Wait...There's a fourth installment?
Yes, like all bad movies there's another sequel.
Photography, Robert Capa, Ansel Adams & part IV is staring a woman that you might have actually heard of:
Her name is Annie Leibovitz & she is still alive, which is totally new for the History of Photography posts.
So, we aren't going to really talk about her current work, because she is still producing it & even though, yes, it is outstanding, there is something super important about Annie that goes beyond the work that she is currently chugging out.
A lot of people associate her with celebrities..& a lot of people associate her with Rolling Stone.
To be humble she was the photographer that made Rolling Stone magazine what it is today.
Seriously, that's being very humble.
She was to Rolling Stone photography what this guy was to Rolling Stone articles:
No she didn't take that. It turns out that old HST wanted to be a photographer & not a writer but had to settle on what he was good at. That's a self-portrait...I think.
One upstart magazine that produced some of the greatest shit the world has ever seen, both in words & in images.
Today, thanks to Annie Leibovitz, we think of Rolling Stone in the same way that our parents & grand parents used to think of Life Magazine.
And Annie is the reason for, well, for all of that.
Today, press credentials what come from Rolling Stone can get you pretty much anywhere.
"Oh, you're from Rolling Stone, come on in."
Yeah, that's sort of how you know you made it...well, that's ONE of the ways that you know you really made it in America. The other way is to give journalists the finger & have people hang the picture up in their dens & man-caves.
Welcome to Chicago.
The thing is, it wasn't always that way. Back when Annie was working for Rolling Stone, at least for like, five minutes that she was working for Rolling Stone, press credentials from a little upstart magazine like that meant, well, they meant fuck all.
All of that changed pretty fast...well, it changed really fast, & Annie & Hunter are two major reasons for that change, but despite all of that Annie found herself at the very back of the line & that really sucks when you are a photographer.
You know what Robert Capa said:
And when you are doing journalistic photography that is sort of the key to everything & Annie had to find her way around all of that.
So, how the hell do you photograph a major news event after it already happened?
Well, if you can answer that question off the top of your head, congratulations, you are even better than Robert Capa & the reason that Rolling Stone became one of the best magazines in the world.
Wait, there is someone better than Robert Capa?
Yes, & her name was Annie Leibovitz & this is her story...sort of...this is the story of how she made Rolling Stone.
It was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner, who is still the magazine's editor-in-chief. To get the thing going, Wenner had to borrow around eight grand from friends & family. It doesn't sound like much, but keep in mind that this was the late 1960's & a business venture that could expect to run at a loss for at least the first 3 years.
It should have failed, but it had a hippie name in a hippie era & was fortunate enough to hire world famous writers about thirty-seconds before they became world famous.
In it's first six years alone it had this guy writing for it:
Who was just about to make if big for his tell all book on the Hell's Angels & just about to make Rolling Stone famous for publishing Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas.
And it had this guy writing for them as well:
Who lied about his age to cover the Allman's Brother's Band when he was only 16 just to turn it around a few decades later & make that story into an enormously popular movie:
And because he was only 16 when he wrote that little story for Rolling Stone, he turned around & pitched an idea about finishing his high school years & turning that into an article which made Rolling Stone even more popular, was followed by a novel based on the article & later, yes, another hugely popular movie:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, but on top of all of that, they also got this guy working for them & if you are into music you know who he is & if you are into journalism you know who he is.
His name is Lester Bangs & you probably hate him for his review of the first Black Sabbath Album:
And you probably know him better as Cameron Crowe's character in Almost Famous:
And that's not mentioning Joe Klein, Joe Eszterhas, Patti Smith & P. J. O'Rourke all when they were on the bring of fame & ready & waiting to make Rolling Stone even more famous.
That $7,500 investment paid off a lot faster than anyone expected. The magazine blew up in the blink of an eye & Annie adjusted to all of that with grace & ease.
But before it blew up she had to adjust to being so far behind the que of photographers that the news had already happened before they let her in to shoot any of it.
