World-class photographer Henry Diltz, to employ a lyric from his friend and Southern California neighbor Joni Mitchell, has looked at life from both sides now. Being a former musician himself, in the '60s group the Modern Folk Quartet, he has numerous friends in the California musical community, which has provided him with a varied pool of camera-ready subjects. In this photo essay, Diltz reveals, in his own words, the process behind his iconic shots of many of rock's greatest names and faces, as well as his uncommon access to them, which he has likened to being "a little kid who sneaked under the circus tent."

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Ray Charles, Los Angeles, 1980: This started with just a random call from a video company that was going to interview him at his studio in L.A. He had designed this whole building. He knew every inch of it. It was sort of like he could see in there, because he knew every room and step, and when you saw him sit at the board, his fingers were just constantly touching the knobs and the buttons and he just knew where everything was. We went out into the studio part of it and he just sat at the piano playing. I guess they were setting up the lights for this shot, 'cause I couldn't click while they were filming. Being a photographer on a documentary crew, you pretty much have to shoot pretty quickly just before and just after the camera rolls.



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