Vashti Cunningham, Team USA high jumper and Paris 2024 hopeful, goes outside her comfort zone and takes her love of photography to Super Bowl’s opening night.
Vashti Cunningham is used to competing.
The 26-year-old high jumper represented Team USA in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Her father, Randall Cunningham, was an NFL quarterback from 1985 to 2001. Her mother, Felicity de Jager Cunningham, was a ballerina with the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
So when the Olympian got into photography, she quickly noticed the competition side of taking photos.
Cunningham visited Super Bowl Opening Night on Monday in her hometown of Las Vegas, where she was born and attended high school. Rather than competing physically as she usually does, Cunningham was competing for prime real estate to snap the best photos possible.
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“I’m going to see how many nice, dope, cool outfits I can find on people in here,” Cunningham said while stepping on the field at Allegiant Stadium for the first time.
Cunningham immediately spotted a Super Bowl LVIII jacket and then a man with a wrestling mask, which she took photos of with her Canon R5. Later, she switched to a different camera.
“I’m taking my film camera out because I like it better,” Cunningham said. “It’s more authentic to me. I don’t have to work on it afterwards. I just trust it more.”
While Cunningham said that she's not used to shooting sporting events, she did appreciate how fast-paced the experience was.
“I’ve learned a lot just from the time that we’ve been here -- I actually really am enjoying it," Cunningham said. "It’s kind of like being in the sport of photography, where you’re like racing against other photographers to get to the person to take the picture. And then when you’re there, someone walks right (in front of) you and then leans in, and then there’s phones in your way. So, I’m learning a lot but I’m really enjoying the speed of it.”
The entire event gave Cunningham a different perspective when she's looking at great photography.
“I see all these pictures in the media and I’m like ‘Dang, that’s a beautiful picture,’” she said. “Now, being on the other side of it, I’m like ‘Wow, they’re fighting for these pictures.’”