That's her picture of Jann & even though he sent her to great places to shoot for the magazine, no one had ever heard of Rolling Stone & she had issues even getting in.
She had to make due with the access that she didn't have so for the first few years before it became a household name, she was lagging behind, not able to get anywhere near as close as she wanted to & had Jann hounding her every move to get him images to accompany those monumentally awesome stories that his writers were throwing at him.
So she makes a habit of taking pictures of the clean up. They wont let an upstart magazine get close enough to shoot the president boarding the helicopter, or even allow her into the press conference, so she takes a picture of them cleaning up after he left.
You think it's hard being a war correspondent like Cappa?
Try covering the war after everyone stopped fighting.
She's not allowed in to the event, so she makes a habit out of hanging around after everyone else has gone & takes her pictures of the after party.
Everyone loves it. They have the ground breaking stories from the greatest journalists of their day...& now they have the most intimate pictures ever seen in a magazine to accompany them. She starts winning as many awards & as much praise as the journalists do.
You have Playboy Style...no, get your mind out of the gutter, it's not porn. Does everything have to be about porn with you? Christ. You people are sick.
It is not porn, it's a way to write up interviews. You see it all the time, everyone, even Rolling Stone, will use the Playboy style interview.
Thanks to Annie Leibovitz you have Rolling Stone style photography. It's like the Playboy style, as in it is just as revealing & intimate...no pun intended.
Sort of pun intended.
Totally pun intended.
Moving on....
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Annie's a God with a camera & though it breaks my heart to say it she is FAR SUPERIOR to our beloved Robert Capa...or just about anyone else.
Clap...Clap...Clap...she dethrones Capa. She's going to live happily ever after.
But wait. There's more, there's always more & now Annie has a bit of a problem.
As we mentioned before Rolling Stone shot off like a fucking rocket. In the blink of an eye the magazine went from nothing to world famous & Annie had already helped cement that by taking pictures of the clean-up & the after party & now that's what customers demand from her magazine.
Suddenly, she's getting something that she never had before...
Suddenly Annie has access to all the things that she would have shot totally differently if she actually had the access but she was forced into a corner, she was thrown up against the wall & suddenly one of The Beatles is going to actually allow her to shoot him...for the magazine.
This sort of thing has kinda happened before. She was allowed in the room...at the back...near the fire escape.
And she sort of became really famous & made Rolling Stone really famous for being the wall flower photographer & now, fuck, she was kinda in the spotlight & the people & Jann wanted the same thing she was doing before.
So she rose to the challenge & gave the world one of the most famous images of John & Yoko & one of the most famous covers of the Rolling Stone.
Suddenly she's in an awkward position, she's sort of famous for not being employed at a famous magazine & now that magazine is even more popular than she is & Annie has to make a name for herself all over again because now people don't want her at the after party.
Now people want to pose for her.
Suddenly she's doing portraits & not covering the news after it happened & Jann, that sonuvabitch, went right ahead & promoted her all the way to the top & made her the chief photographer.
So not only does she have to reinvent her style, but she also has to dictate how all the other photographers that work for the magazine are going to shoot. She has to make a new style for herself & make sure her employees are using her old style.
Pressure.
There's Jann again.
And now Annie gets famous for taking portraits of celebrities & presidents & Jann made her the chief photographer for Rolling Stone, which is the most famous magazine in the world famous for it's stellar & edgy writing, formed by the most talented writers in the world & it's unique pictures of the news & those stunning portraits, all of which Annie sort of created from scratch.
So all that information, what would you do in her shoes?
There is really only one sane thing to do next.
Yup you guessed.
Annie did the exact same thing I would do.
She did the same thing you would do.
She did the same thing every sane person on the planet would do.
She went into Jann's office & she said:
"Look, I worked my ass off for you. I made your magazine world famous. I'm still suffering from flashbacks because Hunter & Lester, & I need a break. So, out of gratitude, you're going to pay me to take pictures at concerts."
