Behind the Lens: Photographer Gene Martin

by Rick Landers

Armed with his trusty Nikon rig, New York-based, award-winning photographer, Gene Martin, is well known for producing eye and mind grabbing conceptual portraits. Martin has made a name for himself covering music greats such as Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Les Paul, Steve Miller, Steve Lukather, Stanley Jordan, and Peter Frampton, who represent a small sample of those who've looked into Martin's lens. Of course the list of his subjects is long - he's shot over 300 CD covers.

Gene earned his stripes as a professional guitar player for fifteen years before transitioning to photography. His times on stage and on the road gave him strong credentials and insights that have helped open doors to the music industry and guitar community.

Martin's photography has run the gamut from shoots with Margaret Thatcher to Bill Cosby to Cyndi Lauper. With a total of over 50 covers on JazzTimes Magazine alone, Gene has made a name for himself in jazz circles with some remarkable photographs of legendary jazz musicians.

His portraits have been seen in a host of mainstream publications including Newsweek, US, People, U.S. News & World Report, New York magazine, Entertainment Weekly and many others around the globe.

Gene Martin has been ranked as one of the top 50 portrait photographers in the world in the book, The Best Portrait Photography by the former editor of Peterson's Photographic.

Modern Guitars magazine caught up with Gene while he was in the throes of developing five new CD covers, speaking at a major photography convention, and preparing for an interview for fashion photographer Robert Farber's on-line magazine Double Exposure.

A lot of photographers are a bit eccentric and see a different world than most of us. Do you fall into that category or are you a pretty typical guy?

Gene Martin: I'm laughing pretty hard at that one. I'm a Pisces! That should be all I need to say to answer that question. I'm insane! But in a good way, if the "most of us" know what I mean.

After you've clicked the shutter, how often are you surprised by the shot?

GM: Almost never. That's not the way I work. I guess I should say I'm very pleasantly surprised when the image is everything and more than I hoped for, but my work is of a conceptual nature which means a lot of thought went into it before image capture.

I have a pretty good handle on what I'm going after and what the results will be. This is a bit different from the way a lot of photographers would work, especially if their images consisted mostly of performance shooting. I approach my work like painting. It's not haphazard. I go into it with a definitive idea but I'm able to "bob and weave" with the circumstances on any given shoot. Even when shooting performance work I usually have a concept.

How do you approach your craft or is it an art? Do you start with some concept, then progress to how to compose a piece and then decide on what equipment, lighting, and environment you need to get what you want or are you more spontaneous?

GM: I definitely consider what I do an art. I think I've pretty much answered this in the last question, but I can elaborate a bit. I definitely start with a concept, then figure out how I need to proceed with equipment, location, props, etcetera, to bring my idea to fruition.

As far as being spontaneous. The real art comes into play when someone or something throws a monkey wrench into the works and you have to switch gears fast. In that case, like I said before, I'll "bob and weave" with the circumstances. It's kind of like taking an abrupt left turn. I'll do it and still come up with something conceptual that I'm satisfied with. The ability to do that under pressure when photographing celebrities really separates the "men from the boys" in this business.

Tell us about getting into photography and at what point did you realize that it would be your life's work?

GM: Well, it went along with music concurrently since I was pretty young. Like a lot of folks my age, we were turned onto rock 'n' roll by watching The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet on TV. At the end of the show in the late '50s, a character on the show, Ricky Nelson (the real life son of Ozzie and Harriet) sung a song.

I think I was first attracted to the way the girls swooned over him but it wasn't long before the guy making those twangy sounds with the Telecaster in the background caught my attention. That was, of course, the great James Burton.

By April of '61, Ricky and the band released "Hello Mary Lou" with "Travelin' Man" on the flip. When I heard those two guitar solos, I was hooked on guitar. The Beatles, of course, would later "clinch the deal".

I was always kind of a "techie" guy and by the mid '60s I saw a camera on the cover of Modern Photography magazine and was intrigued by all the buttons and dials. That's how my interest in photography started. At that point I made no connection between combining the two mediums.

My uncle, who was a photographer in the Navy, gave me some gear to get started. It wasn't until much later that I saw how I could be involved in both mediums. I took a vocational test in my senior year of high school that asked hundreds of questions that seemed "out to lunch". Much to my surprise, the results were that I should pursue #1: Music, and #2: Photography!

After a brief period in college for photography, I dropped out and pursued a music career, and quite a few others! It was pretty easy to drop out of school at that time. It was the crazy '60s. I had a pretty wild time!

Most of your life you seem to have been hanging around musicians. How did that start and how did it lead to where you find yourself today?

