What do you do when music photography royalty contacts you to ask if they can come and make some prints?
Jill Furmanovsky has been photographing musicians for over 50 years, during which she has created innumerable iconic images; Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Amy Winehouse and Oasis are just some of the greats captured by her lens.
When darkroom was crowdfunding to finance its start-up Jill generously agreed to be filmed for our campaign video. So, when she contacted us recently saying “my darkroom is full of stuff, I have no chemicals and I need to get a couple of prints out quickly”, we had no hesitation in inviting her along.
The day arrived and we were intrigued to see what she would be bringing from her enormous archive.
Over a cup of coffee we discussed her recent appearance on Later with Jools Holland who had interviewed her about her major retrospective in Manchester City Library. The exhibition had been a great a success, attracting record-breaking crowds, reinforcing the fact that music photography is rapidly being recognised as a significant art form.
Photo: Virgilio Ponce
The first neg into the enlarger was a candid photograph of Joy Division captured backstage at London’s YMCA in 1979; “probably my most valuable shot” according to Jill. Although she had not printed for some time, the years spent in the darkroom meant it was not long before the tricky negative was shaped into a gorgeous gritty black and white print.
Photo: Virgilio Ponce
Our lunch break was peppered with fascinating stories. From life on the road with an imploding Pink Floyd (whose management confiscated all her films), to Robert Plant (on a bad-hair day) turning up unannounced at Jill’s studio and declining to have his photograph taken.
It was then on to print number two. A fabulous shot of Chic on their first UK tour, playing Hammersmith Odeon, also in 1979. Nile Rogers told Jill that this is his favourite photograph of the band, “as it really captures the energy of group playing live”.
Photo: Virgilio Ponce
After a few test prints to get the contrast right, it was not long before Jill managed to nail the complex dodging and burning required to turn out another a stunner, that “looks so much better than the giclée versions I’ve had done recently”.
Photo: Phil Grey
At the end of the session Jill left with a couple of classic prints that are going to make a collector somewhere very happy. The following day she wrote “I can't thank you enough for guiding me through the process of using your beautiful darkroom, assisting at every turn and making the whole experience blissful. You made me feel so welcome too. It also helped my decision to take down my darkroom at the studio and start using yours, so my day with you was an important and enjoyable day”.
We’re looking forward to having you back very soon Jill!