Right, tell me you wouldn't do the exact same thing & watch me not believe you.
Because everybody needs a vacation.
Those last three were Bruce Springsteen, who believe it or not has also had his picture on the cover of Rolling Stone...& IN Rolling Stone. HIS pictures. Pictures he took, not pictures of him because, yeah, the man is The Boss.
It turns out that he is not only one of the greatest musicians out there, he's not only the man that gave the world Thunder Road, which we all know is one of the greatest rock anthems in the world, but it turns out that he is also one of the better photographer's out there today.
And I'd show you some of his pictures, but they are really hard to find because the interweb is flooded with pictures of him & not by him. So until I find the proper way to Google it, you're stuck taking my word for it...but trust me, if I find enough of his work, you will suffer through yet another photography sequel.
Yeah, you guessed it.
I'm leaving you with this, because now I sort of have to:
Yes, like all bad movies there's another sequel.
Photography, Robert Capa, Ansel Adams & part IV is staring a woman that you might have actually heard of:
So, we aren't going to really talk about her current work, because she is still producing it & even though, yes, it is outstanding, there is something super important about Annie that goes beyond the work that she is currently chugging out.
A lot of people associate her with celebrities..& a lot of people associate her with Rolling Stone.
Seriously, that's being very humble.
She was to Rolling Stone photography what this guy was to Rolling Stone articles:
One upstart magazine that produced some of the greatest shit the world has ever seen, both in words & in images.
Today, thanks to Annie Leibovitz, we think of Rolling Stone in the same way that our parents & grand parents used to think of Life Magazine.
Today, press credentials what come from Rolling Stone can get you pretty much anywhere.
"Oh, you're from Rolling Stone, come on in."
I got a freaky ole lady name a cocaine Katy
Who embroiders on my jeans
I got my poor ole grey haired daddy
Drivin' my limousine
Now it's all decided to blow our minds
But our minds won't really be blown
Like the blow that'll gitcha when you get your picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
Who embroiders on my jeans
I got my poor ole grey haired daddy
Drivin' my limousine
Now it's all decided to blow our minds
But our minds won't really be blown
Like the blow that'll gitcha when you get your picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
Yeah, that's sort of how you know you made it...well, that's ONE of the ways that you know you really made it in America. The other way is to give journalists the finger & have people hang the picture up in their dens & man-caves.
The thing is, it wasn't always that way. Back when Annie was working for Rolling Stone, at least for like, five minutes that she was working for Rolling Stone, press credentials from a little upstart magazine like that meant, well, they meant fuck all.
All of that changed pretty fast...well, it changed really fast, & Annie & Hunter are two major reasons for that change, but despite all of that Annie found herself at the very back of the line & that really sucks when you are a photographer.
You know what Robert Capa said:
"If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't standing close enough."
And when you are doing journalistic photography that is sort of the key to everything & Annie had to find her way around all of that.
So, how the hell do you photograph a major news event after it already happened?
Well, if you can answer that question off the top of your head, congratulations, you are even better than Robert Capa & the reason that Rolling Stone became one of the best magazines in the world.
Wait, there is someone better than Robert Capa?
Yes, & her name was Annie Leibovitz & this is her story...sort of...this is the story of how she made Rolling Stone.
It was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner, who is still the magazine's editor-in-chief. To get the thing going, Wenner had to borrow around eight grand from friends & family. It doesn't sound like much, but keep in mind that this was the late 1960's & a business venture that could expect to run at a loss for at least the first 3 years.
It should have failed, but it had a hippie name in a hippie era & was fortunate enough to hire world famous writers about thirty-seconds before they became world famous.
In it's first six years alone it had this guy writing for it:
And it had this guy writing for them as well:
Cream clichés that sound like the musicians learned them out of a book,
grinding on and on with dogged persistence. Vocals are sparse, most of
the album being filled with plodding bass lines over which the lead
guitar dribbles wooden Claptonisms from the master's tiredest Cream
days. They even have discordant jams with bass and guitar reeling like
velocitized speedfreaks all over each other's musical perimeters yet
never quite finding synch—just like Cream! But worse.
