You like photos? You'll like Norman Seeff. You'll also like that you can own one of his incredible prints for under $100.
This morning with two great mates, we trekked into the deepest darkest San Fernando Valley - as we had been granted an invitation to enter into the remarkable office/studio/archive of legendary photographer and director Norman Seeff.
To say that I walked away inspired would be such an understatement. I left there exhilarated.
Far beyond his exquisite and technically superior photography, is his work regarding exploration into the creative process.
A remarkable man - Norman had the foresight to not only photograph his subjects, but to have his assistants roll film (and later video) on the photo shoots. He doesn't just throw it into auto-focus and snap pictures willy nilly - he engages his subjects in intense and heart-opening conversation, working in and out of his diopter while fearlessly prying open their protective emotional layers, manually focusing with pin-sharp precision while getting them to open up about their deepest thoughts and feelings - and right when the emotional response is written in their eyes - click - he captures the truest essence of their souls, on 35mm film. And he's done this for over 400 shoots since 1975.
As someone who has made a living interviewing people for the better part of my career - I was completely humbled by his skill and ability - pummeled back into my box like Tyrion slapping Joffrey. His way with people, his willingness to push buttons and boundaries, to confidently ask his subjects to reveal parts of themselves they'd otherwise keep hidden - he is a true master at interviewing - yet this doesn't even begin to describe his photos.
After leafing through some of the enormous gallery prints hung on the walls (all blown up to around 4ft x 3ft from a 35mm neg!) we were ushered into a back room where Norman himself was working on editing some footage for the upcoming exhibit "Who Shot Rock 'n Roll" at the Annenberg Space for Photography here in LA. Instantly you could sense his warmth, his intelligence and his aura in the room. We only spent a short while with him, after which he invited us to sit in his edit bay to peruse some footage of his photo shoots over the years -including a longer version of this session with Ray Charles..
If I ever question what it is that I love about photographing or interviewing people, you're welcome to slap me upside the head with a giant reel of that footage. I am so grateful to do what I do for a living, even if it is a teeny tiny itsy bitsy fraction of the size of what Norman does.
Norman has opened up selections of his remarkable archive for sale, at very reasonable prices. The link is below - I picked out Steve Martin, and the photo here of Steve Jobs, among others.
Now if you don't mind - I'm off to load some film holders and pack my camera bag..
