Sounds a bit like an urban myth the whole not looking at him thing but if its true then good for him.

I wonder how long a shoot takes and how long it takes for image to finally grace the cover of vogue...

I actually looked at meisels work when I saw it first and it really blew me away, it was the start of fashion photography for me. Paolo Roversi is another one who i really like and i think the shots on the deardorff camera have a really old school and dreamy look about them.

But alas we digress...

We know what he looks like
We know his habits and personality.
We know he shoots more than anyone else
We know there was a tory government at one time... some of us anyway (im not a tory btw...)
Oh yeah meisel shot madonna as well
He hasnt any books printed (well the one about the versace exhibition and sex but nothing like a monograph)

Ok whats else is there to discus about him.

Turbo, you seem to know loads mate, how about you do a brain dump of everything you know about meisel and save us anymore flames over terminology and contents.

cheers

The bloomsday boy.

Ha, id love to but ive got to go out and shoot, but i will say, every time i start to get bored of S.M. hes comes out with another awesome shoot to blow me away with!
Last time i started to tire of his work he knocked me for six with "Killer Vogue" the Sin City inspired supershoot in Sept 2005 Italian Vogue.
Have a good day Maikeru, are you up to something nice tonight?

For such a prolific and high profile photographer, I am not convinced he will be
remembered in the same way Newton, Avedon, Ritts, Penn, NK, Bailey will be.
He's not well known outside of the industry.

I agree Mopar, hes known by EVERYONE in the industry and almost no-one outside.
Perhaps its to do with not shooting many celebrities. Seriously. I think much fewer fashion pictures reach iconic status than those of celebrities or rock stars. For that reason the avarage person is more familiar with Rankin than Nick Knight.
Also books and media coverage add to this effect.
You have to assume this is what the photographers want, i mean its not like either S.M. or N.K cant get jobs shooting "Names' but they choose a different route.
Than again id do the same given the choice.(Although a few massive shoots with big rockstars or Hollywood stars would be fine too!)

If he shys aways from the limelight then thats what will happen. A lot of big name photographers are quite shy of the media, its easier to make the image than be in it.

I think he will be remembered in the same way dahl-wolfe, rawlings and parkinson will be remembered as people at the pinnacle of their careers.

And cecil beaton was a bit of a character by all accounts as well so to with baron de meyer, so meisel is in good company with his idiosyncrasies.

As for the "Killer Vogue" i liked it and it was excellently done but it was something about that didnt quite do it for me, I like the other shoot in the sewers in black and white shortly after, also the shots of daria in the pool a few months before, oh its all a blur!

I think N.K. is more of a personality, I couldnt see meisel opening a showstudio esque site as I dont think he has the need, or time for that matter, to do anything but photography. I think he is a fashion photographer first and foremost. I think his work is great but perhaps it wont be ever classified as art because in many peoples eyes the provenance or intent of the pieces are for mainstream media consumption and not for gallery walls.

Thats not to say I dont think its art, far from it, but not many artists are rich when they die, commercial and fashion advertising photographers at the top of their game, on the other hand, usually are.

If I had the choice of being a celeb photographer and all the baggage or a photographer shooting the best labels and not putting your ego into a brand like some do then I would have the latter.

As you can see he has had a huge influence on me.

God its 4pm on bloomsday, which organ am i on?

hopefully going for dinner then off to the hallion for drinks in glasgow...

Cheers turbo, enjoy your shoot.

Happy Birthday Michael, as a fellow Glaswegian who is travelling home for the weekend, I hope it is sunny (please...no rain!!) Optimo, Sunday?

It is an interesting prospect that a photographer is only as famous as those he shoots.
I would like to argue that this is not the case, however when I think of Bailey I think of
Jagger, Avedon's "Observations" and Penn's "Moment's Preserved" are full iconic personalities. Meisel is a creature of the fashion world almost exclusively, and NK's remit does reach far further, although pivots on fashion.

I believe strength and originality of vision is an important part of why any artist or commercial practitioner is remembered. There are many ways to be remebered and many ways to be famous. Bailey is hugely famous, and I think his work has played a lesser roll than his personality, his name has become bigger than his work - like Rankin. Maybe Meisel is unusual in that he is neither a big personality nor an "avante garde" photographer.

glasgow was good this weekend, had a nice birthday bash that was a surprise and then much drinking in the brunswick at a friends gig was the end result. Barbeques and a spot of tiling and pizza finished it all off nicely. Hope optimo was good? Was that at the subby?

Meisel shot maddona if we want to have an icon to represent him, but the pictures and work was at such a early point in each of their careers perhaps it will be overlooked.

I think Steven Meisels remit could be as far as he wanted. Perhaps working with models is what he does best, it would be interesting to see what a meisel pirelli calendar would look like....

Strange that he has never been asked to shoot one.

optimo, is that not where babaza used tae be?

Babaza is something else now its not the social but its pretty much the same place without the moroccan theme.

Optimo as far as I can remember used to play in the sub club in jamaica street but its been a while since I was last there.

They do play other places so perhaps you were thinking of the social or that other place (canny remember the right name of it) in the corner just up from babaza on royal exchange sq.

So detlev, have you spent time in glasgow for your sins as well?