GM: Well, I played in bands in high school. I grew up on Long Island which had a pretty big music scene. You could see Leslie West with The Vagrants or The Young Rascals playin' around the Island. Vanilla Fudge, The Illusion, Billy Joel in The Hassles, and many more. I didn't really think much about putting the two mediums together until much later, around the early '80s.

I never got into writing much music, but I played all styles of guitar, 5 string banjo, pedal steel guitar and Dobro, etcetera. I wanted to be the ultimate sideman just like James Burton, but the constant dealings and politics of band member personalities was starting to wear me down. It's at that point that I started to rethink my future and I thought being a "one man band", as a photographer might be the way to go to channel my creative energy. Working in the music end of photography was a "no brainer"!

Any awkward moments where you've been with well known musicians as a friend and found yourself stepping out of that role and wanting to get some shot, but deciding it would turn sour a coveted moment?

GM: Not really. I'm always the photographer and I think people, musicians or whoever, pick up on my passion. Sometimes common sense has to prevail though. I was just in Los Angeles during the Grammy's and was in the same rehearsal space as Paul McCartney. I had my equipment set up on the premises but declined to try to solicit a portrait session, even a quick one.

He was in a rush, a car waiting, I'm sure he had the Grammy's on his mind. It just didn't seem like the right time. I try not to stress out too much about the one that got away. I've been pretty lucky. They seem to come back around to me somehow. Karma perhaps? [Smiles]

What gear do you always have with you? Your "walking around just in case" gear?.

GM: Well, I do always have a camera with me. Sometimes my choice would depend on my mood. Whether I wanted to break up the routine. A film camera? Digital? For a while I always had my Nikon F5's or my trusty Leica 35mm with me. I had three of them at one time. Sometimes I'd carry all three because they were so small.

The technology has moved forward so rapidly though, I have to admit, I've totally emmersed myself in the benefits of digital capture. Anyone who says, "Yeah, it's good for color but you can't get good black & white" doesn't have the work flow down. It's absolutely the best thing to come along since improvements in color film and higher ISO ratings. So much in fact, that I've sold ALL my Leicas! I miss their feel and craftsmanship, but I had to more forward.

Today, I'll be carrying one of my three Nikon digltal cameras. A D2x, a D1x, or the little D70s. I like the D70s for street shooting. It's small and relatively quiet for an SLR. It's become my Leica.

And when you go to a shoot, what do you typically bring?

GM: That'll vary depending on the shoot. Is it a simple portrait or a complicated shot implying motion? It could be just a few bags of gear or ten cases of equipment.

On a complicated shoot I'll have my Speedotron flash equipment, various tungsten lights, lightstands, backgrounds, clamps, reflectors, softboxes and umbrellas, cases of miscellaneous gear, and my laptop of course. I'm using Nikon digital cameras exclusively now. I have the workflow down with those cameras and Nikon's software to get exactly the color renditions I got with film, with a lot more flexibility.

Tell us about your first rock gig.

GM: When I first started shooting in high school I hadn't specifically thought about being a photographer in the music field as a profession, but when the opportunity arose, I'd use my camera, of course. I went to many shows at both Stoney Brook College and Suffolk Community.

I think the first rock gig where I got images published was Blood, Sweat, and Tears at Suffolk Community College. I remember "bullying" my way past the security guard to get to the dressing room. He said, "With the school paper, right?" I said, "Right" and he let me on through. Remember, I was still in high school!

Later I got some great images of the Dead, Eric Clapton with Cream and Blind Faith, and Linda Ronstadt before superstardom. She was playing The Bitter End on Bleeker Street in Greenwich Village, a pretty small venue. I'd even played there years later!

Tell us about some of the CD covers you've enjoyed developing and how you figure out what type of CD cover a group or musician needs?

GM: Well, the first thing I ask is what the title will be. If there's any way I can make a conceptual image that plays off the title, I try to do that. And it's challenging and fun at the same time.

I shot 52 covers for JazzTimes magazine between 1988 and 1998. Coming up with an idea almost every month kept the creative juices flowing. It's the same with CD packaging.

Lately, I've had the good fortune to be shooting most all the covers for the HighNote and Savant labels. Some of my favorite packaging has been for them.

When I photographed the packaging for David Valentin's World on a String CD, I scoured the city looking for the perfect globe to dangle from a string on his finger.

With Freddy Cole's CD, This Love of Mine, I wanted to photograph him with a retro microphone but I couldn't acquire one in time. I remembered the tune Linda Ronstadt recorded called "Love is a Rose" and I said, "That's it, a rose will work"! A simple idea but it worked just fine. That's the sort of thing I like to do. With over 300 CD covers under my belt, I'm constantly thinking of ideas.

Let's open this up a bit and tell us some stories of musicians that you've always found interesting to shoot, those with a great sense of humor, and anyone that you always like to shoot.

GM: I like photographing musicians that like my ideas![Laughs]

No, seriously, I'm most attached to the guitar so I enjoy meeting and photographing guitarists the most. As far as a sense of humor, I think Dave Valentin has been one of the funniest. McCoy Tyner is probably the one I always look forward to shooting. That guy is a real gentleman! I been taking his publicity photos since 1989 besides photographing him for the cover of JazzTimes twice, Clavier Magazine once, and 3 CD covers. He's just a pleasure to work with.

Most interesting musicians face to shoot?

GM: Well, Les Paul was one of the great ones. Any face with a lot of expression, one that almost tells a story when you look at it. From my latest shoots I'd say Buddy Guy and Hubert Sumlin fit the bill. Their faces have years of experience etched on them. I'd just like to sit down and listen to those stories.

You were a professional guitar player for 15 years. Do you still play?

GM: I can somewhat but the old chops aren't what they used to be. I've pretty much dedicated myself, and happily so, to being a photographer. With my schedule lately, it doesn't leave much time for practice, but the guitar will always be a part of me.

How has your own musicianship helped you understand the relationship between the artist, his or her work, and their musical gear?

GM: Oh, I can't say enough about how influential that has been!

I know it's helped me develop a rapport with musicians that I otherwise would not have been able to do. I remember talking about my Dobro playing when I had Michael Brecker in the studio for a shoot. He got so excited. He said, "Do you have it here? Let me hear you play it". We went on talking about Stan Getz, etcetera. We were talking on the same level.

I was still studying bebop guitar with the late Remo Palmier when I photographed Freddie Hubbard. I spoke to him about the Lydian b7 scales I was working on. I remember him saying, "I don't know what they are, but I bet I can play 'em". There's no question that my music background has been a helpful link between me and the people I photograph.

Last year we met at the Les Paul Tribute concert at Carnegie Hall and you were working on a concept that was based on a series of photographs of the players at the show.

GM: Yup! It started as a project I was trying to get Gibson interested in. I was photographing everybody that was involved with the Les Paul show or played on his new CD,Les Paul and Friends, American Made, World Played.

When I photographed Les out at his home in New Jersey, I asked him for some rock 'n' roll attitude. He stuck his tongue out at me which has become one of the most recognized images of him taken in recent years. It's in the CD's booklet.

My idea was to have everybody else involved do the same thing, or at least give me something special. Preferably something upbeat and lighthearted that delves into their personality. With all my CD cover work, I've photographed so many more musicians since then in the same context that it's become a very unique "Famous Musicians" series. There are so many guitarists in the series playing Les Pauls, that it still has the Gibson element within it. It's now a series within a series!

I understand you're going to California to cover a West Coast version of the Les Paul Tribute. Who's playing?

GM: Blues legends Buddy Guy and Hubert Sumlin, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Steve Lukather, Neal Schon, Joe Satriani, Edgar Winter, Joe Perry, Allison Krauss and more. Quite a lineup. Even actor and Martial Arts wizard Steven Seagal is playing. Turns out he's a blues afficianado and will be playing with Hubert Sumlin.

Throughout your career you've met hundreds of guitarists and other musicians. Which ones have been the most fascinating over time and why?

GM: Well Les Paul is certainly one of them, very high up on the list. Along with Leo Fender, Adolf Rickenbacker, and Paul Bigsby, Les pioneered the solid body electric guitar. Not only that but he pioneered reverb, tape echo, multi-track recording, and I don't know how many other things. Recording the way we know it today is all because of him.

On the Les Paul and Friends CD, Joss Stone is recorded in Los Angeles and Sting is recorded in Italy. For the same tune! That's all because of Les Paul.

Dizzy Gillespie is another that I found fascinating. Anyone who's on the cutting edge of something new is interesting to to me. Although, not a musician (as far as I know) meeting Leo Fender before he passed away was a big thrill for me.

Who are some of the rock legends that you've met that have been the kindest or most down to earth?

GM: Well, I can think of some that have not been down to earth, but they'll remain nameless. Certainly Edgar Winter is a standout as kind and down to earth. Very genteel and soft spoken. A sweetheart of a guy. Billy Gibbons was the same.

When I photographed Slash from Velvet Revolver I was expecting the "Axel Rose Guns 'N' Roses" attitude. No way! What a great guy. And very funny!

I asked him to sign some autographs so I could make some autographed framed pictures at a later date to give as gifts. One was for Les Paul. Other people started gathering around and asking for autographs. He did it graciously. A very cool guy!

Any others?

