What Anton Corbijn Taught Me About My Photography 

Once again RU-vid have demonetized this video. No reason why, and there is nothing I can see that would even remotely suggest it's not suitable.

As briefly mentioned, a big part of Corbijn's B&W work is lith printed. Credit should go to Mike Spry of Downtown Darkroom (used to be upstairs from where Silverprint was near Waterloo for those of us who remember that far back!). Mike printed Anton's stuff for decades. He used Oriental Seagull grade 4 paper - the old Oriental Seagull. I know because I asked him. Mike was one of those who pioneered lith printing back in the 70s. Love that lith look and the grain it brings. Such a variety of looks you can get from it. Hard to replicate.

loved his work since his early U2 stuff ... my teenage (taste) formative years... great stuff

When music and photography collide

Anton is an incredible photographer and director. He inspired me to become a photographer. I’ve been a DM fan since early 80’s and when Anton joined the band as their photographer and shot all their imagery for the ‘Music For The Masses’ album I instantly fell in love with his work. I have every book he ever released, Amazing!

Some of us appreciate this lovely film look. The technology has rendered it as undesirable for most people that prefer the digital look.

Hi Alex, i thoroughly enjoyed this video and the work of Anton Corbjin, great photos. I liked the photos of Bono, David Bowie and young Elvis Costello. I like there music and i still here there songs on the radio today. I will take the time to go through the photographers who's work i enjoy, that is my homework. Another great video, thank you. 😃

Hey Alex, as always, love the video. One small nitpick though, "Bijn" can approximately be pronounced as "Bine", like you would pronounce "wine", So us Dutchies pronounce his last name more like "Corbine".

He directed The American and A Most Wanted Man. Great films with a nice pace and atmosphere to them.

Thank you for such a channel. Very interesting and inspiring!

Excellent review of a great photographer and a reminder of different times. Ilford's Delta 3200 was a favourite of mine for winter and I see it is still available! (once again starts searching ads for a 35mm film camera).

Another fantastic insight into a remarkable photographer.

It's Corbijn not Cobjin - I think Alex made a typo in the watermark near the images

Thank you so much for your channel. Makes me fall in love with photography all over again.

Phenomenal work. Love heart shaped box video. Still grainy

Thank you. All the best. 👍📷😎

Ah, the one of Allen Ginsberg...the strong contrast, the shadows, and choice a profile shot, make it look like a sculpture.

Anton is so cool. See he rents a panoramic camera to shoot the Joshua tree cover and does not realize there is infinite setting. So he shoots and realizes the band a tiny bit out of focus cause they were too close. Students NEED to hear these stories.

For some reason, I don't see the video you are pointing to at the end.

Oh I do love Corjin's work reminds me of Donald McCulum (different subject matter), but nevertheless similar approach. Never mind the fact that images aren't "sharp" what about the composure and the emotion - again great episode Alex!

Those photos are magic.

I NEEDED this soooo much this morning. Thank you for your insights.

I've been lugging around a framed photo poster of Jim Kerr (Simple Minds) for 30+ years across many houses and continents, which is signed by KOOOS, and that is a pseudonym of Maarten Corbijn, younger brother of Anton. An epic photo. And it is irrelevant who's depicted.

Superb exposition!

Thanks. Enjoyed this.

Great journey

Thank you ...

IDK does anyone really find their way? I come here to find many ways

Great video, as always, Alex (Note: it's Corbijn, not Corbjin - the Dutch pronunciation of the Dutch "ij" today is like the "ei" in Italian)

Great video thanks!

Did Anton Corbijn do live music photography? Curious You have only shown staged shots... His work has style but is it any more than celebrity fashion meets art.

The dodging and burning game is strong in this one 😅

Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard

Ole "Blue eyes"?

I kind of lost respect for him when he portrayed mediocre artists, I can’t stand by the life of me😂, like Bono and many others and artificially gave them a significance and deepness they don’t have. I - if I had his abilities- would have taken the money, too, but it gave his style something that cries cliché. Still like his early work, his style and Joy Division were a perfect match. But a lot of his later work looks cheesy.

