The attack on the American Embassy in Tehran is the key event of the Iranian…
Contact, Ep. 8 - Kitchen Debate by Elliot Erwitt
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
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Elliot Erwitt explains how his photo of Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev, engaged in a vitriolic conversation among the pavilions of a trade show, became a symbol of the Cold War.
Series Description
Contact sheets are the first overview for the photographer of what he has captured on film. They give a unique and intimate view of the style, methods and thoughts of the artist.
Cartier-Bresson himself, founder of the Magnum Photo agency, was strongly opposing the disclosure of his contact sheets and yet the choice of that picture is the point of contact between the photographer's life, thoughts, philosophy and the subject he portrays.
Two very different stories that—due to decision or unexpected coincidences—bring to life a snapshot or a posed photo, which turns into an historical icon.
Photographers and subjects:
Muhammad Ali by Thomas Hoepker
The Beatles by David Hurn
Tiananmen Square by Stuart Franklin
Margaret Thatcher by Peter Marlow
Iranian Revolution by Abbas Attar
9/11 by Steve McCurry
Yakuza by Bruce Gilden
Kitchen Debate by Elliot Erwitt
Miles Davis by Guy Le Querrec
Citation
Main credits
Attorre, Gianluigi (film director)
Attorre, Gianluigi (film producer)
Paloschi, Mario (film director)
Paloschi, Mario (film producer)
Erwitt, Elliot (on-screen participant)
La Penna, Leslie (narrator)
Other credits
Cinematography, Giuseppe Malpasso, Pierluigi Siena, Matteo Minasi; editing, Micaela Castro, Daniele Costantino.
Distributor subjects
Photography; Visual Arts; History; American Studies; 20th Century; Political HistoryKeywords
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- [Voiceover] Diplomacy
goes by the board,
00:00:26.840 --> 00:00:28.480
and the story of the
fair itself is eclipsed
00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:30.680
by a crackling exchange
between Nixon and Khrushchev,
00:00:30.840 --> 00:00:34.080
begun off camera, and
finished off before
00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:36.840
the American Ampex color
videotape recorders.
00:00:36.999 --> 00:00:39.920
Every aspect of the Cold
War and Soviet-American
00:00:39.999 --> 00:00:42.280
rivalry is argued in blunt
and forthright terms.
00:00:42.440 --> 00:00:45.920
The threat of atomic
warfare, diplomacy--
00:00:45.999 --> 00:00:48.560
(upbeat, inspirational music)
00:00:51.999 --> 00:00:53.240
- Contact sheets show
how you think visually,
00:00:57.040 --> 00:00:59.360
and they're very interesting
from that point of view.
00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:01.560
If you see contact
sheets of really good
00:01:01.720 --> 00:01:02.999
photographers, you can
learn a great deal.
00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:05.999
The contact sheets of
Henri Cartier-Bresson,
00:01:06.120 --> 00:01:08.080
if he would have
allowed you to see them,
00:01:08.240 --> 00:01:11.520
of course he didn't
when he was alive,
00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:14.760
you could learn a lot,
and other photographers
00:01:14.920 --> 00:01:18.520
who would forbid
you to see them.
00:01:18.680 --> 00:01:23.080
(upbeat, inspirational music)
00:01:26.160 --> 00:01:27.999
My name is Elliott Erwitt, and
I have been that some time.
00:01:31.320 --> 00:01:35.600
(upbeat music)
00:01:51.999 --> 00:01:52.680
(inspirational music)
00:01:58.360 --> 00:02:01.720
- [Voiceover] Smiles
and emotions are raised
00:02:03.520 --> 00:02:05.400
by his photos, but
they're also two elements
00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:08.160
that constitute
normality when together.
00:02:08.320 --> 00:02:11.200
Elliott Erwitt, born in 1928,
a Magnum Photos veteran,
00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:15.520
is the photographer who grasps
00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:17.160
the wonder in
everyday normality.
00:02:17.320 --> 00:02:19.880
His career began in
a dark room at 15,
00:02:19.999 --> 00:02:23.000
and a camera will be
his constant companion,
00:02:23.160 --> 00:02:25.975
accompanying his
every moment as a mask
00:02:25.999 --> 00:02:28.320
for his shyness and as an
expression of his spirit.
00:02:28.480 --> 00:02:31.640
Sarcasm, subtle irony, and
the pleasure of paradox,
00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:35.560
mark his words just
as his every photo.
00:02:35.720 --> 00:02:39.320
(jazz music)
00:02:45.999 --> 00:02:46.999
- I don't know, I am
a, what do you call it?
00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:54.975
Salade Russe.
00:02:54.999 --> 00:02:57.080
I was born in Paris, but
I was raised in Italy,
00:02:57.240 --> 00:03:02.080
and in Los Angeles,
and in New York.
00:03:02.320 --> 00:03:06.560
(jazz music)
00:03:06.720 --> 00:03:11.040
Of course, all of these
things have an impact on
00:03:11.200 --> 00:03:13.720
your life and on your attitude
towards almost everything.
00:03:13.999 --> 00:03:18.720
My interest in
photography started when
00:03:18.999 --> 00:03:21.280
I was 15 years old.
00:03:21.440 --> 00:03:24.999
It started with the
purchase of a plate camera,
00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:29.320
which was kind of a
toy, you might say,
00:03:29.800 --> 00:03:34.320
and then it developed
into a profession
00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:36.360
because I've been alone since,
I've been on my own since
00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:40.360
I was 16 and a half years old,
00:03:40.520 --> 00:03:42.999
and I've been earning
my living since then
00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:47.999
with one sort of
camera after another.
00:03:48.160 --> 00:03:52.000
- [Voiceover] A Magnum
Photographer since 1954,
00:03:52.160 --> 00:03:55.120
Elliott Erwitt will
take his first steps
00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:57.440
doing photo reportage for
American illustrated magazines.
00:03:57.600 --> 00:04:01.400
The reader is meant
to smile and dream
00:04:01.560 --> 00:04:03.720
with the images of the world
00:04:03.880 --> 00:04:05.320
which photographers
give to the press.
00:04:05.480 --> 00:04:07.960
But those are the years
in which the Cold War
00:04:07.999 --> 00:04:09.999
keeps a check on
two absolute powers
00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:12.600
that are determined
not to yield,
00:04:12.760 --> 00:04:14.960
and so Elliott
Erwitt will document
00:04:14.999 --> 00:04:16.960
crucial happenings and people
00:04:16.999 --> 00:04:18.999
such as Richard Nixon
and Nikita Khrushchev,
00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:22.200
who will change history.
00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:24.680
- I photographed
Nixon many times,
00:04:24.840 --> 00:04:26.600
on many occasions, when he was
00:04:26.760 --> 00:04:28.520
running for president and lost,
00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:31.640
when he won, when he
was in the White House.
00:04:31.999 --> 00:04:36.640
He was a public
person, and he was
00:04:36.999 --> 00:04:38.440
photographed by a lot of people.
00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:40.960
What do I think of him?
00:04:40.999 --> 00:04:42.880
Well, I never thought
very much of him.
00:04:42.999 --> 00:04:45.200
Having lived in California,
00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:50.040
where he began his career
00:04:50.200 --> 00:04:54.800
as a politician, at the
expense of the people,
00:04:54.999 --> 00:04:59.800
I already had formed
my opinion about him.
00:04:59.999 --> 00:05:02.920
He ran against a woman
called Helen Gahagan Douglas.
00:05:02.999 --> 00:05:06.920
It was one of the dirtiest,
nastiest campaigns,
00:05:06.999 --> 00:05:10.520
and which he won, and I think
that sort of established him
00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:14.600
as the kind of person that
he was in the minds of people
00:05:14.760 --> 00:05:18.999
who cared about such things.
00:05:19.080 --> 00:05:21.680
(melancholic music)
00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:26.640
- [Voiceover] The photograph
of a railway station taken
00:05:29.960 --> 00:05:31.975
by Henri Cartier-Bresson
was a revelation
00:05:31.999 --> 00:05:34.975
for the young Erwitt.
00:05:34.999 --> 00:05:36.800
He had left California,
moved to New York,
00:05:36.960 --> 00:05:39.560
and had begun
associating with a group
00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:41.320
of Magnum photographers.
00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:43.720
Once Erwitt's military
service was over, Robert Capa
00:05:43.880 --> 00:05:47.200
wanted him as a
permanent member.
00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:49.320
From that day one,
Elliott Erwitt will attain
00:05:49.480 --> 00:05:52.080
international fame by becoming
one of the absolute icons
00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:55.999
of the prestigious agency.
00:05:56.040 --> 00:05:58.160
(melancholic music)
00:05:58.320 --> 00:06:02.320
- They were all very
helpful and supportive.
00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:06.040
And Capa was, he
was a daredevil.
00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:11.040
You know that he
invented himself.
00:06:11.880 --> 00:06:15.680
His name was not Robert Capa.
00:06:15.840 --> 00:06:17.040
His name was Andre Friedman.
00:06:17.200 --> 00:06:19.560
And he invented himself as the
famous American photographer,
00:06:19.720 --> 00:06:24.480
Robert Capa, in order
to sell his pictures.
00:06:24.640 --> 00:06:28.320
You see, hype was even
useful then in those days.
00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:32.000
And he created a whole
new person of himself.
00:06:35.160 --> 00:06:37.000
(upbeat music)
00:06:40.320 --> 00:06:44.975
- [Voiceover] The photo
which shows Nixon pointing
00:06:44.999 --> 00:06:47.040
a finger at Khrushkev
with an air of challenge
00:06:47.200 --> 00:06:49.999
is one of the photos
by Elliott Erwitt
00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:52.320
that has marked an era.
00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:53.999
The two superpower
leaders define one another
00:06:54.120 --> 00:06:56.640
in 1959 with acrid words
while standing among
00:06:56.800 --> 00:07:00.840
the appliances of a
prefabricated kitchen
00:07:00.999 --> 00:07:03.720
of the American
National Exposition
00:07:03.880 --> 00:07:05.800
in Sokolniki Park in Moscow.
00:07:05.960 --> 00:07:08.320
Gone down in history
as the Kitchen Debate,
00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:10.840
that encounter has become
the emblem of a cultural
00:07:10.999 --> 00:07:13.600
and technological duel
which will translate
00:07:13.760 --> 00:07:16.080
into a political clash.
00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:18.560
On the one hand, the
American capitalism of Nixon
00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:21.600
in a display of its luxury
goods, from washing machines
00:07:21.760 --> 00:07:24.680
to Cadillacs, from high-heeled
shoes to ready meals
00:07:24.840 --> 00:07:27.920
and Coca-Cola.
00:07:27.999 --> 00:07:29.760
On the other, the
emphasis of Khrushchev
00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:32.320
for essential goods
with a barp of sarcasm.
00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:35.975
- [Voiceover] Says Mr. K, the
Soviet will overtake America,
00:07:35.999 --> 00:07:38.720
and then wave bye-bye.
00:07:38.880 --> 00:07:41.520
(playful music)
00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:44.999
- I was working for
Westinghouse Refrigerators,
00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:49.520
pretty far away from a
confrontation between
00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:53.000
East and West.
00:07:53.160 --> 00:07:54.480
I had an assignment in Moscow
00:07:55.560 --> 00:07:58.999
to take pictures of
Westinghouse Refrigerators
00:08:00.760 --> 00:08:05.400
at a industrial
show in Gorky Park.
00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:10.400
And while I was there
working for Westinghouse,
00:08:12.520 --> 00:08:15.040
there was a state visit of
then Vice President Nixon.
00:08:16.400 --> 00:08:20.040
So I attached myself
to the press people
00:08:21.560 --> 00:08:25.720
and had the good fortune
of being in the right place
00:08:25.880 --> 00:08:28.040
at the right time to get a
picture that became famous,
00:08:28.200 --> 00:08:33.040
simply because of
the two people,
00:08:33.999 --> 00:08:37.080
and the Cold War, and
the arrogance of Nixon,
00:08:39.040 --> 00:08:43.999
and the arrogance of
Khrushchev, and so on.
00:08:44.200 --> 00:08:48.360
So all the elements
were there right
00:08:48.520 --> 00:08:52.760
to make this photograph.
00:08:52.920 --> 00:08:57.560
I happened to be in the
Macy's kitchen at the time
00:08:57.720 --> 00:09:00.520
when they arrived, and
essentially both in front of me.
00:09:00.680 --> 00:09:05.480
In photography, good luck
is extremely important.
00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:10.560
It's one of the main
00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:12.880
requirements.
00:09:16.520 --> 00:09:18.120
(suspenseful music)
00:09:18.280 --> 00:09:23.120
- [Voiceover] In
those years, Russia,
00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:24.960
the land of his parents,
was a power which the world
00:09:24.999 --> 00:09:27.520
looked upon in fear.
00:09:27.680 --> 00:09:29.400
Erwitt had narrated it
a few years earlier,
00:09:29.560 --> 00:09:32.360
not only showing the
political tension,
00:09:32.520 --> 00:09:34.720
but also grasping the
normality of daily life
00:09:34.880 --> 00:09:37.400
denied to Western eyes.
00:09:41.999 --> 00:09:43.240
- I had the good fortune
to be in the Soviet Union
00:09:47.040 --> 00:09:50.800
in 1957 during the
anniversary of the so-called
00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:55.560
Great October Revolution,
00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:58.600
where they displayed their,
for the very first time,
00:09:58.760 --> 00:10:03.120
their intercontinental missiles.
00:10:03.280 --> 00:10:05.760
And I was able to photograph
them in Red Square,
00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:10.760
and it was a world scoop.
00:10:10.999 --> 00:10:13.880
I took the pictures, and
I realized how important
00:10:13.999 --> 00:10:17.280
they would be, so I
processed them in my room,
00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:21.600
in my hotel room,
right afterwards,
00:10:21.760 --> 00:10:24.999
just knowing that in some
cases, you would risk
00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:29.240
ruining your film by
going through baggage.
00:10:30.999 --> 00:10:34.240
I notified Life Magazine
at the time that I had
00:10:36.040 --> 00:10:39.040
this exclusive.
00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:41.600
It was a scoop.
00:10:41.760 --> 00:10:42.880
I mean, the pictures
were used all over,
00:10:42.999 --> 00:10:44.440
and I was a hero for a day.
00:10:44.600 --> 00:10:46.720
But, you know, that was it.
00:10:46.880 --> 00:10:50.400
(playful music)
00:10:53.880 --> 00:10:55.160
- [Voiceover] Erwitt collected
many portraits of celebrities
00:10:58.999 --> 00:11:01.200
in the course of his career.
00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:03.360
But it's definitely
Marilyn's face which inspired
00:11:05.760 --> 00:11:08.480
the photographer most,
with a mixture of intimacy,
00:11:08.640 --> 00:11:11.680
lightheartedness, and sexuality.
00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:14.760
- This picture of Marilyn
Monroe doesn't have
00:11:14.920 --> 00:11:17.440
any particular story.
00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:18.760
It's just a sitting
that I had with her
00:11:18.920 --> 00:11:21.040
during the filming of one
of her movies in New York
00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:25.600
I was involved in, The Misfits.
00:11:25.760 --> 00:11:29.200
I was involved in another
movie that she was in before,
00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:33.880
and I had some private sessions.
00:11:33.999 --> 00:11:36.975
She was very nice to me,
a perfectly intelligent,
00:11:36.999 --> 00:11:41.200
nice woman, and
we got along fine.
00:11:42.280 --> 00:11:45.000
Some number of
sittings with her.
00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:49.999
And the thing about Marilyn
is that you couldn't really
00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:53.200
take a bad picture of her.
00:11:53.360 --> 00:11:55.200
And I guess this is one of the
pretty good pictures of her.
00:11:55.360 --> 00:11:59.880
No, she wasn't
acting at that time.
00:11:59.999 --> 00:12:03.120
She was just, I guess, relaxing,
and just having a chat.
00:12:03.280 --> 00:12:07.640
That's the best way, I
think, to photograph people,
00:12:07.800 --> 00:12:10.920
without much fanfare, without...
00:12:10.999 --> 00:12:13.360
(melancholic music)
00:12:20.999 --> 00:12:21.999
She became extra
famous by dying young,
00:12:26.560 --> 00:12:30.999
which, of course,
is one of the great
00:12:31.720 --> 00:12:33.840
career moves for people.
00:12:33.999 --> 00:12:36.999
If you die young, you know,
and you're kind of famous
00:12:37.040 --> 00:12:40.720
at the time, you're likely
to have a very good career.
