My show in Russia is coming to a close next week. Thanks so much to the staff at The Lumiere Brothers Center For Photography in Moscow for showing 100 images from Behind Photographs. I would also like to thank the US Embassy for helping to bring me and this project to Russia.
If you are in Moscow and a fan of photography, this place is a must!
I only met Ken Regan once, the day I photographed him for Behind Photographs in New York at the 20x24 Polaroid Studio. Ken told me he was very private and rarely allowed others to make portraits of him. He said that he wanted to only show a part of his face and hide behind the cover of his book, All Access. The book and the title could have not been more fitting for a photographer that was the rare shooter that could do it all. Ken covered sports, politics, music, celebrities and shot for a huge range of editorial and advertising clients.In the little time I spent with him, I can tell you that he was kind, genuine and generous to have shared an afternoon and a few of his most important photographs with an unknown photographer from San Diego. Thanks for believing in me Ken, may your images live on forever.
Thanks to John Wilkens for the great write up and John Gastaldo for the portrait featured in the SDUT Sunday Edition. Here is a link to the article: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/aug/25/capturing-the-faces-behind-famous-photos/
Here are a few pics from the retrospective on Elliott Erwitt in Vienna. It is a true honor to have my portrait of Elliott included in the exhibit.
My book, Behind Photographs, got a plug on Gisele's fan page. Gisele appears in the book in a photo by Walter Chin. Wonder if she knows her husband, Tom Brady, and I attended the same highschool?
Thank you Angela Carone at KPBS for following my project and getting me some air time.
I received a wonderful email from Tom Zimberoff this week that included several images he shot back in the 70's of a few of the photographers in Behind Photographs. I photographed Tom in San Francisco with his fantastic photograph of Indian Larry, just weeks prior to his accidental death. I asked Tom if it would be OK to share these images on my blog and he gladly agreed. He even shared a portrait of himself shot by Douglas Kirkland in the 70's as well. Enjoy!
Howard Bingham
Douglas Kirkland
Neal Preston
It has been a long year and long wait, but the books finally arrived last week, all 6 pallets of them! We have been busy moving the 4,500 pounds around the studio and getting books signed and shipped for the holidays. If you would like to order a signed book, you can purchase books direct from the studio at:
http://www.mantoani.bigcartel.com/
Tim Mantoani and Douglas Kirkland
I was blown away with the group that showed up at Ogilvy to support the release of Behind Photographs. It was great to reconnect with 29 of the photographers that are in the book and a couple hundred other supporters that braved the rain and wind. Here are a few pics from the party. I should have books in San Diego soon and will be posting info on book events in San Diego, LA and San Francisco. Thanks again to everyone that has supported and encouraged me over the past five years to see this project through to publication.
JIll Enfield, Douglas Kirkland, Barbara Bordnick, Guido Karp, Greg Watermann and Dan Kramer
Roxanne Lowitt and Tim Mantoani look over a wall of images
Keith Green with his portrait
John Iacono and John Dominis
Douglas Kirkland signing books while designer Mark Murphy and Sandro catch up.
Douglas Dubler signed books
Lois Greenfield and Ryszard Horowitz
May Pang and Tim Mantoani
Guido Karp made the trip from Germany!
Thom Mangelsen checking out Al Wertheimer and "The Kiss"
I have started an effort on Kickstarter to get some positive pre-sales rolling for my book which is due out soon. Please take a look. Books are priced with shipping at the same cost as retail + shipping, plus there are some other special offerings. This book has taken five years to shoot and get published. Thanks for taking a look. Click here to give me a "kickstart"!
I first met Phil Borges a few years back when he sat for a portrait for me. I was very familiar with his work and had always found his images to have a quiet power and beauty. We caught up a couple of weeks ago while he was in town for a lecture and show opening at USD for his Stirring the Fire project. Stirring the Fire is a global movement to empower woman and girls through awareness and action. I found myself being very inspired by this project and having a clearer understanding that a photographer with a voice, vision and purpose can help to change the world. My hat is off to Phil for his passion and for using photography to force change. Please take a look at the project site www.stirringthefire.org and see how you can help.
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 4x5 Speed Graphic. What a great career! To do what you love and be entertained at the same time!"
[Herman Leonard and Tim Mantoani
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
Here is a look at the HBO Trailer
Marty Lederhandler
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
Paul Waldman with 3 of his LAMMP portraits
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.
Pulitzer Prize Winning Photographer Kim Komenich
[Jim and Johnny, San Francisco
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 20x24 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.
Check out this article from China's largest newspaper, The Beijing News. They ran a full page story on my project in the Sunday paper.
Behind Photographs show at Farmani Gallery
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 20x24 Polaroids of the Lucie Lifetime Award winners from my project and a wall of 8x10 images of the other photographers documented to date. I also took the 20x24 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
The New York Times web site ran a story today in their LENS section titled:Must See: Compelling Web Sites, my was one of four mentioned and they featured two images from my Behind Photographs Project.
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/must-17/?scp=1&sq=mantoani&st=cse
Special thanks to Miki Johnson and James Estrin for the kind words and helping to get the word out on my project.
