In 1975, during a weeklong Ansel Adams Workshop in Yosemite, I had the
good fortune to meet the portrait photographer Arnold Newman. He and I,
and several other instructors, were there helping Ansel Adams teach classes
in photography. One day several of us were hanging out in front of Arnold
Newman's cabin and it occurred to me that I really should be photographing
the moment. Here was one the world's most famous portrait photographers and
when would I ever have such an opportunity again. By this time I figured I had
gotten to know him well enough that I could probably take some semi-candid
photographs while he told stories and chatted with the students, so I asked him if
he minded. He shrugged as if to say okay. Keep in mind that this is the man who
invented environmental portraiture, and who always worked with a large format
camera and tripod, so for him to see me start clicking away with a 35mm, circling,
trying to remain invisible––the exact opposite of the way he approached photo-
graphing people––I figured it was only a matter of time before he made some
comment about my method of working. Well, as it turned out, his comment
was not verbal but came in the form of a gesture. After a few minutes, he
suddenly raised a finger (pretending anger) and lunged toward me with an
outstretched hand. To which everyone in attendance, including myself, had
