I met Philip Townsend (1940-2016) while living in London. He is probably best known as the first professional snapper to photograph the Rolling Stones. Most of him images were shot in black and white during the 1960s and a collection of his photographs are published under the title 'Sorry You Missed the 60s.'
I acquired my first Townsend photograph of the Stones in 2005 when I answered an ad in the Times offering an image of the band shot in Chelsea circa 1963. We got together on several occasions after that, and I visited his studio in the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, as well as attend several of his exhibitions around London.
On my return to Ottawa in 2007 I convinced both Philip and Dale Smith of Dale Smith Gallery that a Townsend show would be a great success. So an exhibition was put together and it was indeed a success.
During some recent decluttering I came across a disk of his photos that he had given me. These images are the basis for this video. As Phil would say, sorry you missed the 60s, but you can relive them here.
Read about his fascinating life here: www.theguardian.com/artanddes...
21 сен 2023
