Herman Leonard with his photograph of Dexter Gordon at the Royal Roost 1948
The work of Herman Leonard has had a great impact on the world of photography. Herman had a unique perspective and a thirst for technical perfection. Although his work was recorded in still photographs, his images often gave you a sense of sound. He will be missed dearly. Please pay him a tribute by viewing his work http://www.hermanleonard.com/
On the bottom of his Polaroid portrait he wrote, “It was early 1948 at the Royal Roost in New York. An afternoon rehearsal gave me a unique opportunity to photograph many giants of jazz with my trusty 4×5 Speed Graphic. What a great career! To do what you love and be entertained at the same time!”
I have been getting a bunch of calls about Ron and the HBO documentary “Smash His Camera”. I photographed Ron in New York for my Behind Photographs Project a couple years back. After the shoot, Ron was kind enough to send me 4 different signed copies of his books. Like him or not, there are some amazing images in his library, he truly has documented a generation.
Ron Galella and his photo "Windblown Jackie" 10/4/1971
It is sad to see another participant from my Behind Photographs Project pass away, but I am very thankful to have shared time with so many of these great photographers. Marty Lederhandler was a legendary AP photographer who had a career which spanned 66 years. I was introduced to Marty by Paul Waldman, founder of The Living American Masters Photographers Project, just over a year ago and was able to photograph him in New York. Paul has documented photographers for about 15 years and we first met when he came to interview and photograph Dean Collins around 1993. At the time, I was Dean’s studio manager. In addition to Paul shooting portraits of photographers, he has also been recording them to create an oral history of the photo industry. Please take time to listen to Marty’s famous pigeon story from D-Day that Paul shared with us and visit his site at www.thelampp.org. Pigeon Story
It’s mid April and most of us are scrambling to get funds in order to pay our taxes. This year, while getting his tax money out of the bank, photographer Kim Komenich, did a bit more than just that…..he stopped a robbery.
It is no surprise. Kim is an amazing person and a incredible photographer. Here is his portrait for my Behind Photographs Project. He is holding a book of this images from The Phillippines when he captured the fall of The Marcos Regime and won The Pulitzer in 1987.
I just got more sad news that my friend, legendary Rock & Roll Photographer, Jim Marshall, passed away last night in NY. I was just with Jim a few weeks back in San Francisco. He was the first photographer I recorded for my Behind Photographs Project in Dec 2006. I clearly recall him looking at the 20×24 Polaroid camera and quickly telling me that I was “F****** Crazy”. I first met Jim at the Indy 500 while I was at a party photographing Paul Newman. When I was introduced to Jim, he shook my hand and we talked a bit about photography. He then handed me his card and told me to call him later that evening to meet up for a drink. He not only had an amazing eye, but an incredible ability to recall the stories behind his images. He was a living history book. Jim started his career in 1959 and worked with everyone in the early days of Rock and Roll. The Stones, Janice, The Dead, Dylan, The Who, The Beatles, Miles….and the list goes on. He will be dearly missed but his pictures will live on forever. www.marshallphoto.com
Morrison Hotel Gallery, New York for the opening of TRUST
Jim talking about his famous Johnny Cash shot with Michael Zagaris, myself and Tracy Storer
Here is some additional press on my “Behind Photographs” project running on the CBS China website. The gallery features 37 images they selected. Please take a peek, http://image.fengniao.com/vision/content/1/138-1.html.
My 10 days in NY were a blur. A partial show of my photographer portraits opened at Farmani Gallery in Brooklyn. Elizabeth, Hossein and the Lucie Crew did an incredible job of getting the word out, thanks for your efforts and packing the house! The show featured 20×24 Polaroids of the Lucie Lifetime Award winners from my project and a wall of 8×10 images of the other photographers documented to date. I also took the 20×24 Polaroid Camera to Javits for the Photo Plus Expo and managed to shoot another 19 photographers for my Behind Photographs project. Mark Seliger, James Nachtwey, Michael Halsband, Bob Gruen, Joyce Tennison and Art Streiber were just a few who took the time to share their time and images. I will have their portraits up on my site in the next few weeks. Thanks to everyone that came out to Dumbo and Javits, your support and enthusiasm is appreciated.
