling the shots. "The production of photos is really what I enjoy. My one bonus, starting from the bottom, [is that] I know the process from beginning to end, which helps in certain aspects [of editing and assigning]."