Stolen Moments
“Those stolen moments with musicians, though often pregnant with privacy , forced Chuck to give the same amount of respect he was given. Only later, with a concern for protecting the person and his or her integrity , he might be coaxed into sharing what he remembered.”
AUTHOR, ACTIVIST, TEACHER, JOURNALIST, HERB BOYD
Frank Sinatra
I shot this at a concert in 1965 in New York City. Frank had been working for Capitol Records out of Los Angeles, but when he came for this show, he dismissed other photographers because I had worked with him before on his previous label in New York, so he said I could stay.
Now capture the moment. I had seen it before, but I knew the precise time to capture him making the statement on stage, so he trusted I would get it right. Compositionally, notice the lighting, and where the eye gravitates to. See the elements in the shot, and understand that a moment, with minimal aspects is more important, so you realize it is a Sinatra moment — not background and other things. I saw it early, and knew he would get right back to that moment that was just Frank!
- CHUCK STEWART
Ellington & Stowkowski
So, Maestro Stokowski offered 70 year-old Ellington and 65 year-old Armstrong a glass of champagne, and they declined explaining that neither of them drank. Stokowski’s reply was “You boys are too young to have bad stomachs.” Truth is Ellington and Armstrong were just purist to the music and not the bad habits that others became weak to. But nothing wrong with an offer from the Maestro.
- CHUCK STEWART
Nat King Cole
I took this photo of Nat King Cole in the studio, I guess — 1958. See, as a trusted photographer, I was the one guy that they let in to capture him in the most unguarded moments. So, this picture is of Nat listening to the playback in the studio, and he wasn’t worried about how he looked because he trusted me to get his best image; even though he wasn’t expressing his best image at the time because he was working.
So from a composition aspect, I viewed it as a circular viewpoint; in essence, where does the eye travel? The edges aren’t so important. It started with the lights above as a frame of reference, then you follow the lights down to him as the main focus, and your visual stays within the circle of importance. And, it still culminates in the mood that you catch him during that soundtrack being played back, and how you capture his feelings in the moment. Again, not the camera, just the moment — and, then there’s Nat!
- CHUCK STEWART
Earl “Fatha” Hines
When I saw the piano in his glasses, I thought this would make for a great picture. I waited for the right moment of expression, and then took the shot.
- CHUCK STEWART
Marian Anderson
Here’s how I got started: On my 13th birthday, my mother gave me a 616 Box-Brownee. One day the famed mezzo-soprano Marian Anderson visited my school in Tucson, Arizona. I took pictures of the event and sold them for $2 a piece. That was a great jump from the 25-cents allowance I was currently receiving, and I knew what I wanted to do from there.
I received my Fine Arts degree in Photography from Ohio University, where I met my mentor Herman Leonard. After I graduated, I joined Herman in New York City where he was studying under famed portrait photographer Joseph Karsh. I did a lot of the grunt work, but I learned a lot in terms of setting up a shot, and what the photographer is looking to translate to the audience. See, a camera is just a tool that helps to translate what the photographer wants you to see, and I hope that you like what you see here on the website.
- CHUCK STEWART
Charles Mingus
I was shooting upward to get the lighting and the composition of his face in the best light. I used a 602 strobe-light to get the affect off of the ceiling to get a better quality, and a more distinctive look. The lighting maintained the quality of the picture, and made it look more natural; even though the aperture of the camera wouldn’t necessitate such a natural look, as the lighting falls off at certain depths, so I lighted towards a greater depth-of-field.
- CHUCK STEWART
This was at a studio session of Mingus listening to a playback.