Douglas Kirkland is one of photography’s legends, there’s no other way around it. He’s made a treasure trove full of images of the greatest personality that we saw in the latter part of the 20th century. And by greats I mean the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Mick Jagger, Sting, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rod Steiger, Peter Faulk, Michael Caine, Dr. Stephan Hawking, Morgan Freeman, Orson Welles, Andy Warhol, Oliver Stone, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, Sean Connery, Coco Chanel, Marlene Dietrich, Peter O’Toole, John Lennon, Brigitte Bardot, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Catherine Deneuve, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and of course Marilyn Monroe to name only a few. It’s as if you are not famous without having a Kirkland portrait. I can imagine the Hollywood dinner parties, “Darling, you won the Academy award, how droll. But, have you had your portrait made by Kirkland”? It’s not just the celebs either. If you are a famous photographer who do you go to get your portrait made? Well, Gordan Parks, Arnold Newman, Mary Ellen Marks, Pete Turner and Howard Bingham all went to him. The man’s freaking amazing and I am proud to have had this chance to interview him on Depth of Field. You might imagine a man with this kind of pedigree might come off haughty or stuck up. But if it’s Douglas Kirkland you’d be wrong. My conversation with Kirkland was as personable as if he was my uncle and he was willing to give help and advice like a long time mentor. There’s no question you’ll enjoy this interview with one of photography’s greats.
