Known mostly for his pioneering sports shooting, our Photography Person of the Year also has spent half a century as a photojournalist, an editor and a mentor for the next generation of aspiring photographers.

By his own admission, he's no athlete, but Rich Clarkson holds a sports record unlikely to be broken soon: he has just photographed his 50th NCAA college basketball championship. He shot his first back in 1952, and hasn't missed one since 1960. Along the way, Clarkson's pictures have helped redefine the way we look at sports.

The Final Four is just one facet of a remarkable career with roots reaching back to the 1940s and still running full-throttle today. At 72, Clarkson is a photography dynamo, busy with a demanding shooting and...