Howard Greenblatt began his photography career with a photo shoot of John Lennon at The Record Plant in New York in 1972.
Working as a cameraman for the TV show “Underground”, he traveled with the crew to interview John Lennon for the show. As recounted “The Record Plant was a union shop so I wasn’t able to work as the cameraman. Instead, the director gave me his still camera and, although I had no experience with stills, I became a still photographer. This was the happiest disappointment I’ve ever experienced.”
Following the demise of “Underground” in 1973, he moved to a kibbutz in Israel where he became a farmer. Howard saved his shekels to buy his own 35mm SLR to document the daily beauty he was experiencing. “I made lots of mistakes, but I think that’s the best way to learn.”
Back in Chicago in 1980, Howard discovered TUTs Chicago. His Lennon photo helped secure a job as house photographer. “TUTs Chicago was the cutting edge venue for music in Chicago.”
In 1988, Howard accepted a position as staff photographer at Brookfield Zoo. Later he became the Zoo’s videographer producing many conservation videos and winning numerous awards during his 18 years there. “Documenting the reintroduction to their native forest home of a family of golden lion tamarins (monkeys) has to be the highlight of my zoo career.”
Leaving Brookfield Zoo in 2006, he launched ZooVideo Productions producing conservation-based videos for Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida amongst others. “What a joy to shoot at Animal Kingdom. It’s like it was built for photographers.”
Howard has come full circle, once again photographing at various music venues around Chicago. His newest venture is imagine pictures.
LINKS
imaginepicturesphotography on Facebook
zoovideoproductions on YouTube
PHOTO
Zora Young
Governor State University – March 5, 2016 © Howard Greenblatt
Zora Young (born January 21, 1948, West Point, Mississippi) is an American Blues Singer. She is distantly related to Howlin’ Wolf. Zora’s family moved to Chicago when she was seven. She began singing Gospel music at the Greater Harvest Baptist Church. As an adult she began singing blues and R&B. Over the course of her career, she has performed with Junior Wells, Dawkins, Bobby Rush, Buddy Guy, Albert King, Professor Eddie Lusk, and B.B. King. Among those she has collaborated with on record are Willie Dixon, Sunnyland Slim, Mississippi Heat, Paul Delay, and Maurice John Vaughan.
In 1982, she toured Europe with Bonnie Lee and Big Time Sarah, billed as “Blues with the Girls”, and recorded an album in Paris. She was later cast in the role of Bessie Smith in the stage show The Heart of the Blues. By 1991 she had recorded the album, Travelin’ Light, with the Canadian guitarist Colin Linden. Young has toured Europe more than thirty times and has made appearances in Turkey and Taiwan. She was the featured performer at the Chicago Blues Festival six times.
In 2014, she was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the category Traditional Blues Female (the Koko Taylor Award).
Rose Reed
Buddy Guy’s Legends, Chicago – Sons & Daughters of The Blues Concert ’18 © Howard Greenblatt
Brenda Taylor Ricci
Chicago Blues Society Concert, Chicago, IL – 2017 © Howard Greenblatt
Howard Greenblatt began his photography career with a photo shoot of John Lennon at The Record Plant in New York in 1972.