I lost a friend today
Mick was special
He liked doing big breaths before wielding his camera
Breathwork
And standing on his head
Or am I making that up?
I interviewed him twice for my podcast
And got photographed by him as well
I remember being excited the first time I was set to have that happen
And we took glammed up pics with my shirt off
He called me rent boy
And would flirt
As he shot
He made you feel sexy
And alive
His spirit exuded through the lens and got swept into the faces of his subject
His spirit doing breathwork in his subjects eyes
He had a way
Of bringing out your renegade spirit and capturing it in popping colors
With a seedy light that both explores and excites
Mick was fun.
We went to his house and spent hours
Connecting and laughing
Talking stories of rock n roll glory
Bowie
Iggy
Lou
Syd
Freddie
He had a way of mentioning them all
That impacted the glamour to the upside
His English accent helped
He discovered his soul through the camera
And was there in history to capture Lou at his best
Bowie at his best
Iggy at his best
Syd at his best
Freddie at his best
That famous Queen cover
That was all him
So much of what we love about rock n roll
Was him
We’ve all been brought to war
Over something silly
The media has taught us to be divided
But when we are finally actually divided
By death
It all seems so silly
These false parameters
These stories we are told to allow fear to sell us on a safety that doesn’t exist
Death reminds us that to lead with anything other than love is a mistake
Fear demolishes love
Those nights in New York
When you could see Lou out
Or Mick
How magical that I got to be there then
How magical for us
To realize the gift this life really is
Fear demolishes love
Death reminds us that to lead with anything other than love is a mistake.
Mick transcended the medium
And he elevated rock n roll to fit his glammed up vision
I’m sad he’s gone
But his spirit lives on
In the images he imprinted on history
Deep breaths
Which brought the photograph to life
Deep breaths
With lungs
That breath no more
At least not here.
Not here anymore.