The Passing of a Photography Legend

As an avid photographer, I just love imagery of all kinds. However, I tend not to dwell on things and just try to take more photos. Every once in a while though, I'm reminded of how big the photographic universe is and the kind of legendary photographers & work we've been blessed with in our lifetimes.

A photographic legend died a couple of days ago, and I'm sorry I didn't even know about him until his passing. If you've never heard of Jim Marshall, I'm sure you've seen his work. Anyone familiar with musical legends like Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, or Thelonius Monk has most likely seen his work.

Whether you like his work or not, the guy had amazing stories about his adventures at the crossing of music and photography. He was like a musical Forrest Gump! Just amazing stories about how he ended up in situations to take such iconic photos of musical legends we all know.

For example, he was in jail on drug charges and the bail bondsman who helped him get out of jail turned out to also be Carlos Santana's band manager. He asked Marshall to take photos of Santana and that lead to some iconic photos of Santana's first recording session. Or the time at the Monterey Pop Festival where Jimi Hendrix was sound checking with just his band and an empty amphitheatre.

The guy had been places and seen things.

While I wish I had known more about him before his passing, I'm happy to have learned about him nevertheless. Have a look at his work. Even if you don't love the photos, I'm sure you'll find something really interesting in the stories behind the photos.

RIP Jim Marshall.