Terry O'Neill (02/27/1948): photo frame, as "a brief moment of perfection." Terry O'Neill: photo frame as "a brief moment of perfection From the Beatles to Kate Moss

Diego Alonso's retrospective selection of photographs by Diego Alonso of Terry O'Neill for an exhibition at the Mondo Galeria shows the range of work of this author, who, from the 60s to the present, photographs young talents from the world of music, Hollywood stars, models and other inhabitants of "multi-star" hotels.

Terry O'Neill's career began with an unexpected twist of fate. He was going to go to the United States and become a musician there, but accidentally photographed the British Foreign Secretary at London Airport, who fell asleep while waiting for the plane. The newspaper bought this photo from him, and, as they say, “wrap it up ...”.

Terry O'Neill's personal style is determined by two circumstances. This is the use of a light and compact 35mm camera and the time that he spends with his subjects, becoming in fact their “shadow” for the whole day, or even for several days. The result is that natural, direct and outwardly "random" style that is characteristic of the author throughout his career.

From the Beatles to Kate Moss

O'Neill was the first to shoot bands. It was he who took the first photographs of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, then published them in the press. So, he recalls that the first published photograph of the Liverpool Four was taken by him in 1963, in the courtyard of the legendary Abbey Road Studio. It was his first "portrait" of a pop group, and the first time such a photograph was published on the front page of a newspaper. This issue, by the way, was sold out very quickly :)

Living in London in the 60s, the photographer watched from the inside as this city became the capital of world culture and fashion. At this time, he meets with the Rolling Stones, with models such as Jean Shrimpton (Jean Shrimpton) or Mary Quant (Mary Quant), actors such as Michael Caine (Michael Caine) and Julia Christie (Julie Christie), a close friendship is established. with Ringo Starr. This is the beginning of Terry's career, full of various adventures and anecdotal situations.

He could photograph all supermodels, from Shrimpton to Naomi Campbell (Naomi Campbell) or Kate Moss (Kate Moss), and such beautiful actresses as Ava Gardner (Ava Gardner), Rachel Welch (Raquel Welch) and Goldie Hawn (Goldie Hawn). However, among all the female legends, he certainly singles out Audrey Hebburn (Audrey Hepburn): “She was the most unusual“ star ”of all that I photographed, perfect and beautiful. It was simply impossible to shoot badly! There is no one like Audrey now and there never will be,” says the photographer.

Spontaneity

Terry O'Neill has witnessed many unique moments. He photographed Marlene Dietrich during her last concert in Europe, and Romy Schneider two months before her death. In his interviews, O'Neal says that the best thing that happened to him in his life was to shoot Frank Sinatra (Frank Sinatra) for thirty years. Sinatra allowed the photographer to accompany him everywhere, ignoring his presence. "It's the best thing you can do for a photographer," Terry says. “I could go with him wherever he went, whenever I wanted to, and film anything. That kind of spontaneity works absolutely great.” However, despite all these years spent together, they never became friends. His role remained that of an observer, as distance and respectful attitude needed for this job.

Another major figure was Elton John, whom Terry has been filming for over forty years. To some extent, O'Neill helped Elton start his career. The photographer's musical background and his photographs of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones earned him a reputation as a "talent discoverer". When Terry heard the songs "Take me to the pilot" and "7-11-70" he liked them so much that he wanted to take a picture of the artist. The photo was published by Vogue magazine, which served as a springboard for Elton John's career.

But besides musicians and beautiful women, many legends and males have passed in front of O'Neill's lens. Among many others, one can name Steve McQueen, Al Pacino, Robert Redford and Paul Newman.

He is the only photographer to have photographed all of the James Bond performers, among whom he singles out Sean Connery as "the most manly man whose portrait I have photographed."

According to O'Neill, the three main rules for a great photographer are: remain invisible (not conspicuous), have patience and be able to combine reasonableness with contact. All this brought him irrefutable success in getting his spontaneous photographs from the point of view of the "witness standing next to" For example, he took the last official portrait of Nelson Mandela in 2008, or official photo at the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, where Pelé came out with the World Cup.

Terry O'Neal and Ekaterina Volkova

On September 12, the legendary British photographer Terry O'Neill arrived in Moscow, where he attended a dinner at Kalina Bar and opened a personal exhibition "Stars and Luminaries" in Stoleshnikov Lane as part of the Brand: ff Summer Museum.

