‘Rock Seen’ by Bob Gruen
A few years back I made what – in my estimation – was a bold move. I reached out to one of the worlds foremost rock and roll photographers and asked his permission to use one of his photographs on our company blog. To my surprise, he said yes.
That photographer is Bob Gruen.
I wanted to use a John Lennon photo for a review I wrote on a book about John Lennon, and I’m sure I could have just grabbed an image someplace and gotten away with it, but I have a great deal of respect for photographers and photography. After a bit of research, I honed in on the iconic rooftop photo of Lennon in a ‘New York City’ t-shirt. I discovered that the photo was taken by Mr. Gruen, a man I was to eventually meet, and, since becoming familiar with his body of work, can honestly say I’m a big fan.
Although Gruen was in John Lennon’s ‘inner circle’ during Lennon’s years in N.Y.C., he has also photographed countless other performers, and has recently published a beautiful book of many of his works called Rock Seen, an illustrates the evolution of rock and roll through the lens of one very talented photographer. There are so many photos of so many legendary rockers that it’s mind-boggling.
Led Zeppelin from Rock Seen taken June 24, 1973
After reading Rock Seen (a book I highly recommend), I thought to myself, “How cool would it be to feature more of Bob’s work on our blog?”, and I sent off an email to Sarah in Bob’s New York office. After negotiating the terms, conditions, and applications of the images I wanted to use, it was a done deal.
One of the things I appreciate most about Bob is how protective he is of his work (as he should be). He always wants to make certain of how exactly the digital images will be used, no matter what the price. And although I’m sure he’s looking out for his work, after meeting the man, I know it’s more than that… He has great respect for his subjects.
~Craig
Below are a few links to the images that Bob Gruen has been generous enough to let us share here on our blog, which coincidentally appear in Rock Seen.
Rock Seen available at Barnes & Noble
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