Annie Leibovitz > part 1 <
March 23rd 2009 12:23
Yoko Ono and John Lennon, 1980
From a photographer’s perspective, success could be defined as having a career that comes anywhere close to the dust particles that Annie Leibovitz has left in her wake. While these days we have music literally at the touch of our fingers, the explosive force of a live performance can rarely be captured in a single frame.
When you look at a picture, you see the person in it, but not the one behind the camera. So today I’d like to draw light to the phenomenal being that is Annie Leibovitz.
Annie Leibovitz really hammered her name into history when she snapped the last living photo of John Lennon, taken five hours before he was shot dead. The picture of him wrapped naked around Yoko Ono was taken at their home in London and was intended for the cover of his soon to be released album. Two days after Lennon was murdered, Leibovitz explains in her latest book (Annie Leibovitz – At Work) that she went back over to their apartment and found Yoko lying in bed in a dark room with all the curtains drawn. Annie picked the best shot from the roll and showed it to Yoko who simply nodded her approval. Of course the picture gained a devastating significance beyond its original purpose, gracing the covers of Rolling Stone Magazine and officially becoming the last image of a musician who's work would go down in the history of music and culture.
Rolling Stone Magazine kicked off Leibovitz’s career, throwing her in the deep end and sending her on serious assignments. Leibovitz had her first encounter with John Lennon during a Rolling Stone interview and recalls that he put her at ease and basically set the bar for her demeanor around future artists.
In 1975 Leibovitz was sent on tour with the Rolling Stones. She learnt first hand the life of a rock star and how you can lose yourself in a subject. Amongst the music, booze, drugs, late nights and constant stream of hotels, Leibovitz notes at one point she felt the only thing separating herself from the Rolling Stones was her camera.
Mick Jagger on tour, 1975
In her book Leibovitz talks of the never ending task of trying to capture the perfect portrait on the Rolling Stones tour. She developed a close relationship with Mick Jagger and says that out of all the pictures she took of him, her favourite is a post concert shot of him standing in a hotel lift, towel wrapped around his head and an “ethereal” look on his face.
Mick Jagger in lift post show, 1975
Other pictures . .
Miley Cyrus, 2008
The White Stripes, 2003
Keith Richards for Louis Vuitton, 2008
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