The Picture Down The Hall Part Five

It was a gift. An absolute gift.

My friend, Guy Smith, is a famous lighting designer. He lights everything from parties to events, from concerts to plays. He has lit some of the world's most famous entertainers -- people like Jennifer Hudson, Michael Buble, Idina Menzel, Kristine W, Deborah Cox. I don't know his resume by heart but I think he has even lit Mariah Carey. I will need to get the full list from him. One year, at the Pier Dance for Gay Pride in New York, he told me that he was lighting Jennifer Lopez and did I want to bring my camera? No. I didn't want to bring my camera. I wanted to go and party. I wanted to dance. He said, ok: but it's J.Lo. I thought better of it and I was placed right at the foot of the stage to shoot some of my favourite photos in my life.

Guy Smith is an absolute gift.

Jimmy Nelson came to me, an actor, for headshots. But before the first meeting was over, we were fast friends. We were to become more than just friends; he became one of my alltime best artistic collaborators. Throughout my body of work, within the list of photos I call My Best Work, Jimmy appears. This isn't just one of my favourite photos of Jimmy, one of my favourite photos period: it is one of my favourite headshots.

My Grandmother raised me on Hollywood Glamour. She had worked at Paramount Studios with Edith Head and my grandfather had worked for Mae West. As a child, I was constantly being shown photographs of old movie stars and having the silver screen glamour described to me. That is why, when I began to work in photography, I worked very hard at recapturing that style in certain areas of my work.

Working with James Beaman during his days as a female impersonator was a true joy for me. His much lauded shows as Marlene Dietrich and as Lauren Bacall provided me with hours of pleasure as an audience member and even more hours of satisfaction as a photographer. This one is my favourite of all the photos we did. I felt like my grandmother was beside me, as I took it (which was, natch, impossible since she had died some ten years earlier). Nevertheless, she was there.

I was in the home of a gay couple, celebrating their recent commitment ceremony (this was long before even one state had legalized gay marriage). One of the couple was a photographer and he had huge mounted photos of his own work all over their home. I stood, gazing up at the picture of their hands, really loving it. It was so delicately lit, so exquistely shot. The two of them walked up to me and I said "What a beautiful picture of your hands. I just love it. Who shot that?" They stood on either side of me and looked at me, with emphasis, and said:

"YOU did."

I had done the shoot, given them the film and never thought of it again.

What a nice surprise.

And what a nice compliment I paid myself.




An actress called me on the phone and said she was a strange and extraordinary woman and needed a headshot to reflect that. I told her I specialized in individuality. It took a year to arrange the shoot and, when it happened, it lasted from six pm to almost midnight. It was one of the most fascinating photo shoots of my life and it yielded artwork that I have treasured.

When I did this photo of Genevieve, I was thinking "In a hundred years, this picture will be on postcards in art museums".

Years later, I ran into her at a play and she threw her arms around me and said "THAT photo you did of me has become ICONIC in the industry."

I was very glad to hear her say that. The fact is, I had already known it because agents, casting directors, managers, directors, actors... many people... had said to me over the years, "YOU took that picture??!!!"

She was right. It was and is an iconic image in New York show business circles.

That photo of Genevieve in her big hat is one of my proudest moments behind the camera.

During the 3 decades I spent behind the camera, one of my favourite types of gig was shooting theater. It was especially rewarding to shoot theater as it was being performed -- set up photos at photo calls are lovely but present very little challenge. Photographing actors in performance is a different game - the emotion is raw and real and the action has to be captured as it happens. It is a challenge and I love a challenge.

It was particularly rewarding when I had the chance to shoot my loved ones (most of my friends are actors) at their work.

This picture of Morgana Shaw (in performance) as Crystal Allen in THE WOMEN is a photo that has become associated with my name. For that I am extremely happy.