Los Angeles
1976
One minute, Joni is lying on the street using chalk to draw the outline of her body, the next moment I’m in her studio looking at her emotionally evocative paintings. After that, she’s playing piano and introducing me to some new work. Later, we end up shooting her in her swimming pool. Joni always came with ideas and we would joust a bit until we agreed on what we wanted to do. Some were straight up photo sessions but once she drove up with a bunch of wolves and we had to set up an electrified fence.
Los Angeles
1976
John came to my studio for a session just prior to the production of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER. For some reason, his managers wanted him to do a session with a ‘rock’ photographer. Actors have a different approach than musicians. The good ones explore the outer fringes of emotion and it can be very powerful. John was simply magnificent to work with and was willing to explore anything I asked of him, with little resistance.
Los Angeles
1985
Sitting opposite John Huston was like being in the presence of a sculptured rock face, and an elder. He was ill at the time and I felt he didn’t have long to go. I was wrong. He actually went on do direct another movie – THE DEAD. This image ended up as a billboard for the Apple THINK DIFFERENT campaign.
Los Angeles
1981
John arrived for the session with his wife Judy. They danced together and kissed and I remember being amazed at how well she handled his outrageous sense of humor. They were really having fun together. In that moment, I saw another side of him. Later I worked with him alone. In a strange way, John reminded me of one of my best friends at school and as crazy as he was, I saw a beautiful courage to go where he went creatively. At the same time, there was a private vulnerability and sensitivity that touched me.
San Francisco
1977
We rented a studio in San Francisco and didn’t begin shooting until 1:00 am. I was concerned he must be exhausted but he said he was fine. He sang for us and we were all transfixed. There was an energy in the room. He felt it too and sensed everyone’s appreciation and in the middle of singing, exclaims, “Wow!” Later he looked so tired, I set up a table and placed something soft on top so he could lie there and relax. As things wound down, he was looking at me with those big, tired eyes and eventually he drifted off. We had a wonderful creative connection and I was able to capture this other side of Isaac, the deeply sensitive artist and writer.
Los Angeles
1975
This was the first session I filmed. Ike and Tina were the most successful crossover R&B act at the time and I had always loved their music. Ike is a musical genius and Tina is a powerhouse. My idea was that it would be amazing to cut a short piece of film that captured the emotional depth of the communication and the spontaneous performances that had become a characteristic of the session’s process. Once I developed the dailies and looked at the footage and realized that I could capture the intensity and authenticity of the session, I knew exactly what I was going do from then on.
Los Angeles
1986
Shooting Ann & Nancy Wilson is a joy and I am always able to get wonderfully spontaneous shots. In a 2011 we filmed a session with them and I was struck by their experiences of being women in the rock music: “We came in really innocent, on that level of we can change the world, we can be women and show women that it’s ok. We weren’t afraid. We thought we could do pretty much anything we aimed our sights at. And we did. Although on the way, all that idealism was tested and watered…”
Memphis
1976
I took a trip to the South to photograph some of the original blues artists as part of my own exploration into American culture. I met this hippie at the airport who told me he knew everybody. It was a miraculous and unexpected moment of fate and he became my guide. I photographed Furry in a one-room house. Furry, who was blind, wanted to be shot with his wind-up toy and his bowler hat.
Los Angeles
1976
My early days of shooting were very ‘trial and error’. I was exploring how to get artists to let go. Standing opposite Frank I asked him “How far are you willing to go”? He looked at me and almost sneered, “Anywhere you want to go.” So we hit him in the face with a pie. Big mistake. We got cream in his ear and he was not pleased. In the end we hit it off and I worked with Frank multiple times after that.
Los Angeles
1977
Soon after commencing the session, the band walked out. I had no idea why at the time. A week later, I showed them a poster design I had created by combining a number of individual shots. They loved it and all was forgiven. It became a poster insert for the Hotel California album. I shot the Eagles 2 years later for a Rolling Stone cover and recently re-designed the original poster in color for the re-release of the Hotel California vinyl.
