I have to admit, I’ve caught the obsession with taking pictures on the fly since I was twenty. The story is anecdotal. Student, I was strolling mustache to the wind near the Dôme in Montparnasse when, across the boulevard, I saw on the newsstand, which had been around for ages, a Vogue cover with a wax mannequin. Miracle or epiphany of youth, my head made three turns on itself.
I was like a dog circling around like a whirling dervish, barking, even about to pee against a tree. “Finally I said to myself, Michel get hold of yourself.
This image had caught my attention, my path was then traced like the Milky Way. The photographer who made the cover – I give it to you in a thousand – was Helmut Newton. The reason for my enthusiasm was simpler than that, it was not that of an idiot who swoons in front of his guru or his mentor, It was like “If he can make such crazy pictures, I will do too, I have many ideas. ”
My whole career around the world has been based on this: taking pictures, surprising, and not becoming a court dandy who stand there like a meowing booth babe.
I’ve been lucky enough to work for the best magazines in the world, to have my name on top of the bill. My very dear Jean-Jacques Naudet even sent me on a project to the Foreign Legion – you will tell me that has nothing to do with my universe – well yes: I love beauty, no matter where it is , and legionaries are beautiful.
If I were to die tomorrow after the release of this book, my last words would be, “Did I love? Yes. Have I been an honorable man? Yes. And above all, did I enjoy being a photographer? Of course. ”
If I had to do it again, I would do the same thing again. Simply changing one variable: be more provoking, much more, to the heart’s content.
Oh, I forgot, I love to thank the people I love. My sweet, my loving friend, my muse Marisa Berenson who sent me a ray of sunshine by writing the preface, what happiness is not …
When Helmut Newton died, I went to the cemetery in Berlin where he lies. To photograph his flowered tomb. Do you know who’s near him for all eternity? Marlene Dietrich.
I call this an elegant death.
Michel Haddi
Michel Haddi : Anthology – Legends
Publisher : Yuri & Laïka
Item weight : 4.49 pounds
Dimensions : 9.33 x 1.22 x 11.5 inches
ISBN-10 : 2490945017
ISBN-13 : 978-2490945016
Contact éditeur : [email protected]
https://www.amazon.com/Michel-Haddi-Anthology-LEGENDS-French/dp/2490945017
