She Loves You (The Beatles)

I never got to photograph the Beatles. I was way too young, though I did get to see them live once, and screamed my little girl lungs out, too. 

Saw this photo in an antiques store in Lechlade selling for £18. Didn't want to own it, just wanted to photograph the Beatles.

Rapture (Deborah Harry)

Nice article about Deborah Harry in this week's New York Magazine. Blondie's got a new album coming out, Panic of Girls. They're still touring too, but as she says, “the last thing I ever want to be is an oldies act, running through those same songs beat for beat...”  Good for her. Good for them. 

Yes, that's my photo on the second page. You've seen it here before. Live from the stage at the Palladium in 1977. The photo's bigger on nymag.com than it is in the magazine, but that's ok. And yes, they spelled my name right.

How Did I Get Here?

This week I saw that Aztec Two-Step is still around and they are performing at George Eastman House (Rochester NY, too far away). Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman have a special place in my heart because sometimes I think if it wasn't for them, I might not have really gotten into shooting rock and roll.

Aztec Two-Step, Schaefer Music Festival, Central Park, NYC, 1976

At that time, I was taking photography classes, and I wanted to photograph for myself and not just for class assignments. I wasn't really interested in doing street photography, so I'd take my camera to concerts. I'd use the photos to work on my printing in my tiny darkroom, in my tiny bathroom, in my tiny studio apartment. In June of 1976, Aztec Two-Step was opening for Jesse Colin Young in Central Park. A friend of my friend Sara knew the band and said we should definitely go see them, but it was the first summer Saturday of the Schaefer Music Festival and the concert was sold out. Since Sara's friend was living in St. Louis and couldn't really do anything at that point to get us in, he said we should hang out by the press gate and mention his name to Rex and Neal.

Neal Shulman of Aztec Twp-Step

So we're hanging out and of course, we can't get near Neal and Rex. But then Stu comes out with the list (which did not have our names of course). He's the publicist for Aztec Two-Steps' label RCA Records. We start talking, he sees my camera, asks if I have a portfolio (which I was starting to put together) and tells me to call and make an appointment to show it to him. And then he lets us in. Yay! It was a good show!

Rex Fowler of Aztec Two-Step

I finish the portfolio, make the appointment not long after, and Stu gives me my first official photo pass (Jefferson Starship- but that's a whole other story) Not long after that, he gives me my first paid assignment too, the first of many. (The Deadly Nightshade at The Bottom Line) And that's how I got here.

Oddly enough, while I photographed Aztec Two-Step six more times, I never actually got hired to shoot them.

Alphas

Okay, so who is watching Alphas, Mondays at 10 on SYFY? And why do I care? 

A scene from Alphas, episode 3

If you look closely, there on the wall of David Strathairn's office in the show (starting in episode 2), you'll see photographs. These photographs. (and sometimes more than once in an episode)

Lou Reed, Bottom Line, 1978

Set decoration. Interesting. I like this. A first for me, not a magazine or the internet or a fine art print on a gallery wall. You have to be open to all the places where the photos can end up. The difference here is usage rights. Editorial is fine even when there is no release, and fine art is allowed too (just don't put the image on a t-shirt if you don't have a release) TV is something else though, and the legal department had to get involved, but ultimately, it all worked out.


Oh, and if you look really quickly, you can see my name in the credits. But it's really fast, so I'll make it easier for you.

Don't forget to watch.