The photograph of the photographer (Henry Grossman), photographing the photographer (Alfred Wertheimer), photographing the photographer (Tim Mantoani) that photographed the photographers.
Over one hundred 8x10 portraits from the project on display at Farmani Gallery
Be sure to check out the 8 page story in the new issue of Rangefinder Magazine. They have done a wonderful feature on my Behind Photographs Project. Special thanks to Bill Hurter for the support. You can view the article as a PDF on their website http://www.rangefindermag.com/storage/articles/RF0709_Mantoani_Brownstein.pdf
Check out the newstand for the new issue of Triathlete Magazine. We shot the entire feature in Arizona. Special thanks to our host, The Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa.
So the news is out of the bag, the cover of Madden 2010 was made public this a.m. in Time Square! Here is a link to the complete story . I will be posting behind the scenes images from my shoots with Troy and Larry soon. Stay tuned! http://maddennfl.easports.com/blog.action
Wow! Thanks to everyone that made it out for the MOPLA show for the opening, what an amazing night. The show will be up all of April and I hope to be doing a lecture at the show on the 21st, so stay tuned for an update. Check the MOPLA website for hours for the Pacific Design Center gallery B210.
Nick Ut at opening night Douglas Kirland and Tim Mantoani Tim Mantoani and Gerd Ludwig
Thanks to the fine folks at MOPLA (Month of Photography LA) and the Lucie Foundation, I will be showing about 30 of my 20×24 Polaroid portraits of photographers at the Pacific Design Center during April. The opening reception is on April 7th from 6-9 and is open to the public. Thanks again to all of the photographers and people to have helped support this project to date. I now have over 100 photographers recorded for this project and hope to have a book out in 2010. Hope to see you in LA.
I am proud to say my Behind Photographs project is featured in the new issue of Communication Arts. It has been a little over two years that I have been working on this project. A special thanks to Anne Telford for the great article and six page spread. Pick up the March/April – 50th Anniversary Issue!
While shooting an assignment for Dodge, the art director found out about my 1956 Chrysler, Windsor, Town and Country Wagon and asked if they could feature me in Forward Magazine.
So here is the spread, shot in Ocean Beach. If you are thinking about shooting in San Diego while most of the US is under snow, give me a buzz and I will provide door to door service with a smile!
Here is the link to a radio interview with Scott Sheppard on Inside Analog Photo. Scott interviewed me for Rangefinder Magazine’s radio show last month and was kind enough to invite me for another show about my “Behind Photographs” project where I am shooting portraits of photographers on 20×24 Polaroid. I will be back in New York shooting again during Photo Plus and will be back with an update. Thanks for reading.
New York, New York – Last week marked the grand opening of the flagship boutique and gallery for 7 For All Mankind. My ‘Behind Photographs’ project was selected to be the first exhibit at this location. The opening for their first NYC location was kicked off with a VIP cocktail Soiree hosted by Vogue and Grey Goose. NYC nightlife aficionado DJ Paul Sevigny was at the turntable for the packed house. The work will be up for the next 30 days at 394 West Broadway. Special thanks to the amazing crew at 7FAM and Vogue for putting on such a great event, Chrome Photo Lab in San Diego and ZBE Chromira for the amazing prints.
Check out the pics and scoop at: www.papermag.com/blogs/2008/08/about_last_night_seven_for_all.php www.nymag.com/nightlife/partylines/2008/08/15/
Here is some additional press on my “Behind Photographs” project running on the CBS China website. The gallery features 37 images they selected. Please take a peek,
The New York Times web site ran a story today in their LENS section titled:
