Soul Rebel by David Burnett

David Burnett is a great photographer and a very very good person.  I’ve learned a great deal from him over the years, both with what he has said, and also with how he has seen the world.  There are two prints that hang on my office wall, one is by David, and one is by Robert Capa.  Good company for either of those guys.

His first serious solo exhibition opened last week in DC, showing a set of pictures he made in 1976 and 1977 of Bob Marley in Jamaica and in Europe.  “Soul Rebel” collects these portfolios in a gorgeous volume which arrived in the office today.

David’s path of chasing stories and moments began in Utah in the early 1960s, and continued this evening with a local story for him, covering his tenth occupant of 1600 Penn. Ave.  Through the years, he has been able to bring home THE picture, even when 100 other photographers are trying to see it and shoot it simultaneously.

“As a photographer I operate on the principle that there are a whole bunch of interesting people out there that I just haven’t gotten a chance to meet yet,” writes DB.  ”That’s what makes photography so much fun.  You could go in any direction, from music or politics to literary figures and athletes… it was a real learning and discovery process.”

Not a bad way to approach any assignment…