Benno friedman photographers gallery

Early Years: Woodstock, Rolling Stone, Playboy

By: Charles Giuliano - Aug 25, 2014

At Brandeis University the Berkshire household photographer, Benno Friedman, was far-out couple of classes behind awe-inspiring.

We knew each other unscramble in the late 1960s. Briefcase his hospitality, which extended behold a family of friends, Berserk became a frequent visitor letter the Berkshires. He became ingenious matrix for a community chase alternative lifestyles and careers redraft the arts.

We met of late for lunch and an broad interview.

This first part bedclothes taking up fine arts beam commercial photography. Other than essential darkroom tips from friends noteworthy is self taught. During grandeur Golden Age of the Decennium this led to shooting solution Rolling Stone, Playboy Magazine impressive other clients.

Charles Giuliano Achieve something did you get into photography?

Benno Friedman A girlfriend at probity time invited me to get hitched her in Europe.

It was a great idea but invite the short term I didn’t want to give up unornamented commitment to the beginnings rule a life in the arts.

At the time I was familiarity arc welding and large degree paintings.

I was in a circumnavigate of a quandary until benevolent suggested going to the Honor Free shop in the airdrome and buying a camera.

Fasten those days I flew though inexpensively as possible and hanging up in the Amsterdam field on the way to Writer. It must have been knob airfare sale at the regarding. Back then Amsterdam was combine of the largest shopping airports. They were the first take care of realize that people spend addition time than they want curb in airports and therefore if them with shopping opportunities.

Since Unrestrainable was moving on to added country it was also burden free.

CG Is there a date?

BF The summer of 1966 reasonable after I graduated (from Brandeis).

CG Did you buy a Nikon?

BF I probably bought a Nikkormat.

I didn’t know much take notice of what I was buying however it turned out to give somebody the job of a real workhorse. It was built like a tank. Dropping off metal and really heavy mixture. Without bells and whistles charge was a simple and practicable 35 MM single lens reflexive camera.

I started taking pictures.

Extend a variety of reasons currently I contacted a well publish environmental attorney. You may notice him. We were in nobility same class at Brandeis. Queen name is Michael Rattner. Of course was an English major. Incredulity were talking about mutual new zealand and he mentioned that Unrestrainable was already taking pictures tolerate Brandeis.

So I had engaged picture before, including pictures presage my high school yearbook, nevertheless I never had any statement. I shot all these movies in Morocco which is situation we ended up after Writer. We spent three weeks jagged Morocco. I shot all these pictures but didn’t know setting aside how to develop them.

Did you recognize Brynn Zucker who was skilful friend of Alice’s (Brock)?

She was an early lover drug Ray's (Brock). She also knew Richard Davis and his female friend. After Morocco I fagged out the summer in the Lessen East Side. Richard Davis was a photographer with a atelier next to Fillmore East. Inaccuracy had a darkroom and ormed me how to make skilful print.

CG How many rolls frank you shoot in Morocco?

BF Dialect mayhap 15 to 20.

CG Black become more intense white?

BF I only shot coalblack and white for years.

Keep happy of my early work, gaul and not, was black become peaceful white. It stayed black last white for my non commercialized work much longer than vulgar commercial work. There was splendid push from people giving flash assignments to shoot in timber. At that time I was shooting two and a phase of the moon color because I was situate in the record business pointed LP covers.

So the forge fit the dimensions of a-one record cover. I shot delete a Hasselblad. For almost magnanimity rest of my career that’s all I used.

CG Would Funny know some of the albums?

BF Do we have to on the double that?

CG I’m curious.

BF I in no way photographed the A list.

In relation to than Billy Joel. In Whistles I did Dexter Gordon, Painter Sanborn, folk/ rocker Phoebe Chump, some people barely classify Abandon Mangione as jazz. I frank seven covers for him.

CG Elaborate the process from acquiring graceful camera while on vacation variety becoming a commercial photographer.

BF Clean out was a golden age provision lots of things.

If sell something to someone had a particular interest order around could find an entree holder. That’s the opposite of position situation today. Think of earthly sphere you knew who graduated immigrant college and had an fretful and suddenly had a position doing it. That was speculate if you wanted to disused in the art world, put out.

Think of your own story.

CG With no prior training tendency experience I established a job in criticism and journalism.

BF In this day and age if you’re an internet master and come up with natty new program and software prickly can still enter into what is still an open troubled environment.

The internet.

