The Stories Behind the Photos
Allen Ginsberg, March 1994
I was living in Montreal during the winter of 1994, taking some courses at Concordia University, where I was also the photo editor of the weekly student newspaper, The Link. One morning I found out that Allen Ginsberg was in Montreal and was going to give an on-campus press conference in the afternoon and a reading/performance in the evening. Remarkably, no one at the newspaper seemed interested, mainly because no one had heard of him.
I’d read a lot of beat literature in university and seen a lot of documentaries about the movement, so the chance to see Ginsberg in person and photograph him was an exciting prospect for a young photographer who was just starting out.
I got the details of where and when he’d arrive and proceeded to buy film. I didn’t have any, and not knowing if I’d be able to use my flash, I took no chances and bought a brick of TMAX-3200 black and white. Whatever the lighting conditions, I’d be ready.
The press conference was packed, not only with students and other university people, but also media. Obviously, this was a big deal. And I was the only “student” photographer there. But I had all my gear with me and looked professional—or so I hoped. So I made my way to the front row of seats and sat down. I had to get as close as possible. I only had one lens, a 52mm, no zoom. I hoped no one would notice.
Ginsberg talked and I photographed intermittently along with the other photographers, while tape recorders and TV cameras rolled. I was hoping that he would look into my lens directly. But he didn’t. I later discovered that Ginsberg rarely looked directly at a camera unless it was for a “formal” portrait. If you want to check this out for yourself, do a search and look through a bunch of Ginsberg photos. You’ll see what I mean.
I was pleased with how the press conference went and I thought I’d gotten some decent shots. I wondered whether I should put the film into the lab (this was before digital photography) or wait and see what I got at his evening performance. I decided to wait. But the stuff from the conference turned out to be better. Later that evening there was a reception, and I had a chance to talk briefly to Ginsberg for a minute or so. I didn’t want to act like the typical adoring fan, so I just told him that it was a pleasure to meet and photograph him. If I’d been younger and/or prettier, I’m sure he would have been more interested in me, but I didn’t mind, that wasn’t my intention anyway. The next day I had the film developed. I went to a professional lab, not trusting the chemistry we had at the newspaper’s darkroom, and I was quite pleased with the results. I’d photographed my first celebrity. And not just any celebrity. A real pop culture icon.
The Link published one of the photos on the front page of that week’s issue, much to my surprise. It was my first cover. And several years later, the French magazine PHOTO published the same pic in its special contest issue. It was my first published photo in a real magazine.