Sophia Hantzes
As a photographer for the WNBA, Hantzes has a unique approach to her work. “Someone will say to me, ‘Did you see that layup?’ and I’ll be completely lost in watching the bench-warmers,” says Hantzes, 53. “I don’t see a game, I see a ballet playing out in front of me.” Her eye for “the grace of things” is innate. Hantzes always saw things differently. First a therapist, she enrolled mid-career in courses at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, soon landing her first gig—photographing the Minnesota AIDS Walk. Hantzes kept at it for 16 years, and says her work commands respect. “My subjects know that when I photograph them, I’m not skewing it to fit my politics. Whether they’re a politician giving an anti-gay-marriage speech or an abortion activist, they trust me. And that means so much.” –MW
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