50 Years of David Bailey, Photographer

Beginning his photography career in the late 1950s, David Bailey has captured the likenesses of some of the most iconic figures in fashion and music history. At times, it was his own personal life that entranced the public eye even more so than those he photographed.

Bailey's interest in photography blossomed while in the British Royal Air Force, after discovering the works of Henri Cartier Bresson, whom he later cited as a great inspiration. In 1960, after having been assistant to London fashion photographer John French, Bailey secured a job with British Vogue. He then began a brilliant professional and social career in fashion and music photography, working with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Marianne Faithfull, fashion designer Mary Quant, and models such as Twiggy and his personal favourite, Jean Shrimpton, to name a few. Of Jean Shrimpton, Bailey said, "She was magic and the camera loved her too. In a way she was the cheapest model in the world - you only needed to shoot half a roll of film and then you had it."

Along with fellow photographer Terence Donovan, David Bailey both encapsulated and captured all that was "Swinging London" of the 1960s. In 1965, the publication of "David Bailey's Box of Pin-Ups" caused quite a stir, mostly due to the inclusion of photos of the Kray twins, notorious East-end gangsters. The publication was also unusual because of the format: a box of prints rather than a book. Due to the uproar regarding the inclusion of the gangster shots, the set never received a U.S. publication, and was not reprinted in the U.K.

Nevertheless, David Bailey continued to be one of the most glorified fashion and music photographers in London. Seemed he was followed by the press nearly as much as were his subjects. Bailey socialized among and photographed the likes of Mia Farrow, Michael Caine, and Peter Sellers. With famous friends, famous work, and a quadrant of beautiful wives (including Catherine Deneuve), it's not difficult to see why his presence is so deeply felt to this day.

David Bailey continues on, fifty years later, still with the same simple perspective -- and still, well, rocking it out.