00:12:40.880 --> 00:12:45.120
It's a shame that
it works that way,
00:12:45.280 --> 00:12:48.840
but when you consider
that she might be,
00:12:48.999 --> 00:12:51.480
had she been alive, she
would be 85 years old now
00:12:51.640 --> 00:12:53.999
or 86 years old,
it's an interesting
thing to contemplate.
00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:58.400
(melancholic music)
00:13:01.640 --> 00:13:03.240
- [Voiceover] It will be
the face of another woman,
00:13:06.800 --> 00:13:08.640
Jacqueline Kennedy, which
will move the world.
00:13:08.800 --> 00:13:11.440
The reportage is dedicated
to one of the most dramatic
00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:13.999
days in the 20th
century America.
00:13:14.040 --> 00:13:16.640
(melancholic music)
00:13:16.800 --> 00:13:21.640
- When he was assassinated,
I immediately went
00:13:21.920 --> 00:13:24.040
to Washington to cover the
funeral as best I could.
00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:29.040
And part of that was his burial
00:13:29.480 --> 00:13:34.240
in the cemetery in Virginia.
00:13:34.400 --> 00:13:38.960
I had a good position
near the grave.
00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:43.960
I had a big lens.
00:13:44.400 --> 00:13:46.800
And I got the picture which
was a rather touching picture
00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:50.480
of the widow and the
brother at graveside.
00:13:53.999 --> 00:13:55.280
I mean, the situation was
so emotional that anything,
00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:03.999
any representation of it
would have been touching
00:14:04.600 --> 00:14:08.840
and special.
00:14:08.999 --> 00:14:10.480
But in this particular
case, there's one element
00:14:10.640 --> 00:14:14.320
in the picture which is
sometimes passed over,
00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:18.975
but there's actually a
tear from her eye stuck
00:14:18.999 --> 00:14:23.999
into her veil, which I think
00:14:24.040 --> 00:14:28.680
sets it apart from
many of the other ones.
00:14:34.560 --> 00:14:35.880
- [Voiceover] The two pictures
of the Kitchen Debate,
00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:42.040
somewhat due to instinct,
somewhat due to luck,
00:14:42.200 --> 00:14:45.200
will remain in history as the
image of an open confrontation
00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:48.640
between the two superpowers
that make the world tremble.
00:14:48.800 --> 00:14:52.400
It will be the dynamics
of gestures, looks,
00:14:52.560 --> 00:14:54.999
and unspoken words, that will
later fire the imagination.
00:14:55.040 --> 00:14:59.520
The reality of the facts and
the words of the photographer
00:14:59.680 --> 00:15:02.520
himself was
completely different.
00:15:02.680 --> 00:15:05.999
- In public, people do not
discuss state affairs, I think.
00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:10.999
In public, with photographers
around and people around,
00:15:11.400 --> 00:15:15.960
they posture.
00:15:15.999 --> 00:15:18.080
Politicians, that's
their job, to posture.
00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:22.080
But serious things are
usually done in closed doors.
00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:27.080
Khrushchev and Nixon
were simply posturing
00:15:27.880 --> 00:15:30.800
for whoever was watching.
00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:34.680
I'm sure if there was substance,
00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:39.680
and I'm sure there
must have been,
00:15:39.920 --> 00:15:43.600
to be discussed, it was
done under closed doors
00:15:43.760 --> 00:15:46.200
in the Kremlin, as
things usually are.
00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:50.600
But politicians, when they're
out, and especially Nixon,
00:15:50.760 --> 00:15:55.240
who was very eager to
promote himself as the person
00:15:56.120 --> 00:16:00.280
who stood up to the Russians,
stood up to the Soviets,
00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:06.120
for him it was important
to seem assertive.
00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:09.840
And that's why the picture
of him poking his finger
00:16:09.999 --> 00:16:14.080
in the chest of Khrushchev
was such a useful thing
00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:18.320
for him, particularly in
his campaign for president,
00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:23.000
which, in particular, he lost.
00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:27.999
I gave that picture as
a courtesy to the person
00:16:31.720 --> 00:16:36.240
who became his public
relations official.
00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:41.720
And before I knew it, the
picture was everywhere,
00:16:43.640 --> 00:16:46.600
being used as proof of
the toughness of Nixon.
