'Behind the Photos' series re-frames the way we see photographers
In a world of digital photography and instant Snapchat gratification, commercial photographer Tim Mantoani鈥檚 new聽聽series exposes viewers to the people responsible for some of the most iconic images ever taken.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important for people to remember there鈥檚 a photographer taking these pictures, not just a camera,鈥� Mr. Mantoani says in a phone interview from his studio in San Francisco, Calif. 鈥淭he image of The Afghan Girl [Sharbat Gula] in Peshawar, Pakistan from 1984 didn鈥檛 just happen to Steve McCurry. He looked for her for 17 years and finally found her in 2002. Great images don鈥檛 just fall into your lap. These photographers are incredibly dedicated. They鈥檙e out there for years searching until they find that one image to make available, accessible, to all of us.鈥�
Mantoani says that in 2006, after a year of shooting only digital images, he longed for the complexity and thoughtfulness that goes into shooting 35-millimeter and other classic film exposures.
鈥淚 remembered that a long time ago, Kodak company made some of these mammoth Polaroid cameras that were a聽聽camera and they then invited all these artists, like Warhol, to come and use them,鈥� Mantoani says. 鈥淎t that time, in 2006, I was seeing the writing on the wall for camera companies as digital was making everyone into a 鈥榩hotographer.鈥� So I wanted to use one of these legendary cameras while I still could.鈥�
The Polaroid 20脳24 is an instant camera that produces plates of 20 inches by 24 inches (approximately 50cm x 60cm). The camera weighs 235 pounds and has its own custom wheeled tripod in the form of an old barber鈥檚 chair, he explains.
He decided to, in a way, reinvent the term 'double-exposure' by shooting portraits of famous photographer holding their most iconic work.
鈥淏ecause the photos cost about 75 bucks an exposure, I called聽聽[known for his iconic music industry images] and asked him to come and pose holding one of his photos. That鈥檚 where it began and it just grew from there as I began to network with my subjects,鈥� Mantoani says.
The photographer explains that his initial goal was simply to use the old technology before it was inaccessible and in the process access the deep bond between a photographer and the process of creating a very moving and important image.
鈥淲e鈥檙e losing both process and people right now,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of a twin disappearing act.鈥�
Because of the new technology, camera phones and social media we鈥檙e 鈥渓osing process,鈥� Mantoani explains. 鈥淏eing a photographer back in the days before digital ... meant planning, being very selective because you only had maybe a couple of rolls of film you could afford to buy and develop so you waited, searched for the image and were dedicated. For some of these people, it took years to get the shot.鈥�
Mantoani ads that the access once granted to photographers has all but vanished. Part of the 鈥減rocess" meant that most of the iconic images were not staged, but spontaneous moments captured by a patient, intuitive, ever-present and dedicated professionals.
鈥淭he images of Elvis and the Beatles that some of these people captured aren鈥檛 going to happen again because today publicists and handlers would never allow you to come into the bathroom to watch them shave or stand in the wings and see them kiss a girl,鈥� he says.
The more photographers he captured with their work, the greater the network and enthusiasm for Mantoani's聽project became.聽He would ask each of his subjects to hand write a little note about their iconic image at the bottom of the newly shot, monster Polaroids.
Harry Benson wrote across the bottom of his famous picture of the Beatles engaging in a moment of pure, pillow fight abandon: 鈥淏rian Epstein 鈥� Beatles Manager 鈥� had just told them they were number one in America 鈥� and I was coming with them to New York. 1964鈥�
Nick Ut wrote simply, 鈥淛une 8, 1972 Trang Bang Village Kim Phuc 9 year-old girl South Vietnam drop napalm in her village.鈥�
聽鈥淧eople ask me how I chose my subjects and I say 鈥楾hey chose me,鈥欌�� says Mantoani. 鈥淧hotographers would put me in touch with other famous photographers. So it grew to the point where I ended up with more than 150 other photographers and the photos that made them famous.鈥�
The portrait series is available in book form on聽.
