How Danny Clinch Captures Rock Stars’ Quiet Moments

The veteran photojournalist explains how he got five fantastic pictures.

Danny Clinch is best known these days as the guy who shoots those John Varvatos ads with KISS in three-piece suits. He’s not just some dissolute fashion snapper though; the New Jersey native and one-time assistant to Annie Liebovitz has been documenting the rock and roll scene for decades, directing videos for the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits, and shooting record covers, including that backstage gem on Johnny Cash’s Solitary Man. 


Clinch has just done something very un-rock and roll: released a coffee table book. The tome, published by Abrams, covers his entire career, with sections devoted to Documentary, Friends and Family, Backstage, Live and Portrait work. Every important artist of the last twenty years has been in front of Clinch’s lens at some point and there are over 200 images in the book, titled Danny Clinch: Still Moving. Clinch is a great music photographer because he lives and breathes the stuff. As Bruce Springsteen writes in the book’s foreword, “A disciple of the church of rock and roll’s great image men and women, Danny Clinch is as spontaneous as the Leica, his holy medal, slung around his neck. Danny’s my patron saint of new rock dreams. Shoot on, brother.”

Clinch gave us the lowdown on five of his best shots from the book (which is available for $50 from Abrams Books.)