00:16:47.560 --> 00:16:51.600
It was used without
my permission,
00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:54.999
without my authorization.
00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:57.120
But that's the way it goes.
00:16:57.280 --> 00:17:00.360
I certainly would
have been very upset
00:17:00.520 --> 00:17:04.280
to be responsible in
any way for his victory,
00:17:04.440 --> 00:17:08.640
but he lost.
00:17:08.800 --> 00:17:10.240
(dark music)
00:17:20.320 --> 00:17:20.960
(upbeat music)
00:17:26.800 --> 00:17:30.320
- [Voiceover] Dogs,
children, and romanticism,
00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:34.440
are Erwitt's recurring themes,
00:17:34.600 --> 00:17:36.800
a sensitivity which
accompanies all his works.
00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:40.080
Unique images that
have made history
00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:42.320
and which constitute
an extremely personal,
00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:45.000
recognizable view of the world.
00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:48.440
- This is a fancy dog
00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:52.920
wearing a rose by
Balenciaga, I think,
00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:59.280
the dress designer.
00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:01.520
I like taking pictures of
dogs, even if they're fancy.
00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:04.840
That's why it's an elegant
dog with an elegant flower.
00:18:04.999 --> 00:18:08.600
By the same token, I take
pictures of less elegant dogs.
00:18:08.760 --> 00:18:11.975
For instance, that picture
was taken across the street
00:18:11.999 --> 00:18:15.520
from my house in Central
Park, and it's one
00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:19.999
of my more amusing
photographs, I think.
00:18:20.280 --> 00:18:24.999
(haunting music)
00:18:30.999 --> 00:18:31.880
Dogs are very sympathetic.
00:18:36.120 --> 00:18:39.600
They're everywhere in the world.
00:18:39.760 --> 00:18:42.800
They're uncomplicated.
00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:45.440
They don't mind
being photographed,
00:18:45.600 --> 00:18:48.000
and they don't ask for prints.
00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:51.120
I think those are
very good reasons.
00:18:51.280 --> 00:18:55.520
And also they make very
sort of human-like subjects.
00:19:00.600 --> 00:19:01.160
(melancholic music)
00:19:06.999 --> 00:19:10.520
The picture of two lovers
in a rear-view mirror
00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:15.160
is at the end of
Sunset Boulevard
00:19:15.320 --> 00:19:17.160
in Santa Monica.
00:19:17.320 --> 00:19:20.800
It was put away,
just another picture,
00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:22.840
and then 25 years later,
when I was looking through
00:19:22.999 --> 00:19:25.680
my contact sheets, I
noticed it and I thought,
00:19:25.840 --> 00:19:29.520
"Well, maybe this is
a good one to print."
00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:32.200
And it sort of became kind of
a signature picture for me.
00:19:32.360 --> 00:19:35.999
But, again, it was a discovery.
00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:39.440
I suppose there are other
discoveries that I could make,
00:19:39.600 --> 00:19:42.680
and that's what I'm
doing now in my old age,
00:19:42.840 --> 00:19:45.560
going through my old work
00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:48.560
and seeing what it is
that may be of some use.
00:19:48.999 --> 00:19:53.560
(melancholic music)
00:19:59.040 --> 00:20:00.200
My pictures of 50 years
ago look rather similar,
00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:07.240
except for the cars
and the background.
00:20:07.400 --> 00:20:09.560
But my professional pictures
have changed enormously.
00:20:09.880 --> 00:20:14.560
They change with the
market conditions.
00:20:14.999 --> 00:20:18.840
That's what I mean about being
a professional photographer.
00:20:18.999 --> 00:20:21.440
You stay with the trends,
with the requirements,
00:20:21.600 --> 00:20:26.040
with the machinery.
00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:28.999
And you earn your
living that way.
00:20:29.080 --> 00:20:33.360
But my personal
work is unchanged.
00:20:33.520 --> 00:20:36.800
I don't know if that's good
or bad, but it's a fact.
00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:39.760
(soft music)
00:20:41.280 --> 00:20:44.360
(upbeat music)
Distributor: First Hand Films
Length: 26 minutes
Date: 2014
Genre: Expository
Language: English; Italian; French / English subtitles
Grade: College, Adults
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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