David Bailey is an inspiring, unique and remarkable photographer who shot fascinating fashion and celebrity photos. In 1959 he became a photographic assistant at the John French studio, and in May 1960, he was a photographer for John Cole’s Studio Five before being contracted as a fashion photographer for British Vogue magazine later that year. Along with Terence Donovan and Brian Duffy, he captured and helped create the ‘Swinging London’ of the 1960s: a culture of high fashion and celebrity chic. The three photographers socialised with actors, musicians and royalty, and found themselves elevated to celebrity status. Together, they were the first real celebrity photographers, named by Norman Parkinson as “the Black Trinity”.

Last year a retrospective of his most iconic photographs with the title “Pure sixties. Pure bailey” was on show at Bonhams. Fifty years on from a decade that changed our cultural history, his images celebrate a period of spontaneity and decadence, capturing the glamour and hedonism of the era. Among the famous faces immortalised by Bailey’s lens are Mick Jagger, Michael Caine and the Jean Shrimpton. In the below video interview he had an interesting talk with Sarfraz Manzoor about Picasso, body language and his dread of photographing modern celebrities.

Some of David Bailey’s photo’s are currently on exhibition at the NRW Forum Düsseldorf. This exhibition carries the title Zeitgeist & Glamour and will run until May 15, 2011. Read more about it in this article on the W&V Blog.

Photos by: David Bailey | Video by: The Guardian | David Bailey website