Hello! Do you have a favourite set of photos/photographer when it comes to John? Thanks for all your work in the fandom :-)
Oh, thank you @agarlandoffreshlycuttears ! And thanks for giving me the chance to talk about my favourite subjects, John and Bob Whitaker photography.
Robert Whitaker:
He's my absolute favourite photographer because of the surrealism in his photos and his various techniques of double exposure, overlays, play with light and shadow and interesting perspectives (yes, I'm talking about the crotch shots 😅).
He's also a photographer who had a really good rapport with John and it clearly shows in the photos and also the fact that he's the only one as far as I know who did several photo shootings with John and Cynthia (and Julian) and I love them all [•][•][•][•][•][•]
It's really hard to pick a favourite photo, so here're two I especially fancy:
Now I have to mention him because he, too, took photos of John & Cyn (and Julian) [•][•] but they were more of a home story so they're not as cool as the Bob photos...
But there's one unintentionally sexy photo I really like:
And this one, because I'm a sucker for photos which portray John as an artist/writer other than just a musician:
Of course! Because her photos are just iconic and for me, as someone who really digs Hamburg era Beatles and Rock'N'Roll, they're the epitome of cool.
My favourite photos are from the photo shooting after Stuart's death. They're so intense (both John & George) that I could choke up just by looking at them. (I like them so much that I had them framed). Also, they're great because they show John for who he was, someone who acted tough on the outside but really was a sensitive and loving man.
Another favourite of mine is this one. Like, it captures perfectly everything that's so sexy about John. 😅
Robert Freeman:
He's not exactly a favourite although he (and his wife, maybe 🫢) was actually close to John as well (literally neighbours, y'know). But he captured the essence of cool quite perfectly during the recording of "Revolver".
Speaking of writer John, that's one photo I've on my pinboard:
This might come as a surprise because he really was an old school photographer and it shows especially in '62 and '63. But I really have a soft spot for John in '63 so here you go:
One might say this doesn't show how John was at all - other than the macho Northern Man™️ - but I really get a kick out of those slightly stuffy photos knowing that they all were quite the opposite.
Also, I think all of Dezo's photos are just what early Beatlemania was. I haven't come across a photo shooting from '63 where they don't look like they were having fun however daft it might've been. It's very endearing.
Terence Spencer:
I can't really pinpoint why I like him but I do. I also highly recommend his photo book for everyone who also likes '63 Beatles. Anyway he took the most gorgeous candid (!) shot of John:
Just because he shot the best photo of '66 (okay, not really because Bob Whitaker's Japan photos are still superior). But I just like the softness in all of his photos. It's all very dreamy with a twinge of sadness:
I just love his colour photos. There's just something quite unusual about them:
And of course he took the most p*rn photo ever.
The funny thing about David Bailey is that I adore his approach in photography but the John & Paul photos are the only ones I really like. The John one especially! Maybe he's too much of a fashion photographer to me to like him.
I just have to mention him because his book is my absolute favourite and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Beatlemania. From all the books I have it's the most affordable and really good quality.
The photographer for Beatles Book Monthly. The photos he took of John during the Robert Whitaker "Butcher" session and the recording session of "Rubber Soul" are just great (!!!) but he isn't really a photographer like the others. His strength is probably that he was almost always there and captured the Beatles while at work and never really posed them. That's also what makes his book really great. If you can get the limited edition it also makes for a very stylish coffee table book.
Edit: I just went through the Leslie Bryce tag and there're several gorgeous photos. Maybe he's the true hidden champion.
Whoever did the Lybro Jeans ad:
