Bob Dylan
Barry was the official photographer on the European leg of Bob Dylan’s 1966 world tour, in addition to photographing Dylan in 1963 and 1974
Barry Feinstein photographed Bob Dylan over an 11 year period, starting with the 1963 cover photograph for The Times They Are A-Changin’, majoring on the incendiary 1966 world tour and ending with the 1974 tour. Bob Dylan didn’t tour in the eight year void between 66 and 74, but Barry was there to capture the end of one creative peak and the start of a new one. Barry’s archive includes some of the most iconic and important photographs of Bob Dylan ever made; the 1966 portrait of Dylan in Liverpool surrounded by street kids which the BBC recreated in 2007 with as many of the original participants as they could locate; the Aust Ferry portrait used on the cover of Martin Scorcese’s No Direction Home, and many more.
Barry Feinstein passed away in October 2011. Handmade estate stamped silver gelatin photographs are for sale in a range of sizes from 16 x 20 inches upwards.
1963
New York City, 1963
“Columbia asked me to do an album cover, so I took Bob up to my friend John Cort’s penthouse apartment in New York City. I said, ‘Let’s go to the edge on the balcony and make some pictures.’ I was kneeling down and I said to Bob, ‘Look around, look at the landscape, the city and this and that.’ I went click, click, click. I didn’t have to shoot a lot of pictures because I knew immediately it was a very unusual shot and an angle and a moment with Bob. We looked at the proof sheet and he chose that shot. In those days the record company normally chose the picture for the cover, especially Columbia, but they let him do it this time. They did a good job. It wasn’t premeditated or anything, it was one of the quickest and easiest photo sessions I’ve ever done.” – Barry Feinstein
1966
While most people usually associate iconic Dylan imagery with the USA, the vast majority of the 1966 photographs in the exhibition were in fact taken in Britain and Ireland – in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, Sheffield, and other familiar locations.
“The mutual trust, respect and friendship we had for each other are reflected in these photographs. I liked his work, he liked mine. He knew I would make him look interesting – and he was interesting. I knew I was in the presence of genius” Barry Feinstein
“11 May, Waiting at the Aust Ferry Terminal near Bristol to go to Cardiff in Wales. They chose this shot for the cover of Scorsese’s No Direction Home CD and DVD. It’s one that Bob likes as it told it all. It has depth, he looked cool. I guess he felt it represented the moment to him. Just waiting for the ferry and it turned out to be a good picture” Barry Feinstein
“We saw this big store front with the letters ‘LSD’. We stopped to check it out. It was a betting shop. Bob went inside to see what it was like but her didn’t place a bet. ‘LSD’ was very symbolic” Barry Feinstein
“Bob and I were friends long before we worked together. We hung out and understood each other. When there was something to say we would talk, when there wasn’t we were silent. We were similar in that way, no bullshit. That’s the way it is in music. What often makes a piece of music great are the notes left out. And it’s like that with photography; knowing when to take a shot and, more importantly, when not to. I wanted my pictures to say something. I don’t really like stand-up portraits, there’s nothing there, no life, no feeling. I was much more interested in capturing real moments.” Barry Feinstein
“We were in Ireland, travelling between Dublin and Belfast, the only time I’ve ever been on a train in one country where you had to go through customs. I couldn’t understand it, it was pretty weird, they didn’t give us any trouble though, just let us through. There were only a few shows, Belfast and Dublin, but he was very popular, they loved him there and really appreciated the acoustic music. We got out a bit and looked at the countryside” Barry Feinstein
“Almost all my Dylan shots were taken unawares. We trusted each other and I captured him as he was at this moment – the loneliness and isolation of being Bob Dylan” Barry Feinstein
1974
Other Artists
Biography
Barry Feinstein’s photography presents a realm of photography documenting Hollywood’s most extraordinary artists. His work has featured in Life, Look, Time, Esquire, Newsweek and numerous other magazines and on many album covers. His photographs of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Janis Joplin and others are notable “classics” of the genre. The timelessness of his Hollywood work in the ‘50s and ‘60s is unique in comparison to today’s “quick-shoot and get-it-there” digital world.