Terry O'Neal is a witness to key events in the world of music and cinema from the sixties of the last century to the beginning of the 21st century. O'Neal's career began in 1959, when at Heathrow Airport he accidentally photographed a man sleeping on the floor while shooting for British Airways. It turned out to be the British Home Secretary. A few days later, Daily Sketch invited a twenty-year-old photographer to shoot a strange four musicians - doomed to become the legend of The Beatles. The result impressed the editor very much, and he asked Terry to find another aspiring team for the front page, and O "Neal brought his friends from the Rolling Stones ...

To date, the master's archive contains more than a million photographs. He has watched the moments of triumph, quiet joy, contemplation or sadness of the greatest stars - Audrey Hepburn, Bridget Bardot, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Sean Connery, Elton John, Dustin Hoffman, Clint Eastwood, Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine, Paul Newman . It should be easier to name who Terry O'Neal didn't film.

The creator of the stellar history of the 20th century himself likes to remember the heroes of his works. At an evening in the Kalina Bar, which Irina Khakamada, Victoria Daineko, Konstantin Gaidai, Ekaterina Volkova, Yulia Milner, could not miss, O "Neil happily plunged into memories of how he took this or that shot. The portraits exhibited in Kalina Bar Terry brought them on purpose, and they were not included in the main exhibition in Stoleshnikovo.

Russian celebrities did not miss the opportunity to take pictures with the father of celebrity photography, and when they left the establishment, the organizers presented the guests with a memorable picture.

Yesterday, O'Neill took part in a press conference, which was held in a specially erected tent right in the middle of Stoleshnikov, and then, together with journalists, looked at his work.

He said that when he pointed the lens at the unsurpassed, in his opinion, beauty Audrey Hepburn, a dove sat on her shoulder. Another time, the master "caught" the producer's dog at the side of Brigitte Bardot, who was sleeping between filming. One of his favorite shots is with a gorgeous blonde: a cigarette is clamped in her lips, a strand of hair has fallen on her face...

It was the "stopped" beautiful moments and divine accidents that made O "Neal who he is. And the photographer is not sure that he would have achieved this in our time:

When I worked, there were people like Paul Newman and Clark Gable, special people. It was a completely different time ... Now everything is different: girls and men are not the same, everything is full of falsehood and photoshop. Modern stars are different people, their true face is hidden behind dark glasses, and agents and producers dictate what to do, what to think and how to look. Previously, I saw texture in faces, now I see only artificiality in front of me.

It remains only to thank fate and Terry O'Neill himself, who captured another era for us.

Irina Khakamada with the work that glorified O "Neal

Andrey Zhitinkin

Victoria Dayneko

Vlad Lisovets

Vitaly Kozak

Vladimir Vishnevsky

Fedor Pavlov-Andrievich and Stas Namin

Terry O'Neill, the creator of visual myths of the 20th century, through whose eyes we are now, without realizing it, looking into the past, yesterday opened his own exhibition in the halls of ROSPHOTO

He began his photography career in London in the 60s, photographing his peers the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and the colorful characters of swinging London. Soon he became a photographer of the starry Olympus, which now looks more like a pantheon: Audrey Hepburn, Bridget Bardot, Marlene Dietrich, Sean Connery, Sophia Loren, Elvis Presley, Elizabeth II, Margaret Thatcher - they all belonged to Terry O'Neill just as they once did then Paris belonged to Hemingway.

Terry O'Neil was the eyes of a bygone era. Heroic westerns are no longer being made, tough fighters like Muhammad Ali or Lee Marvin are no more, the Rolling Stones will never be young again, and black will never be as black as Frank Sinatra's shadow on stage When asked about contemporary photographers that he likes, Terry O "Neal replied: "Mario Testino is not bad, but most of the great photographers have already died. However, I am next in line." He admits that he photographed everyone he wanted, which means that he definitely has a place of honor in Valhalla for photographers.

At the opening of the exhibition, Terry O "Neill shared with us some secrets and valuable memories.

I don't use digital technology because I hate it. For me, this is not photography, but simply automation. The essence of photography is in the moment, and it is far from being exhausted by pressing the button at the right time.

The key to success as a photographer is to remain invisible. I have met a lot famous people, and after ten minutes of filming they forgot I was in the room and allowed me into their true life. For many people, this has gone on for years and decades.

The Beatlesthis is my first real job. In 1963, the Beatles were a young group that no one knew yet.I was two years older, which allowed me to look down on them a little. It was the first pop photograph, no one had ever done such a thing before.

