Herb Ritts

One afternoon in front of a rural gas station somewhere outside of L.A., a young Herb Ritts snapped a few pictures of his friend, an aspiring actor named Richard Gere, posing in a ripped T-shirt and jeans. The pictures were a huge hit. And Ritts never looked back.

Over the 80's and 90's Ritts photographed the likes of Christopher Reeve, Dalai Lama, Cher, Magic Johnson, Elizabeth Taylor, Ronald Reagan, Steven Hawking, Edward Norton, Madonna, Dizzy Gillespie, Annette Benning, Cindy Crawford, and many others. And for years he was "the" cover photographer for Interview, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Rolling Stone, Vogue, Vanity Fair and Elle. But Herb Ritts was more than the photographer that made the beautiful and famous look fabulous. He was the photographer whom they trusted. He was their friend.

I wish I had a funny story about this guy. But I don't. Herb Ritts was the consummate fashion photographer. Smart enough to let his work take center stage. And modest enough to let it speak for itself.

In early January of 2003, I did a shoot with a wonderful photographer in San Francisco, Michele Clement. She told me that a dear friend and fellow photographer had passed away the day after Christmas from complications due to AIDS. His name was Herb.

Here's a nice video compilation of his work. Great music, too. (Nude body alert.)