Have to disagree Alex. I find these images entirely pretentious, even posed. Much in the same way I was totally disabused when i found out the reality of Dorothea Lange's work rather than the false circumstances she herself promoted as the backstory. The image at 5:20. Is that a "studio" shot in the dressing room of a smelly dive of a joint, or a Cartier-Bresson encounter in the hallway right after a hour long set. It's a question of authenticity and 100% why I'm in aw of Vivian Meir. As for Maplethorpe. Shock value only has value if it's culturally uniformly accepted that those offended by the shock, should not be, by rightness, be offended. If the shock is even tacitly approved, especially if the approval is in some some sort of self serving mea culpa, then it's not shock but pandering in the worst, almost commercial, way.

The influence of printing style on the perception of Corbijn's work cannot be overstated. Initially, he experimented with lith printing, a technique he mastered independently before entrusting the process to professional printer Mike Spry at Downtown Darkroom. This approach was pivotal in crafting his signature, heavily-contrasted imagery. Lith printing, by its very nature, yields a dramatic and 'noir-ish' effect, characterized by its pronounced graininess. This distinctive quality rendered the use of very high ISO films almost redundant, as any regular mono film appeared as the fastest and grainiest imaginable after the lith process. The choice of Oriental paper for his prints was key to the process, producing results that were uniquely dramatic, and, crucially, looked great on the printed pages of the rock press. One aspect of Corbijn's photography not mentioned is his stature, standing at an imposing 6'5" tall. To capture his best portraits, he often turned to the Hasselblad camera. Its unique waist-level finder allowed him to maintain a comfortable, non-intimidating stance while framing his shots. In this way, he could avoid eye contact, and appear less threatening to his subjects. This subtle technique contributed to the intimacy and authenticity of his iconic portraits.

Another great book is the 1-2-3-4 if you want to have a great overview of Corbijn.

I have an habit. Whenever I am tired of the music I am listening to I go to Anton Corbijn´s work and look at the bands and musicians he has photographed and they NEVER disapoint. The guy has not only the eye but the ears. You've got some damn good images of your own there Alex. Love them.

Corbijn is the reason I pursued photography as my career. Absolute legend

Thank you again for an awesome video. I've discovered Anton being a fan of Depeche Mode. I also was influenced by his photography and film directing. He release a photobook of his photos of Depeche Mode. Check out Depeche Mode's Useless where Anton did he applied the differential focus where David Gahan was out of focus.

Thanks. A new journey every time

I too have the book “Famous” and it was monumental in my photographic development when I was studying. It’s a stunning book and full of iconic images. If you can get your hands a copy, it’ll be worth every cent.

The right guy at the right place at the right time. His work is magic.

I’m always envious of people who followed an instinct and made a career out of it. I felt the same way when i discovered Salgado, thanks to the Wim Wenders DVD, Salt of the Earth. How lucky we are to live in a time when information is so readily available and what a pity that the truth is still so easily ignored or rejected.

I just went back to working with film and wet plate. It's been a real joy, I've come full circle.

Isn’t it funny how great photos can so often be, technically, completely the the opposite of what is considered a good photo!

Thanks for making this feature, Alex. I loved Corbijn’s work as I went page by page through NMR and Sounds each week in my youth. You make some good points about how to put the influence from others into your work since “everything is a remix” For me, it was how he captured a mood, emotions, even played out some music through his images that has stayed with me as I continue to photograph musicians and performance. Stand out images for me in your walk through are Becker & Fagan, and Nick Cave. Photographic octaves!

Anton Corbijn photography is in keeping with the grim and gritty look, from the 1980's and 1990's. It has the German surrealistic appearance of 1920's horror films 'Nosferatu' and 'Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'. Some photographs are nightmarish.

Am curious are there any photographer from Asia that had inspired you like the others you mentioned?

Which photo book is the best overview of Corbijn's work?

Informative video.

Alex, if I wanted to experiment going a little wider than my comfort zone...50mm and 85mm...what would you suggest? A 28mm? 35mm? Tamron makes a 20-40 f/2.8 for the Sony E mount, which is what I use (Sony a7iii).

I was looking through the images and at about 3:30 mins in there was a small group of images I actually liked. When I looked more closely the images were yours. But perhaps no surprise to me as when punk came in I tuned out. All a bit dark and grim for my tastes at the time and apparently still is :)