Rolling Stones:This is a photograph of the Rolling Stones' first TV appearance. I don't have a favorite member of the Beatles, but Keith Richards has always been my favorite member of the Rolling Stones.

David Bowie: I filmed it for the "Diamond Dogs" album. The dog lay calmly at his feet throughout the shoot, but when we finished, it suddenly jumped up. I was lucky that I didn't have time to put the camera down. This picture is the result and was used for the album.

Brigitte Bardot: she was the most beautiful girl of her time.Even then, she was distinguished by a love for animals.Before I saw her for the first time, I thought that she must be small and fragile, but it turned out that she was even taller than me. If this girl spoke even a little English, she would have a great career in world cinema.

Raquel Welsh was just getting ready to shoot a movie where she was supposed to wear this. She asked: "Do you think they will crucify me if I take a picture in this?" It was 1968 outside and I said, "Great idea, let's crucify you!" The photo lay in the archives until last year, when I finally decided to publish it.

The exhibition "Stars and Luminaries of Terry O'Neil" will run in (Bolshaya Morskaya, 35) until May 29, 2011 with the support of Renaissance Credit.

Success came to Terry O'Neill unexpectedly: in 1959, in the form of a man sleeping on the floor of Heathrow Airport, who turned out to be the British Home Secretary, whom he accidentally caught in the lens of his camera.
Terry was born in London. His coming of age was in the early 60s, when the fame of actors, singers, artists and famous athletes became a truly cult, boundless and global phenomenon. In general, since childhood, O’Neill dreamed of becoming a drummer in a jazz group, and therefore, when he heard about the legendary technique of American drummers, he decided to study it in the USA. Expensive flights almost put his dream in jeopardy, but Terry does not give up and decides to become a steward of the British national airline and fly to America for as long as it takes to complete the music course. Unfortunately, there were no vacancies in that company, and he was offered the position of assistant photographer in the technical department. And just like that, a miniature Agfa Sillette is in Terry's hands and he begins to explore all the premises of the airport terminals in order to find interesting characters for his pictures.
And by an amazing coincidence, the same gentleman sleeping in the waiting room, who turned out to be a very important person, gets into the lens of his camera. That picture appears on the cover of the Sunday Dispatch, and the editor offers the aspiring photographer to regularly photograph for their publication.
So Terry O'Neill became Fleet Street's youngest photojournalist and gained unprecedented access to all the iconic

celebrities of the 60s.

Already in his first year as a staff photographer, O'Neill was lucky enough to take the very first official photograph of the famous Beatles. But at that time, the Liverpool four only dreamed of fame, and Terry went on the instructions of the Daily Sketch editor to shoot only a new one. musical group from northern England, as he then thought. The photo session took place in the courtyard of the Abbey Road studio.
Then these guys were unknown to anyone. "They were 20, I was 20 - we didn't understand what we were doing at all. But time put everything in its place."



That same year, Terry also took the famous photograph of Winston Churchill's last public appearance as he left the hospital with his invariable cigar in hand.

And a little later, almost all the most famous figures of our time became the heroes of his same 35-mm lens. Terry has collaborated with magazines such as Rolling Stone, Paris Match, Vogue, Life and Look.

Success came to Terry O'Neill unexpectedly: in 1959, in the form of a man sleeping on the floor of Heathrow Airport, who turned out to be the British Home Secretary, whom he accidentally caught in the lens of his camera. And despite the fact that the main models famous photographer became stars of cinema and music, in fact, photographic works were born not with famous personalities or luminaries, but with ordinary people, in whose “ordinaryness”, nevertheless, I certainly wanted to see for myself.

It always seemed to me that it was pointless to plan the nuances of a photo shoot in advance. Interesting, truly unusual pictures are born spontaneously and, as a rule, do not require any specific preparation. This brief moment unplanned perfection, the right turn of the head, a breath of wind, the angle of sunlight, natural color combinations. I have always, throughout my life, preferred a very small camera and, thanks to this, did not stand out from the crowd. The stars often forgot my presence and behaved very naturally. The size of my camera made me more like a buddy trying to take an informal souvenir photo. That's what I was aiming for, that was the main trick of my craft.

