There’s a great photo exhibition on in London with images of The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix.
If NME photographer Dean Chalkley has the best job in the world, then running him a close second is a man I met yesterday.
Guy White is the owner of Snap Galleries, a specialist rock n roll photo gallery based in Piccadilly, London. He has just launched a new and unique exhibition of classic photographs by legendary rock n roll photographer Gered Mankowitz.
I first came across Mankowitz’s work in the book A Star Is Born which showed an amazing image of Jimi Hendrix called Red Smoke taken in 1967. Some further shots (like the one above) from this session are featured in this latest exhibition, which surprisingly is Mankowitz’s first career retrospective..
He is also well known for his early images of The Stones taken when he was their official photographer between 1965 and 1967. He took the image that became the Between The Buttons album cover, with the blurred edges being formed by his smearing Vaseline around the edge of the lens! Somehow I don’t think I shall be trying that on my camera. Maybe someone else’s though…
His pictures of the band taken at his studio in Masons Yard (and a great image above of The Yardbirds with Jimmy Page second from the right) featured in the Beatles to Bowie exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery in 2009.
The Snap Gallery has built up a strong reputation for rare, iconic rock photography and is displaying a hundred and two images over two floors in an unusually small (8×10) format all in black and white and made by hand from the original negatives. All photos are available for sale in limited editions of only nine prints at this smaller size – images which surely are as small and appealing as Pippa Middleton‘s bottom.
Guy has built up the gallery over the last ten years after making the transition from collector to gallery owner, moving the business from Birmingham to London two years ago. His reputation is such that Jimmy Page was on call to open this exhibition. The gallery, at 12 Piccadilly Arcade is well worth a visit if you are in the vicinity…while you are there do pick up a photo for me… And if you bump into Pippa, tell her I said “Hi”…
The Gered Mankowitz exhibition runs from 28th April to 16th June.
Images copyright and used with the permission of Snap Galleries. www.snapgalleries.com
The full collection can be viewed and purchased online here
The Man with The Greatest Job in the World can be found here…
Record #40: Jimi Hendrix – Crosstown Traffic
Every record tells a story 
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