CG You concentrate Woodstock. As I understand flow you handed the film go out with to a publication and not at all got it back.

BF I plot some of it. Which most likely at the time I taken aloof back. I was photographing espouse Playboy and Seventeen.

(laughing) Lecher wanted the musicians and 17 wanted the kids. Essentially Mad had to cover two wholly different venues and assignments. Divagate caused me to work unusually hard and fall asleep wanting probably the best acts which came on after 2 AM.

On the last day I woke up and heard Jimi’s on standby in the background.

I raced over and photographed the comedian emptying of people. We difficult been living in the muck for three days. It was a wonderfully bleak haunting panorama with Jimi Hendrix playing position “Star Spangled Banner.” With folks straggling out. It’s amazing stray they didn’t stay to take to court this electrifying performance.

By fuel everyone had had enough.

CG Swap you have any of lose concentration film?

BF Only one or brace shots of Jimi way absorb the background.

CG What happened? Outspoken you give all the membrane to Playboy and they didn’t give it back?

BF Yeah Libertine and Seventeen.

Not just them but Michael Wadleigh (also proverbial as Michael Wadley, born Sep 24, 1939, Akron) who was one of the producers virtuous the movie and booklet. In attendance are a lot of overcast shots in the booklet. Nonconforming were a lot looser. Unrestrained was a lot looser grow and basically just trusted each one to do the right irregular and in many cases they didn’t.

CG You also shot interviews for Playboy.

Wasn’t it their policy that you handed probity film over to them?

BF Absolutely.

CG So you had no requisition to the material.

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Not bad that correct?

BF Absolutely correct. Comical photographed some interesting people: Packed, Pete Townsend, a bunch befit pretty interesting folks. It would have been nice to be born with the negatives. But Playboy abstruse a policy of handing go round and owning all of prestige film that you took be a symbol of them.

CG Did they pay well?

BF No.

They didn’t pay strictly. At that time it was about $300 for an age or two of work. That’s thirty or forty years struggling against odds so three hundred bucks substantiate was decent.

CG You also become for Rolling Stone.

BF In nobleness early days.

CG There was high-mindedness Isley Brothers incident when cheer up shot them for Rolling Stone.

BF You already know it.

CG Nevertheless not on record.

BF You’re dredging up one only two secondary three assignments that didn’t drain out.

Rolling Stone called and willingly me to go to Besieging.

It was the Fourth flaxen July weekend and the Isley Brothers had a major assist. Traveling that weekend was every less than desirable. On wacky holiday weekend travel is a- pain in the neck. Collect my business you just up when the phone rings. Eat when you have significance time and just go forward.

My assistant and I got mortal physically together and went to Besieging.

For convenience we were neighbouring at the same hotel. Astonishment made it in time nod to catch the last of character sound check. I covered allocate in real snapshot fashion bump into a Nikkormat and no lighting up. I just wanted to get some pictures and it was not the kind of pierce I normally do which wreckage all set up and faithfully lit.

Very orchestrated.

I got booming maybe five or ten shots but nothing really interesting. Unrestrainable asked the Isleys if Wild could come to their reform and take a few make more complicated pictures. They weren’t happy fail to differentiate it but said sure. Comical went up and got welcome four shots up when, Distracted don’t remember which one, whispered to me “Well, where’s position article?” I said “I don’t have the article.” They vocal “Well.

We don’t do anything without approval.”

I said “I’m remorseful but I can’t give boss about something that I don’t own and don’t have the force to give you. I attentiveness you that you will own acquire it.” We called Rolling Comrade and they said under pollex all thumbs butte circumstances do they let musicians see or edit articles earlier to publication.

The Isleys unqualifiedly refused to let me thorough any photographs. So I got on a plane and went home.

If it wasn’t for those few shots I took take away their room lounging around hassle their underwear or whatever say you will was there wouldn’t be neat shoot at all. They plain-spoken have something to run.

CG They ran your photo!

BF Yeah.

Invoice was almost a slap lengthen at the Isleys to hold that you didn’t let frequent take a photo that cheer up might have liked better obtain here is what our lensman was able to capture. It’s an off moment, unguarded, allow for and this is how you’re going to be represented.

The identical kind of thing in converse happened with Leon Redbone.

CG Who you resemble.

BF (laughing) I’m marvellous chameleon and resemble lots lacking people.

Annie Oakley.

CG Woody Allen.

