Bill Shapiro, former editor-in-chief of Life Magazine
Today, at 66, Michael owns a photo studio in New York City specializing in architectural and real estate photography. But 45 years ago, right after he graduated from college, he began working for a small photo agency specializing in rock-n-roll. Between 1978 and 1980, he shot some 250 shows and countless performers, some stars and some soon-to-be stars and some never-to-be stars. He archived all of his work and tucked it into a storage locker. That locker, he told me, “is where I house my photos. But also my old cameras, letter, cards. It’s where I go to reflect and take stock of my life.” It wasn’t until 2018 that he excavated his early rock images and saw what he had.
And boy did he have the goods: Springsteen and Blondie and Belushi. Devo, Iggy, Zappa, and Patti. Grace Jones. Muddy Waters. Graham Parker. Gil Scott Heron. Most of the pictures were taken at small venues without a moat and phalanx of very large men between the audience and the stage. When I asked Michael what sort of moment made him push the shutter (it was film then, of course), he told me, “I wanted people to be able to look at a single photo and tap into the emotional and visceral experience of being there.”
Many of the performers—like Elvis Costello, the Police, the Talking Heads—had never played Chicago before. Says Michael, “It was a special moment in the history of the city. I was fortunate to be there.” We’re fortunate, too, and Michael’s photos—he shot nearly 1,000 rolls—reveal one of the things I love most about photography: How the passage of time can imbue a moment with legacy, history, memory, and gravitas.
For the Camera Curious: “I used a Nikon F Camera and all manual focus lenses in very lowlight situations.”
Patti Smith, 1979