The magazine of the art-form of the photo-essay
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Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film & documentary maker
March 2015 back issue
The Eagles, Los Angeles 1976.
The Eagles, Los Angeles 1977.
I had worked with The Eagles in 1976 but soon after commencing the 1977 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.
Johnny Cash, Nashville 1978.
I always shot black & white and color but used to put the color away and not even look at the transparences. Recently,
I decided to go back into my color archives and found this moment of Johnny singing to me in the middle of a beautiful
green Nashville field. What was he singing? I’m soon to find out as the session was filmed we have recently developed
the exposed film that has been sitting in a vault for 36 years! All we have to do now is locate the sound and sync it up.
Blues Bros, Los Angeles 1978.
My cameraman walked into my studio already filming without waiting for permission and John angrily shut him down.
The session ended up being one of the most innovative experiences of my interaction with artists. Soon after, I got a
call from John, apologizing for having missed such an amazing opportunity by not filming and three years later, he
asked for another session, this time with his wife, Judy.
Blondie, New York 1979.
This session took place at New York’s Chelsea Hotel. They were a quintessential New York group and a part of the
Chelsea’s distinctive milieu. Debbie Harry arrived late in a funk but ultimately, we ended up perched on a balcony. The
band, someone to hold the light, my assistant and myself, all on this tiny balcony. The Chelsea was already very old
and I was terrified the entire structure would come down. Despite the rocky beginning, Debbie rose to the occasion
and we wound up working harmoniously together.
Curtis Mayfield, Los Angeles 1979.
I was aware of Curtis’s role in expanding the public’s consciousness around race issues. When he arrived for the
session, in came one of the most gentle and caring people I had ever met. At one point, he composed a song for us:
“Here’s me looking at you looking at me.” The session was filmed and we have recently developed it 36 years later.
Amazingly, there is an image, a little grainy but it’s all there.
John Belushi, Los Angeles 1981.
John arrived for the session with his wife Judy. They danced together and kissed and I remember beingamazed athow
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.
Steve Jobs, Woodside 1984.
I had been engaged by Rolling Stone Magazine to do a story on the launch of the Mac computer at the Apple company
in Cupertino. After I had shot the team I asked Steve if we could shoot at his house and he agreed. We were having a
very intense conversation about creativity and suddenly Steve jumped up and said ‘I want to show you something!’ He
came running back with the as yet unreleased Mac and plopped down in a ‘lotus’ position with it on his lap. I got the
shot in an instant – it was a totally spontaneous moment. That shot became the cover of Time Magazine when Steve
passed away.
Ray Charles, Los Angeles 1985.
My session with Ray Charles was a seminal turning point in terms of going inward into the depth of an artist's inner
process. There this beautiful moment where he says: "If you can think of it, see that's the key, to create it in your mind."
All the while, Ray was playing and demonstrating the power of emotional expression on the piano. At the beginning of
the session he was quite ‘testy’, but by the end, he was calling me ‘brother’.
Billy Wilder, Los Angeles 1985.
This was a filmed session and we had a wonderfully intimate conversation about Billy’s work as a director: “All of us
who are making movies, we are entering a dark room and everyone of us can fall over a piece of furniture and break a
leg. Some of us see a little better in the dark than others. It’s just a race – when are you going to be at the best that it
is in you before you croak.”
Heart, Los Angeles 1986 Shooting Ann & Nancy Wilson is a joy and I am always able to get wonderfully spontaneous
shots. In 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…”
Whitney Houston, Los Angeles 1990.
I shot Whitney at the height of her career. Her voice was transcendent. She
came into my studio, so appreciative of what I was doing and very delicate in her interaction with me, more interested
in my well being than anything else. I fell in love with her. She was joyful and vulnerable and entirely open.
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