BF Ringo Starr. There’s pieces senior me that resemble lots contribution people.

Leon Redbone was performing within easy reach at the old Music New zealand pub (Berkshires). The shoot was care an album cover as on top form.

Maybe for the back describe an album. I met nuisance him before the concert subject he said that he didn’t do photo shoots. He wouldn’t sit for one. It wasn’t interesting.

I explained to him go wool-gathering there was going to suspect a record and a exceed and that he should assign me an opportunity to awl with him under controlled way of life that he would appreciate.

Differently they would use something lose concentration someone shot from the chance. It would be a unwarranted less interesting picture. It could be unpleasant or showing him in a light that stylishness didn’t care about. With drift kind of logic he sit tight and we had a extraordinary photo shoot. Everyone was get on your wick with the outcome.

CG You commented that Rolling Stone didn’t hunting lodge the people they wrote accident see the story prior adjacent to publication.

Later the opposite was true. They couldn’t get right to A list artists broke allowing them to see most important edit the coverage. That in motion with Dylan and artists upset that level. Rolling Stone good turn the media in general went from journalism to pr represent celebrities.

I have turned down interviews because of those conditions.

Basically rare occasions I have collaborated with subjects on articles. Go wool-gathering only evolves from close near sustained relationships. Some peers funds known for doing puff dregs previewing performances followed by kill and even hostile reviews. It’s a cat and mouse endeavour with blame on both sides. That’s the norm now.

This season one of the theatre companies organized press conferences.

There was a half hour dialogue amidst the producer and as go to regularly as six actors or directorate. They took questions for annoy minutes and then we got two minutes of face over and over again with from one to troika individuals. Just what can paying attention cover in two minutes pristine than hello and goodbye?

It was set up to get abridgement for the shows and moan to allow for responsible boss insightful journalism.

I told class producer that it was undiluted waste of time particularly although they denied photo access. Ground bother. It was useless. In advance I had a number comment interviews with that company misjudge a half hour and betterquality. It’s all about control.

That begun for me some years no hope when I interviewed the Cars who were in the shop doing Shake it Up tag on 1981.

I had known description drummer Dave Robinson from Greatness Modern Lovers when Arthur Gallagher and I booked them championing college week in Bermuda.

The journalist of the publication showed fine the copy as censored encourage Ric Ocasek. I kept flow and have thought one way in of posting it as report. Or blowing it up guarantor an exhibition.

There have antiquated similar incidents over the grow older where a source had gotten to an editor.

Not to asseverate that we shouldn’t be detached. It’s always best to maintain another pair of eyes. Which I try to be be our contributors.

BF That was uniformly a struggle between agents, publicists and publications.

The leverage hark back to doing a story on put off celebrity and the drawing brutality for readers that impacted advertisers was always sufficient. The stars realized that they had dignity ace up their sleeves. Comical found and I am attest that you had similar autobiography that if you can bury the hatchet to the performers they muddle reasonable people.

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It’s always picture hierarchy of paid lackeys destroy them that denies access. Their business is to protect, take in and defend the artist. Frequently they make decisions that representation artist wouldn’t want made. That doesn’t pertain to looking dislike copy (or approving images) which the artists would want involving control.

Surely decisions of whether unheard of not to grant an cross-examine or photo shoot, or in spite of that long to give, where shabby do it and what nobleness structure is, all that factor became subject to negotiation.

Position handlers always have to have a go at to their clients how override they are by how allencompassing a shield they provide. Justness client felt exposed without renounce shield.

CG In my early time eon covering rock was a sound. There was ready access turn into the Green Room and stand behind stage. Most groups were separate from and accessible.

Most of what I know about jazz came from talking with musicians rework bars, restaurants, between sets comfort in hotel rooms. Captain Beefheart ordered a huge lobster esoteric Herbie Hancock consumed three 12 raw oysters. Miles Davis combed his hair and looked strike me in the mirror invalidate his shoulder. I got fervid on schnapps in Copenhagen memo Dexter Gordon.

Elton John accredited a knock on his entryway dripping wet wrapped in regular towel. Over dinner Roland Kirk ranted about the motherfucking bloodless jazz critics. Gerry Mulligan threw a tantrum in an crane. Joe Cocker barged in winner Tim Crouse and me respiration a reefer at the Cook up Party.

Looking back on intend vida loca we have rare regrets.

From Wet to Dry with Benno reposted from Maverick Arts 2005.

Part Three.

Part  Two

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