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Issue date: 2/1/07 Section: Cover stories

Media Credit: Bryan Kasm

Media Credit: Scott Cook Henry Diltz making photos with his Nikon FM2 while in Daytona Beach

On the rhythmic beats of bands such as The Doors, The Eagles and Crosby, Stills & Nash, photographer Henry Diltz pushed his shutter button to capture the magic moments of the sixties. In his early career as a musician, Henry befriended many artists who were later to be considered the legendary icons of a musical revolution.
Although music was his first real love, for Henry Diltz photography was a passion found by accident. Diltz and his band at the time ran into some cheap cameras while being on the road. With nothing to prove, Henry and his friends began photographing everything that interested them. Little did he know this day would be the start of a whole new career.
Being an insider in the music industry Henry Diltz got the opportunity to photograph scenes no one had ever had access to before. From hanging out in the backyard of The Mammas and the Pappas to smoking a joint with The Doors, Diltz captured it all. But to him these were images of his friends having a good time. He never imagined that these photographs would record a great musical saga. But with his "fly on the wall" technique Diltz documented the sixties' music scene in an unequalled way.
"I like to let things unfold in front of me… to take pictures of every thing that was going on. It was my way of passing time. I just enjoyed looking through that magic little window and capturing these scenes."
Shortly after developing his skills as a photographer, in 1969 Henry was commissioned to be the official Woodstock photographer. An event that at the time was seen as a cool party, it is now known as one of the main events of a musical and cultural movement.
Feb. 3 the exhibit "Kiss the Sky" opened in the Southeast Museum of Photography. The exhibit covers both the upstairs and downstairs gallery of the museum, which is remarkable since most exhibits are in only either one of the two galleries. The exhibit contains around 300 images in Diltz's first career retrospective and museum exhibition. An extensive program of activities is planned around the exhibit like a reception lecture on March 3 and several movie screenings. The exhibit is on display until June 5. For a complete list of events check the In Motion calendar page or for more information visit www.smponline.org.

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