April 2013

Walking through my favorite used book store last week, I saw a picture that I recognized starring up at me. It was Johnny Cash standing in front of Folsom Prison, taken by my friend Jim Marshall. The book was a kind of biography of Cash with the emphasis on his journey to Folsom Prison to record “Live at Folsom Prison.”

Jim was the photographer on the trip, shooting the 2 days of rehearsals and the 2 shows on the day of recording. I don’t think anyone I know has ever gotten better access to a major event, and produced so many great pictures as what Jim did those  3 days. The story is amazing, and Jim’s pictures are unbelievable in their honesty and composition. To be put into that situation with unlimited access is astounding, based on today’s restrictions. Imagine Beyonce letting a photographer within 50 feet of her anywhere!

Speaking of Beyonce, she has decided that on her currant world tour, she will ban all photographers. She has hired someone to follow her tour and photograph her shows, and he will put three to five images up on a download site each night for the publications to use, to make sure that no “Unflattering” photos, such as the ones that cropped up after her Super Bowl performance in January.

So this leaves the process wide open for all cell phone users and point and shoot camera users to sell their images to the wire services. Think of the quality we will be seeing!

From the Huffington Post:

Beyoncé Bans All Pro Photographers From Her Concerts

Last week, exactly 2 months after the Superbowl ‘Unflattering photos’ fiasco, Beyoncé started her ‘Mrs. Carter Show’ world tour. As someone who followed the ‘Unflattering’ story very closely, and as someone who is a big fan of hers, I had no doubt Beyoncé and her publicist will learn from their mistakes on how to deal with bad pictures taken of her, and wont make horrible mistakes again. I was wrong. Beyoncé banned all professional photographers from her shows, hoping this way no unflattering photos will make it to mainstream media. She was wrong. What happened is that media outlets purchased low-quality and not-so-flattering images taken by her fans.

Beyoncé’s publicist, the same one who emailed and asked websites to remove images she didn’t like few months back, decided that this time they wouldn’t allow photographers to shoot her shows. Instead, they would provide 3-5 pre-approved images their own photographer shot for the media to use after each show. They wanted to control what images the media had access to. But we all know how media works – they will do anything possible to get images that other publications don’t have. If they can’t send a photographer to give them original photos, the next best thing they can do is buy photos from fans in the front rows in the arena (cameras were not allowed, but no one can take away phones). It’s the next best thing for them, and a huge nightmare for Beyoncé and her publicist.

Beyoncé The Mrs. Carter Show 2013 World Tour guidelines for Photographers (via Music Photographers):
There are no photo credentials for this show. Local news outlets, including print and online will be given a link to download photos from every show. They will need to register to access the photos.

http://beyonce-tour.photoshelter.com

Last week, my friends the Black Crowes were in town for a couple of shows. Good times were had and reminiscing were done by all. Hilarity took place before each show (most of which can’t be repeated here). When their road manager came in to tell them that they had five minutes till show time, I turned to the band and said- “Guess I will go home now- nothing you do on stage can beat that conversation!’ Steve, the drummer replied “Yeah, it’s all downhill from here.”

I first heard about them from Chuck Leavell, the keyboard player for the Stones. Sitting around after a show on the Steel Wheels Tour, Chuck told me about this band from Atlanta who’s record he had just played on, and told me to see them when they came to Chicago. So, four months later, hearing that they were coming to town, I set up a photo shoot. A few days before the show, I got a phone call from my friend Keith Van Horne (Chicago Bears 1985 Super Bowl team). Keith: “Have you ever heard of a band called the Black Crowes?” So I invited him to join me for the show. We arrived at the club and I introduced myself and Keith to the band, and we went out to the back of the club and did a photo shoot.

They kept staring at Keith, and when we were done, Chris said, “Man, I have never seen such a large photo assistant!!” (Keith is 6’7’ tall and over 300 pounds. I explained who he was and we all became fast friends. After the show, we walked back to the dressing room, and Chris said, “You guys are from Chicago- take us to a real blues club.” So I piled them in my car and we went to see Sunnyland Slim. They still talk about that night- last week Chris described that night exactly!

I have watched them grow as a band, and as people, for the last 23 years, and this week was one of the best shows I have ever heard them do.

Over the last few years, they have added an outside guitar player to the mix. For the last couple of tours, Luther Dickenson of the North Mississippi All Stars was the second guitarist. This year they added Jackie Greene, a  young guitarist from Central California, who had come over to my house for a photo shoot when he was about 16 years old.

He has definitely grown up, and adds a great rock and roll sound to the Crowes.

Thirty years ago this week (April 12), Harold Washington was elected the first black mayor of the city of Chicago. He served 4 years as the mayor, and in 1986, we started his reelection campaign. His campaign consultant, David Axelrod, called and asked me to take some pictures for his reelection campaign. So we designed a picture of Harold posed in front of the Picasso sculpture in downtown Chicago. At the appointed time, Harold walked across the street from city hall and posed in front of a group of his constituents. Within a couple of weeks, this picture appeared on billboards and the sides of buses all over the city- the first time that a picture that I took was used that extensively. Harold won reelection, but died in office less than a year later. He was a great mayor, working against unrelenting racial pressure, and was also a great guy!

I have had the occasion to run into Roger Ebert many times and always found him to be very funny and smart. It was always a treat to talk to him. The first time was when the ABC station in Chicago hired me to shoot an ad for the local Emmy broadcast featuring Roger and an unknown morning talk show host named Oprah Winfrey. He tied his Bow tie without looking and was ready to go!

Several years later he and Gene Siskel dropped by my friends Steve and Garry’s radio broadcast at a Subway sandwich Shop. He was up for anything on the air, and was very gracious.

The last time I saw him was in a screening room when we were seeing a new movie. After he got his popcorn, he sat down next to me and we began talking. I mentioned that I had a home theater, and his ears perked up, as this was one of his favorite topics of conversation. He asked me how many speakers I had, and when I replied “Five” he began ridiculing me (in a totally funny way), explaining that he had eight speakers in his system and the missing three (center rear and two side speakers) severely compromised my sound, and that I had better upgrade immediately!

The last time I talked to him (actually not him but his assistant- at that point he couldn’t talk any more) was when I got a request last year asking if he could use the ad that I shot 20 years earlier of him and Oprah in his book. I explained that he didn’t have to ask, as it was a published piece, but he insisted on sending me a check for $100 anyway! A really nice guy, and a great writer. He will be missed.