This week, Iconic Images takes a look at the astounding David Bowie archive by Janet Macoska. These images were recently included in the 5 star rated "David Bowie : Icon", which included photographs of Bowie by Macoska and 24 other photographers.
I have been photographing rock & roll professionally since 1974. I discovered my love for rock & roll when The Beatles came to America in 1964, when I was ten years old. At the same time, I discovered my Dad’s camera in the front closet and started photographing my dogs, the kids in the neighborhood… My Mom subscribed to LIFE magazine and I wanted to be a photojournalist who could tell stories about people, famous and not-so-famous, through their photography. Cameras can get you anywhere! My first published photo was a shot of Sonny and Cher at a local radio station. I was 12 years old. Teen Screen magazine paid me $2.00 for the shot.
The discjockeys at the Top 40 radio station in Cleveland, Ohio realised that I was a very serious 12-year-old, who could contain my inner fan in order to be professional and get the job done – no drooling and hysterics. That’s worked for me my entire career. When I’m in front of a rock hero, like David Bowie, I’m as calm as can be. Sometimes I don’t even hear the music. It’s an inner radar that creates a perfect connection and tells me when to click the camera. Classic film photography, remember, is about waiting for the shot… the music, the lights, the moves, the expression. Anticipation. You can’t check your shot. It’s either on the film or not.
I loved David Bowie early on, though he puzzled me, and slightly scared me (the effect of the blown pupil made his eyes very startling up close). I didn’t get to photograph him until 1974 and those shots were pretty rough as I was just learning about aperture and film speeds. There is one color shot I have where it’s a blur of David’s head but I just couldn’t throw it out. I still love that shot.
My next chance was a 1976 concert. I was able to purchase a front row centre ticket and photograph him. You’d think it to be a perfect opportunity but having him standing right in front of me was very overwhelming and I was oddly timid, waiting for him to be engrossed in a song before I snapped away.
In 1978, for the ‘Isolar II’ tour of the U.S., I learned Bowie had banned all photographers from shooting his shows, but I was determined. When the local promoter asked me to come down early to shoot Bowie’s unique stage setup for their archives. I did. The trade was that they would turn me loose in the building and forget about me. David had huge security gorillas on each side of the stage in the wings to spot photographers. They would go into the audience and take the film. I cuddled into a row of very nice people so that I could lean out and photograph David. At one point he stopped directly in front of me, smiled and shook a finger at me, as he’d caught me in the act. But he told the big guys to leave me alone and I was permitted to shoot the entire show. Blessed by God.
For the 1983 ‘Serious Moonlight’ tour, I was credentialled to shoot the Cleveland show. It was during this that I produced what I now consider to my favourite Bowie photo, which is also my favourite photo of everything I’ve taken in my 46 years as a professional. It is an image that could have been produced in a studio, but was indeed on stage, in 1/60 of a second moment. The image shows Bowie, left hand in his trouser pocket, bowtie undone. As his right hand holds the mic at his side, his head bows to the right, and a sneer covers his face. The actor/mime/musician/ fashionista combine together in this perfect image of David Bowie, icon and hero.
In 1995, I was able to meet David Bowie during his ‘Outside’ tour with Nine Inch Nails and presented him with a framed copy of my favourite image of him. About three weeks later, I received an envelope from Switzerland in the mail. I didn’t know anyone in Switzerland. It was a handwritten letter from Bowie, on his embossed stationery, thanking me for my gift of the photograph. He asked that I please excuse his tardiness in sending thanks. A handwritten note. Politeness. What a perfect British gentleman! It only made me love him more.
