LEGEND BEHIND THE LENS
Photographer Harry is hailed by stars in new movie tribute
Now, however, the photographer’s life has been brought into focus in a movie celebrating his extraordinary 60-year career.
In Shoot First, a host of stars pay tribute to the Fleet Street photographer and Harry, 86, reveals how he managed to get some of his iconic shots.
The snapper, who lives in New York with wife Gigi, allowed directors Justin Bare and Matthew Miele to film him in his native Scotland and in the US and to talk to some of his most famous subjects.
Harry said: “A great photo will never happen again. I always tried to be the f irst one on the story and the last one out.
“As the story keeps changing, you tr y to photog raph everything you see. Fleeting moments, joy, regret, each a glimpse and gone forever.”
Director Justin said: “Harry says he has just been lucky to get the pictures he has but you can’t be that lucky.
“Harry creates his own luck. He endears himself to everyone he meets and will never give up until he gets the shot.”
He added: “Other photographers have had the same level of access to the stars but no one has come away with the iconic images he has.”
Co-director Matthew said: “Harry gets the joke about life. He doesn’t take himself or his images too seriously. His quiet charm, dapper dress sense and character ensure he is remembered everywhere he goes. In just a few minutes, he can get the shot that will define history.”
Shoot First was produced by Magnolia Pictures and goes on release on Amazon and iTunes in the UK on December 9. It tells how Harry rose to fame alongside The Beatles after he was assigned to cover their inaugural trip to the US in 1964. Dan Former CBS news anchor Rather said: “Harry has so much experience that he is at the stage now that he thinks that’s one for the ages when he takes a photograph. “He likes to shoot loners because he was a loner. It was never about him, it was about his pictures. This time it is about him. “A trained journal ist, a pro, can most times, not every time, put your own feelings and emotions right down inside you, so much so, that they become almost non- existent. “Many dictators and tyrants in the past say, ‘He who controls the image controls the public
Film star Sharon Stone I love Harry. I’m about half a bump from being in love with Harry Benson. He is in life, he is present. That’s what all the legendary photographers have in common. There is just something about Harry.
mind.’ It’s hard to describe what makes a photo iconic but you know it when you see it.”
Patti Davis, American actress and author and daughter of late US president Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy, said she will always adore Harry’s photo of her parents dancing. Nancy kept the picture on her bedside table until her death in March.
Patti said: “It is really obvious from the photographs that they were very comfortable around him and trusted him. That’s part of the reason they are unique. They don’t feel posed. It feels like you are looking at a moment in time.”
For Patti, whose parents were “in their own sealed- off world”, Harry’s photos showed her another side to them.
She added: “As I got older and looked at those photographs, I felt I was getting an insight into them, especially my father as an individual, as well as the two of them together.” Alec Baldwin
Film star is a frequent visitor to Harry’s Manhattan home.
He said: “With Harry, you thought, I’m going to be who I am and give you who I am. Benson is such a famous photographer. I shot with him in ’86 – 20 years after The Beatles. He was an icon.”
Donald Trump said Harry is his favourite snapper. He has posed for him dozens of times, including in a cover shoot for Time magazine just weeks before his victory in the presidential elections this month.
Trump said: “I’ve known Harry for a long time. He is a great photographer, really unique. He has an unbelievable imagination and he puts people at ease and you can see that in his work.
“He set me up with photographs that were just incredible. With Harry, as long as he makes me feel good, I’m happy. He really wants to do the subjects that he finds interesting but also that the public find interesting so he has become, in his own right, really iconic.” Kerry Kennedy,
daughter of US senator Bobby Kennedy, also appears in the movie. Harry’s heart- stopping picture of the 1968 assassination of her father remains one of his greatest images.
The senator and Harry had been good friends, with the photographer joining Kennedy family holidays. Harry bel ieves Kennedy would understand why he had to document his bloody death for history’s sake. Kerry said: “My favourite photo is one Harry took of me looking up at my dad while we were on holiday.” Ralph Lauren
Fashion designer said: “Harry is the sweetest man in an industry that’s so tough. It must be tough sometimes to be so gracious. We went up to my ranch in Colorado.
“He was very, very gracious. The photos he took have created their longevity and proved why they are here today.”
Henry Kissinger, the American diplomat and former secretary of state, watched Harry as he took the famous pictures of Richard Nixon resigning as president.
He said: “Nixon was ambivalent about cameras but his preconceptions didn’t include Harry.” TV presenter and former newspaper editor Piers Morgan
said: “Harry’s reputation as a newspaper photographer was formidable.
“Harry worked in Fleet Street during the golden days. He was the guy everyone else tried to beat.”
A great photo will never happen again. I tried to be the first one in and the last one out