GM: One of the real standouts has to be Steve Miller. I photographed a portrait of him just before a show in Pennsylvania while he was out on tour. We got drenched in a rain shower during the show and were hangin' with Steve backstage later on. He insisted on drying our clothes in the tour bus. He gave us Steve Miller tour sweat shirts to wear. This guy has made "mucho bucks" but is as down to earth as it gets. We all sat around smoking cigars as we waited for our clothes to dry. It was a great experience.

Do you prefer the black and white medium or color?

GM: I like them both really. When I started in photography and when I was exploring street photography as fine art I really got into black and white.

We see, however, in color and I'm very aware of coordinating colors, complementary colors, etcetera. Using color creatively can be quite striking and, in its own way, have a certain power that many find in the black and white medium. I think you have to read more into what the photographer has done with the color. It's a more complicated medium.

Black and white is just that, black, white, and shades of gray. It's graphic by nature but color can be too. It's just more complex. By and large, I'm most known for my color work.

I understand you got burnt out for a while, but have recently decided to get back into taking photographs within the world of music.

GM: In the late '90s I was really focused on a long distance relationship which ended in disaster. I was also tired of fighting to get paid, fighting to get transparencies back, etecetera, etcetera. I just started to stray.

After a whirlwind entrance to the business in the mid '80s, going straight from being a musician to photographing musicians I needed a break.

Then in 2001 after the relationship crashed and burned, I had some serious health issues. I went blind in my left eye due to a blood clot! I really needed to slow down so I pursued the fine art market for a couple of years. What prompted me to re-enter the music business was simple. I really missed it!

I didn't realize how much until 2004 when I photographed Les Paul. I had such a great time with this living legend I realized what I was missing. I've been fortunate to have met some people instrumental to me making a comeback as strong as I have.

Bill Hurter and Skip Cohen of Rangefinder Magazine have been really supportive. They did a cover story on my work in 2002 which got the ball rolling back in this direction. They have since covered my work many times and are instrumental in my entering the lecture circuit which I'm very involved with now. My association with Les Paul has had a big influence.

Probably the most credit should go to Joe and Barney Fields at HighNote records, producer Bob Cutarella, and producer/promoter Charles Carlini of The Carlini Group and In Touch Entertainment. I owe all these folks a debt of gratitude because they've helped me get back to what I do best and what I love to do. I'm forever grateful.

I do try to take things a little easier these days. I don't intend to burn out again anytime soon.

With the advent of digital photography, there are literally billions of photos taken each year. What makes a professional photographer's photo stand out as unique or more interesting from an artistic perspective?

GM: One word: talent!

How have you evolved as a photographer with respect to digital photography and the use of modern technologies and the way you approach photography.

GM: I'll start by saying, I was a film "holdout". I had a lifetime of film experience and I was capturing images just the way I wanted them and as they say, "If it ain't broke don't fix it." I have to say that I was forced into digital to stay current. To keep up with clients wants and needs. After getting the feel for digital, things that were the same as film as well as the differences. It didn't take me long to realize the potential of this new technology.

In a very short time I was hooked. Many photographers I know had a problem making the transition, but with my years shooting on transparency film for offset reproduction, I had it down after a couple of jobs. Transparency film has very little latitude for error. Digital is the same, so from my past experience I had a definite advantage. There's so much more I could say on this subject. All I say is, except for some therapy sessions where I just hang in the darkroom to inhale the fumes, [Smiles] I won't be shooting much film again.

Do you miss the good old days when you had to go into a darkroom and watch the image emerge in the developing tray? Or do you still do that too?

GM: Who says those were the "good old days"? I think now is the "good old days". I definitely enjoyed processing black and white film for a long while and being in suspense until that strip of film came off the reel and I saw what I'd captured. But times have changed.

I can still do it. I still have the equipment. But as I said before, it was more therapeutic to me than anything. Our whole new way of image capture and workflow has so many advantages over the old analog way that it just can't be denied. If you're working at it as a hobby, I don't think it makes a difference, but if you're working professionally, you just can't deny the tremendous advantages of the new technology.

Most artists have more than one finger in the pie and have lots of projects going on at the same time or at least have several bundled up waiting to get started. What about you?

GM: I've gotten very interested in sharing my knowledge, so I'm lecturing more and more. I'm good at it and it's a ton of fun to be flown someplace, put up in a hotel, and get paid to talk about what you love doing. I'm also in the process of writing a book on photographic lighting technique. Apart from that, it's shoot, shoot, shoot and see where the next adventure takes me.

Gene Martin Photo Gallery

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Gene Martin

Gene Martin
Gene Martin Photography
New York City
212-861-0811
GMPfoto@aol.com

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