PHOTOGRAPHY & MUSIC

In the late 80's I was asked to be the show photographer for Saturday Night Live. I couldn't believe it! At the time I was working on a rather heavy story for Psychology Today. I was wandering the streets of NYC looking for child prostitution. It was a reality check for a young woman like myself. I was about 27 years old and immortal to all danger. I was driven and drawn to the world as it was exposed to me daily with all my assignments. I had access to the entire Universe and fear was never a part of my life or vocabulary. The NBC art director, former show photographer Eddie Baskin hired me to bring some sort of new vision to the TV bumpers. She was a hard act to follow as she had been the photographer that hand colored and did all the huge stars during the most classic time of SNL. The didn't want to pay much as I recall and since I was working on a real journalism story that had a complete opposite spectrum. From being entrenched in humanity and realism that would turn your stomach one moment to the bright lights of a live sound stage full of belly laughs. My life seemed intensified by the journalism job in hand. Anyone would do the SNL job for free or less but I found it easy to ask for more as I needed to just survive living in NYC. The gig was contracted and I had an interesting season and it will always be a great chapter in my career. Here's a pic of Sting ( the show called him "stengy" in the skits) I did about 10-12 different shots for the TV bumpers, made custom portfolios for all the guest host / music talent and I had tow 20x24 prints signed and mounted on the walls to the NBC studio during my stint. I have a book of these bumpers on blurb books and hope to find a publisher for that series. Thanks Eddie and Loren Michals.

Links:
SNL Bumpers
http://www.blurb.com/books/1126762
Archive of SNL
http://www.karenkuehn.com/series/snl01_Justine-Bateman.html
Favorite Sting song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn7eWTsj9wU