It’s been a decade since I took the images. Why does now feel like the right time for you to put something out there? It’s been quite some time since Amy’s passing. But there’s nobody there and it was a favorite place that we loved to go to for sure. And you’re in the woods, so, we went down in this private path that led to this cove that there was nothing but these tiny, tiny houses far out in the horizon. When you’re on horseback and you’re riding, it’s very natural, very healing, it’s this other thing. I think the horses were healing in themselves, but they symbolized a sense of freedom, you know on this tiny island, and then also just in general. And she was feeling good and really free. So I was on horseback and I took that photo. And we were waiting for others to come with us. We were actually on our way to this off-the-beaten-path horse trail. There’s one photograph where she’s on horseback in St. But, it was almost like they were seeing how far they could take it. They were camped outside the house, it was insane. I did everything I could from my perspective and anything in my ability to stop it. It was very difficult at that time to not fight back or do something to stop it. Like, that was my best friend and you guys are not seeing that she’s going some difficult times right now, and you’re basically exploiting someone who’s going through something so hard as it is, and you’re photographing it and selling it for money.
Because I took those cameras and that kind of bombardment so offensively. I mean if you look through any images of us during the time that were press photos, I’m never never smiling. You would want to be there for them, and not exploit their troubles.ĭid you find the paparazzi photos of her exploitative?Ĭompletely. There was no point in doing that because that’s mean and I think if you are someone’s friend, you would never do that. So, yeah, it wasn’t of interest to me to document someone who I loved and had a great friendship with in a negative way or when they were having a health crisis. And it’s kind of like a joke or portrayed as like a train wreck, versus, “Oh wait, this person’s actually going through something difficult, how can we be of help?” I feel like there was that lack of empathy. You were careful not to portray that side of her.īecause for me, that’s not who she was at her core, and I think the way that we treat and discuss substance abuse and addiction, and also mental health, is usually - especially when its in the press or in tabloids - there’s a lack of empathy. It’s very well-documented that she had issues with substance abuse. She was just so supportive of me creating and knew that was my tool. And I think I was mindful of that and only really took the camera or only had my camera on me, when it was light and fun and she would ask me to. But also, she was probably the most photographed person that year. So I was not always one to be gregarious enough to take a photo of somebody I didn’t know very well. Also because regardless of her fame and her celebrity and all of that, there’s two aspects of it: one would be, I was very shy then. And, I think with photography and her, I was very careful that first year. We would just hang out and spend time and just enjoy each other’s company and friends when they would come over. It was really focusing on being there as a friend and her health and all that stuff, and creating some normalcy amidst the chaos of the press and everything else that was going on around outside of else. How did you discern when to take a photograph? You were very careful which pictures you took of her, and how you shot her.
But there was an immediate connection there, which felt magnetic. For me, it was obviously about hearing a lot about her and then actually meeting her, but then also her curiosity about me being another Blake, and this American friend that she had known through Kelly, so there’s was such a curiosity aspect to that initial meeting where we were feeling each other out. It was the curiosity we both had for each other. What do you recall about meeting Amy Winehouse for the first time?
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