Terry was born in London. His coming of age was in the early 60s, when the fame of actors, singers, artists and famous athletes became a truly cult, boundless and global phenomenon. In general, since childhood, O’Neill dreamed of becoming a drummer in a jazz group, and therefore, when he heard about the legendary technique of American drummers, he decides to study it in the USA. But expensive flights almost put his dream in jeopardy, but Terry does not give up and decides to become a steward of the British national airline and fly to America as long as it takes to complete the music course. But unfortunately, there were no vacancies in that company, and he was offered the position of an assistant photographer in those. department. And just like that, a miniature Agfa Sillette is in Terry's hands and he begins to explore all the premises of the airport terminals in order to find interesting characters for his pictures.

And by an amazing coincidence, the same gentleman sleeping in the waiting room, who turned out to be a very important person, gets into the lens of his camera. That picture appears on the cover of the Sunday Dispatch, and the editor offers the aspiring photographer to regularly photograph for their publication.
So Terry O'Neill became the youngest photojournalist on Fleet Street and got unprecedented access to all the iconic celebrities of the 60s. Exactly at that Golden time he discovered in himself an incredible ability to take photographs in the reportage genre, extremely easily and as if casually, as if he had a camera in his hand from birth. Terry's style will soon become recognizable, and most of the young photography fans will start shooting in his spontaneous and completely new style for the 60s.

Already in his first year as a staff photographer, O'Neill was lucky enough to take the very first official photograph of the famous Beatles. But at that time the Liverpool Four only dreamed of fame, and Terry went on assignment from the editor of the Daily Sketch to shoot just a new musical group from northern England, as he then thought. The photo session took place in the courtyard of the Abbey Road studio.

Then these guys were unknown to anyone. They were 20, I was 20 – we didn’t understand what we were doing at all. But time put everything in its place.

That same year, Terry also took the famous photograph of Winston Churchill's last public appearance. When he left the hospital with his constant cigar in his hands.

And a little later, Rod Stewart, Brigitte Bardot, Frank Sinatra, David Bowie, Kate Moss, Audrey Hepburn, Elvis Presley and many other famous figures of our time became the heroes of his same 35mm lens. Terry has collaborated with magazines such as Rolling Stone, Paris Match, Vogue, Life and Look.

All the best shots are random. On this shooting, I ran out of film, the last frame remained. I stood and waited - as if some premonition, and suddenly a strong wind blew. A strand of hair fell into her eyes and I took this shot. One of the best in my life in general, I think.

- this is how O'Neill comments on the famous photo of Brigitte Bardot with hair covering her face.

Terry O'Neill owed many photographs to his personal acquaintance with the stars: for example, Lee Marvin agreed to be filmed if Terry had a drink with him before that, and in one of O'Neill's most famous works, his future wife, Faye Dunaway, the next morning after awarding her an Oscar.

After the awards presentation, I woke up at five in the morning, went down to the pool and quickly prepared everything - the statuette, piles of newspapers with photographs of her triumph. And a couple of hours later, she herself, fresh and sparkling awake, went downstairs in a luxurious peignoir and settled down on one of the chairs. I took a sincere morning shot.

About the Rolling Stones:

This is a photograph of the Rolling Stones' first TV appearance. I don't have a favorite member of the Beatles, but Keith Richards has always been my favorite member of the Rolling Stones.

About David Bowie:

I filmed it for the Diamond Dogs album. The dog lay calmly at his feet throughout the shoot, but when we finished, it suddenly jumped up. I was lucky that I didn't have time to put the camera down. This picture is the result and was used for the album.

About Brigitte Bardot:

she was the most beautiful girl of her time. Even then, she was distinguished by a love for animals. Before I saw her for the first time, I thought that she must be small and fragile, but it turned out that she was even taller than me. If this girl spoke even a little English, she would have a great career in world cinema.

About Raquel Welch:

She was just preparing for the filming of the film, where she had to wear such a bikini. She asked: “Do you think they will crucify me if I take a picture in this?” It was 1968 outside, and I said: “Great idea, let's crucify you!” The photo lay in the archives until last year, when I finally decided to publish it.

About Frank Sinatra:

We were on friendly terms, and I took a huge amount of his photos, but, unlike many celebrities, Sinatra did not pay any attention to me, completely concentrating on his own preparations for concerts, trusting my instinct as a photographer and giving me unlimited creative freedom.

For quite a long time, Terry was married to Faye Dunaway, who even bore him a son.

O'Neill has never used digital technology because he "hates it".

For me, this is not photography, but simply automation. The essence of photography is in the moment, and it is far from being exhausted by pressing the button at the right time.

Mario Testino is not bad, but most of the great photographers are already dead. However, I am next.

- this is how Terry speaks about modern photographers.

According to Terry O'Neill, he photographed everyone he wanted in his life.