And you probably know him better as Cameron Crowe's character in Almost Famous:
That $7,500 investment paid off a lot faster than anyone expected. The magazine blew up in the blink of an eye & Annie adjusted to all of that with grace & ease.
But before it blew up she had to adjust to being so far behind the que of photographers that the news had already happened before they let her in to shoot any of it.
You think it's hard being a war correspondent like Cappa?
Try covering the war after everyone stopped fighting.
You have Playboy Style...no, get your mind out of the gutter, it's not porn. Does everything have to be about porn with you? Christ. You people are sick.
It is not porn, it's a way to write up interviews. You see it all the time, everyone, even Rolling Stone, will use the Playboy style interview.
Thanks to Annie Leibovitz you have Rolling Stone style photography. It's like the Playboy style, as in it is just as revealing & intimate...no pun intended.
Sort of pun intended.
Totally pun intended.
Moving on....
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Annie's a God with a camera & though it breaks my heart to say it she is FAR SUPERIOR to our beloved Robert Capa...or just about anyone else.
Clap...Clap...Clap...she dethrones Capa. She's going to live happily ever after.
But wait. There's more, there's always more & now Annie has a bit of a problem.
As we mentioned before Rolling Stone shot off like a fucking rocket. In the blink of an eye the magazine went from nothing to world famous & Annie had already helped cement that by taking pictures of the clean-up & the after party & now that's what customers demand from her magazine.
Suddenly, she's getting something that she never had before...
Suddenly Annie has access to all the things that she would have shot totally differently if she actually had the access but she was forced into a corner, she was thrown up against the wall & suddenly one of The Beatles is going to actually allow her to shoot him...for the magazine.
This sort of thing has kinda happened before. She was allowed in the room...at the back...near the fire escape.
And she sort of became really famous & made Rolling Stone really famous for being the wall flower photographer & now, fuck, she was kinda in the spotlight & the people & Jann wanted the same thing she was doing before.
Well we're big rock singers
We got golden fingers
And we're loved everywhere we go
We sing about beauty and we sing about truth
At ten thousand dollars a show
We take all kinda pills
That give us all kinda thrills
But the thrill we've never known
Is the thrill that'll getcha
When you get your picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
We got golden fingers
And we're loved everywhere we go
We sing about beauty and we sing about truth
At ten thousand dollars a show
We take all kinda pills
That give us all kinda thrills
But the thrill we've never known
Is the thrill that'll getcha
When you get your picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
Now people want to pose for her.
So not only does she have to reinvent her style, but she also has to dictate how all the other photographers that work for the magazine are going to shoot. She has to make a new style for herself & make sure her employees are using her old style.
Pressure.
So all that information, what would you do in her shoes?
There is really only one sane thing to do next.
Yup you guessed.
Annie did the exact same thing I would do.
She did the same thing you would do.
She did the same thing every sane person on the planet would do.
She went into Jann's office & she said:
"Look, I worked my ass off for you. I made your magazine world famous. I'm still suffering from flashbacks because Hunter & Lester, & I need a break. So, out of gratitude, you're going to pay me to take pictures at concerts."
Right, tell me you wouldn't do the exact same thing & watch me not believe you.
It turns out that he is not only one of the greatest musicians out there, he's not only the man that gave the world Thunder Road, which we all know is one of the greatest rock anthems in the world, but it turns out that he is also one of the better photographer's out there today.
And I'd show you some of his pictures, but they are really hard to find because the interweb is flooded with pictures of him & not by him. So until I find the proper way to Google it, you're stuck taking my word for it...but trust me, if I find enough of his work, you will suffer through yet another photography sequel.
Yeah, you guessed it.
I'm leaving you with this, because now I sort of have to:
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