Beatles photographer Ethan Russell talks ‘Get Back’ book, the Rolling Stones, and The Who

When a young Ethan Russell saw Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 iconic movie “Blow-Up,” helium decided helium wanted to beryllium a photographer. 

After his begetter bought him a camera, Russell began exploring the stone country successful his hometown of San Francisco earlier decamping for London. He didn’t observe the swinging country he’d hoped to find determination but aft a agelong adust spell, helium lucked into an assignment: Photographing John Lennon and Yoko Ono. His pictures captured their emotion for each different and soon after, Russell was successful the studio, snapping pictures of the Beatles arsenic they recorded the medium that became “Let It Be.”

Those photos (along with pictures by Linda McCartney) are present included successful a glossy caller publication “The Beatles: Get Back,” retired Oct. 12 from Callaway Arts & Entertainment. The tome is simply a companion portion to Peter Jackson’s Apple+ docuseries, which revisits unseen hours of set footage that captures the set arsenic they were breaking up. Russell besides did the last photoshoot of the group.

From there, the lensman moved connected to different stone legends, shooting tours and medium covers and books for the Rolling Stones and The Who. In summation to the “Get Back” book, his pictures (which besides seizure Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and others) are successful his caller publication of photographs. (https://shop.ethanrussell.com/). 

Russell says helium ne'er took a photography course. “There’s a debased obstruction for introduction to photography but sometimes you tin archer the idiosyncratic operating the camera cannot spot what is there,” helium said successful a Zoom interview. “The cardinal enactment is seeing the picture. If you don’t spot it you can’t sprout it.”

He credits his occurrence successful capturing the infinitesimal to a puerility spent hunting bluish jays connected his parents’ ranch. “You gotta beryllium truly quiet, you can’t determination quickly, you person to look for wherever you mightiness spot something, you person to beryllium capable to show it and you get 1 shot.”

This speech has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

Q. How did you get this job?

I was determination 1 time talking astir earlier photos I had taken of John and Yoko. I said I was going to spell down to the studio. They told maine they had nary request for me, but I went down anyway. When I got down there, Neil [Aspinall, an Apple executive] showed up and said, “We’ve decided to fto you travel down.” So past I went and got my cameras. Nobody ever told maine what to do. 

Neil had said, “You tin travel for 1 day.” And I said, “I won’t bash little than 3 days.” I don’t cognize wherefore these things travel retired of my mouth. After that, I was showing the photographs to Derek Taylor, the property agent, successful [Apple executive] Peter Brown’s office. I was projecting the pictures against the wall, and they looked good—it was a hellhole of a determination for photographs, and I utilized it well, taking large wide shots.

Suddenly Paul McCartney walks successful and past John with Yoko and past George Harrison. After they saw the photos they hired maine for a longer play of time. Then idiosyncratic said, “We should bash a book” and I went for the equilibrium of the filming. [The publication was released successful the English mentation of the “Let It Be” medium but not successful America.]

Q. You’ve talked astir being impressed by the band’s enactment ethic yet of being alert of the tension. Were you trying to seizure some truths?

Photography is representational. It’s not an abstract process. You tin effort to usage photography to correspond a mood, but you’re benignant of swimming upstream against what the exertion does. The exertion conscionable says, “There it is.”  I sensed the mood, but I wasn’t trying to seizure it. I’m conscionable taking the pictures. The biggest worth I present was not, “Look astatine this chill picture,” it’s making you consciousness similar you are determination successful the country with The Beatles.

Q. You were successful the room. What was it similar proceeding them make caller music?

Rather pathetically, I didn’t listen. My acquisition is each present successful my eyes. Put a camera determination and it’s similar I enactment earmuffs on, too. It is absurd that I was sitting determination and the Beatles were making records close successful beforehand of me. Later connected the Stones’ tours, radical would say, “That was a large show.” and I would conscionable shrug. I wasn’t listening. 

Q. Did you person favourite shots of the Stones from each your clip with them? 

One is Keith Richards successful rehearsal bent implicit his guitar by an amp with Charlie Watts blurred successful the background. It’s 100 percent natural, I didn’t airy it. And it’s Keith earlier he’s a druggie, truthful it’s besides him doing what helium loves the most.

I person a celebrated changeable of Mick [Jagger] and Keith from down connected stage, which is erstwhile I realized that’s a large space due to the fact that past you are seeing what the set sees. 

I besides emotion the shots of Keith and past Mick talking to their hero, Chuck Berry. Stanley Booth, who wrote a publication astir the Stones, wrote that Keith was truthful adoring helium looked similar “a small English schoolboy.”

Q. You emotion capturing the infinitesimal but you besides proved consenting to signifier a shot, similar the 1 successful an airdrome of Richards lasting beneath a motion astir “a drug-free America” oregon the screen of “Who’s Next.”

As a moving photographer, you bash what you deliberation works. As a rule, I ne'er changed thing but we were waiting successful customs and I saw that motion and said, “That’s excessively bully to miss.” I called for Mick and Keith some to come. Keith was person and came archetypal and aft a changeable oregon 2 a customs authoritative said, “Stop oregon we’re confiscating your film.”

The “Who’s Next” screen was wholly improvised. They had nary screen and had astir finished the album. One day, we’re driving successful the rainfall and Pete [Townshend] is going 100 miles an hr truthful erstwhile we walk these shapes I don’t accidental anything, but past there’s a roundabout and helium slows down. No roundabout, nary Who’s Next cover—at that moment, helium says, “Have immoderate ideas” and I archer him astir these shapes, truthful helium zips astir and speeds back.

The infinitesimal you spot that monolith thing, you deliberation astir “2001.” [Roger] Daltrey and [John] Entwistle started acting similar the apes from the movie. In my book, I person a full interaction expanse of the set doing the apes. But it was nary bully for the cover. 

Then I looked up and Pete had [urinated] connected it. That was real. The others couldn’t truthful I poured h2o connected it to marque it look similar they had. It’s amusement business. And past we’re down the roadworthy astatine 100 miles an hr again and I’m conscionable saying, “I anticipation this works.” 

But the existent entity was grey that time truthful the entity successful the photograph was taken a antithetic day. 

Q. Tell maine astir the publication of black-and-white photos you created to assistance archer the communicative of The Who’s iconic stone opera “Quadrophenia.” [It was nominated for a Grammy for Best Album Package.] 

Even earlier I went to England, I loved “A Taste of Honey,” a achromatic and achromatic English film, and of people “A Hard Day’s Night.” The black-and-white photos of the English lensman Bill Brandt were besides precise evocative to me. But successful England, I was doing stone stars and had worked successful color, truthful for this publication I decided to usage black-and-white.

I judge the songwriters were the astir important writers of my generation, truthful I wanted to fig retired what Pete was saying and past bring that to the photos. When I delivered the artwork which was eighty boards. Pete says, “I thought you said it was going to beryllium six pages.” [Russell shrugs and laughs] I said, “I mightiness have, but here’s what I’ve got now.” 

The publication wasn’t glossy—the insubstantial was purposely newsprint-y– truthful they could marque it arsenic cheaply arsenic possible. The English didn’t attraction astir it due to the fact that they knew the mods and rockers story, but I’ve been told that the publication helped Americans admit the medium successful a mode they ne'er would person otherwise, truthful astatine the extremity of the time it ended up moving retired for grounds institution and The Who.