Peter Adams: Photographers

Anyone with two telephones on their desk is asking for trouble.Annie had three. They rang continuously and I was getting desperate.I needed to find somewhere quiet. “There’s always the roof!” said Annie. “It’s pouring with rain” I said. “Let’s go!” she replied

The photographers I met while working on ‘Who Shot That?’ have never ceased to surprise me. Mary Ellen Mark has travelled to some of the most desperate and far flung corners of the world in search of her great pictures and stories - yet her Manhattan studio is filled with a collection of soft toys and teddy bears.

I photographed Roger on 'The Cobb' at Lyme Regis against the same harbour wall that was used in the film The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles - whose home was just up the street. Mayne recorded the people in the community of  Southam Street in London in 1956, four years before the street was demolished and the residents were scattered across the country. 

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Meyerowitz is probably best known for a series of images he made around his home, which resulted in a book called ‘Cape Light’. But he also makes portraits. Meyerowitz: “I ran an advertisement in the local paper for redheads – I was inundated.  They came to my deck bringing with them their courage and their shyness, their curiosity and their dreams and their stories of their childhood.  They were totally honest and I tried to record their honesty.”

“Wow!” I said. “Look at that view!” Roger Minick had brought me to one of his favourite places in Oregon. The view was magnificent and I turned around to tell him so and that’s when I saw this shot - sometimes the best shots are behind you.

I photographed Sarah outside her Paris home. She dragged herself out of bed for this portrait - she was struggling with a very bad back pain. A true professional on both sides of the camera - Sarah was a model before she became a photographer - she seemed to belong to a different century.

I photographed David Moore with an Angophora tree behind him, near his property at Lobster Bay. In 1975 he photographed the same Angophora and titled his photograph ‘The Impossible Tree’. In many ways the tree reminded me of David: resilient, complex, gnarled and seemingly indestructable. I took him back to his tree in 1983. Not much had changed.

Raymond Moore hated being in front of the camera. I had already shot three rolls without much success. While I was photographing him, his young wife - a former sytudent - came up to me and whispered in my ear “Can you do a shot on the swing as well?” I nodded my head and, shortly afterwards, heard the sound of a hand saw being used to cut down the hedge behind the swing. (You can see the stumps in the portrait). She explained later,“The hedge was blocking the view of Half Morton Church on the hill - where Raymond will eventually be buried”. Raymond died a few months later.

Raymond Moore hated being in front of the camera. I had already shot three rolls without much success. While I was photographing him, his young student wife came up to me and whispered in my ear “Can you do a shot on the swing as well?” I nodded my head and, shortly afterwards, heard the sound of a hand saw being used to cut down the hedge behind the swing. (You can see the stumps in the portrait). She explained later,“The hedge was blocking the view of Half Morton Church on the hill - where Raymond will eventually be buried”. Raymond died a few months later.

Raymond Moore hated being in front of the camera. I had already shot three rolls without much success. While I was photographing him, his young student wife came up to me and whispered in my ear “Can you do a shot on the swing as well?” I nodded my head and, shortly afterwards, heard the sound of a hand saw being used to cut down the hedge behind the swing. (You can see the stumps in the portrait). She explained later,“The hedge was blocking the view of Half Morton Church on the hill - where Raymond will eventually be buried”. Raymond died a few months later.

Arnold: “Why photograph me in front of my kitchen, when I have a gallery of famous artists and sculptors in the next room?” Peter: “Because it’s how I remember you! Everytime we meet here, it is usually over a bowl of chicken soup and a slice of bread in your kitchen.” Arnold: “Then why not photograph me inside the kitchen?” Peter: “Because I don’t want to disturb Gus - she’s knocking-up some chicken soup.”

Arnold: “Why photograph me in front of my kitchen, when I have a gallery of famous artists and sculptors in the next room?” Peter: “Because it’s how I remember you! Everytime we meet here, it is usually over a bowl of chicken soup and a slice of bread in your kitchen.” Arnold: “Then why not photograph me inside the kitchen?” Peter: “Because I don’t want to disturb Gus - she’s knocking-up some chicken soup.”