Facts: Music in the Garden / “Midsummer magic”
The photo exhibition “Midsummer magic” with Henry Diltz and Pattie Boyd takes place between 26 June and 1 July in the Botanical Garden in Uppsala. The event is part of the Music in the Garden festival.
In 1966, Henry Diltz played in the folk rock band Modern Folk Quartet and lived in Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles. On a tour, he bought a cheap camera at a thrift store and took the picture that made him realize his cold: when his band blew up an old bass case with firecrackers out in the New Mexico desert.
– I became a photographer when I saw it projected on a wall in the dark. Of course the audience was full of my stony hippie friends, we musicians smoked some of God’s herb, you know? It made the pictures look better too, says Henry Diltz, who is now 83 years old.
Together with Pattie Boyd, the photo veteran comes to Sweden to show his pictures in the exhibition “Midsummer magic” in Uppsala – and experience the Swedish midsummer themselves.
During his youth, Henry Diltz photographed his friends Neil Young, The Eagles, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Joni Mitchell and Mama Cass, who began using his images for promotion and album covers. He also became Woodstock’s official photographer, and was able to document Jimi Hendrix backstage.
Legendary The Doors cover
The Doors hired him for a record cover, but the band had no ideas or even a title for the record. However, keyboardist Ray Manzarek mentioned that he had driven past something called the Morrison Hotel.
– This was a place for “winos” (poor wine alcoholics reds remark) and the rooms cost 2.50 dollars, remembers Henry Diltz.
– We went into the lobby but the guy at the reception said that we were not allowed to take photos without the permission of the owner, who was a well-known foam landlord. First we went out to the front because they could not stop us if we are on the street. Then I saw a light through the window and realized that it was the elevator lamp, which meant that the guy had left his place. So they ran in again and I photographed them in five minutes. Then Jim Morrison said “we’ll have a drink” because it was around four in the afternoon, says Henry Diltz.
The year was 1969 when The Doors were first thrown out of the Morrison Hotel, says photographer Henry Diltz, who captured the cover photo for the classic album when the receptionist was gone. Press image.
– My style is “the fly on the wall”, Henry Diltz explains. I like to document and observe. I do not use a studio or extra lighting. I want to see real life. I’m a musician and musicians like to hang out.
British Pattie Boyd, 78, started as a photo model in the 60s and gradually realized that she wanted to become a photographer. She has been married to both George Harrison of the Beatles and Eric Clapton, and has been the inspiration for some of their greatest hits. But the men have also been sources of inspiration in her photographs. Like the famous picture of her and George Harrison in a garden of roses from 1968.
– We came back from India with the rest of the Beatles and that summer I was very happy that my roses had started to bloom. I set up my camera on a tripod and asked George to stand with me. I set a timer and then we stood there waiting, waiting and waiting for it to click. Of course, George got bored and looked away and then the camera clicked, says Pattie Boyd.
Every photo an intimate relationship
TT: Who has been the hardest to photograph over the years?
– Maybe Eric (Clapton reds remark). He always got annoyed because I took so many pictures of him. Every day and every night, because I thought he was so beautiful, says Pattie Boyd and laughs.
In addition to the exhibition at the Botanical Garden in Uppsala, Boyd is currently working on selecting images for an upcoming photo book about her life, which depicts her own modeling and photography career.
– I like to communicate with the person, so that it is like an extension of a conversation. These are intimate photos because of the relationship between me and the person I am photographing, says Pattie Boyd.
Photographer Henry Diltz visits the Botanical Garden in Uppsala to tell about photos from the wild hippie years. Press photo. Pattie Boyd found her passion for photography throughout her modeling career and says that she constantly walks around thinking about photos. Press image.