Creative, commercial photographers.

Famous American photographer dies aged 87

August 24, 2010

The renowned American photographer Herman Leonard has died at the age of 87, in a Los Angeles hospital. The creative photographer was celebrated for his photographs of the famous jazz halls in London, Paris and New York.

It was during the Second World War that Leonard really made his mark, taking black and white portrait photographs of the icons of American Jazz including Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong, in the famous New York jazz clubs.

In 2009 Leonard was asked to be the official photographer for the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, the world largest jazz festival in Montreal, Canada.

Museum curator, John Edward Hasse, said:

“He used light, shadow and smoke, and he made indelible the faces of many of the greatest American musicians of the 20th century.”

Commercial photographers know that festivals are some of the most thrilling events to photograph, cultural events such as these are a fantastic way to learn about customs, people, local culture and creative photographers are able to capture lively photographs to convey all the excitement. Commercial photographers will find many a worthy subject at such an event including costumes, crafts and merchandise, and like Leonard found at Montreal, there are plenty of colourful participants to be photographed.

No matter what a photographer specialises or loves to focus on with their photography, whether it is lifestyle photographer or interactive web video, they can only hope to have as successful a career as Herman Leonard had, and to leave behind such a great legacy.