An Astonishing Conversation with Bob Minkin
Photo Credit: © Bob Minkin
Bob Minkin is a San Francisco Bay Area-based photographer. He received his BFA in Graphic Design from the School Of Visual Arts, NYC. Bob has photographed thousands of concerts in clubs and arenas across the USA and Europe, capturing some of the most iconic musicians over the decades, including the Grateful Dead, B.B King, Bruce Springsteen, Albert King, Ben Harper, Buddy Guy, Carlos Santana, Dave Matthews, David Crosby, and many more.
Bob has published five coffee-table photography books, including Live Dead in 2014, The Music Never Stopped in 2017, Just Jerry in 2019, and Just Bobby in 2021. Bob’s latest book, Just Phil - Phil Lesh, is a hard-cover coffee table book of epic Phil Lesh photographs taken over five decades.
Bob’s most recent book, Just Phil, is a finely printed and produced hardcover large format coffee table book— featuring hundreds of images with many previously unpublished shots.
Bob pored through every photograph of Lesh he ever took to find the most special shots to include in this collection. Phil with the Grateful Dead will be well represented, as will the Terrapin Crossroads years, Phil & Friends, Furthur, and more!
Available for preorder here.
I had the pleasure and honor of asking Bob about what made him pursue taking photos of the Grateful Dead, his coffee table books, the advice he would give to emerging artists, and so much more.
UZOMAH: How have your lens choices evolved throughout your career?
BOB: When I started out as a teenager, economics dictated my lens choices. I mostly used the 50mm lens that came with my camera. Those cameras were a Konica and a Minolta. Later on, the need for a telephoto and wide-angle lens became apparent, and I had to save for those lens. These days, I mostly use zooms that are optimized for low light with a maximum aperture of f2.8. They’re all Nikon glass, 14-24, 24-70 and 80-200. I have prime lenses too, 15mm, 50mm, and an 85mm.
Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir, Grateful Dead, Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY, 10/31/79 Photo Credit: © Bob Minkin
U: What made you want to pursue taking pictures of the Grateful Dead?
B: As a teenager, first getting into music, I subscribed to the music magazines of the day, including Relix, and was enraptured by the photos and the images in the albums. I thought to myself, “I want to do that”. I began taking my little Kodak Instamatic to concerts and would take pictures to have as a souvenir for myself. The first show I did was at New Riders Of The Purple Sage at the Academy of Music in NYC in 1974.
U: When did you realize you could pursue what you loved and make a career out of it?
B: When I met the publisher of Relix magazine in 1977 and showed him my work, he loved it and began publishing my photographs and paying me. That kicked off the impetus to keep doing it, and I never stopped.
Me and Jerry, Grateful Dead, Laguna Seca, CA, 5/10/87, Photo: Anne Minkin
U: Your coffee table photography book, Just Jerry, was published in October 2019. How did you know which photos to capture such a legendary figure?
B: Well, Jerry was such a commanding figure and presence. Going through the thousands of images I had taken of him was daunting and frankly emotional too. I tried to convey the joy he brought to people with my photo selections for the book, also showing his different moods while playing and interacting with the other band members.
U: You also made a coffee table photography book, Just Bobby. How did you capture the magic that Bob Weir brings to the stage?
B: For the Bobby book, I had a lot more images I had shot to work with than the Jerry book… Jerry's photos ended in 1995, while Bobby continues to this day performing more than 28 years later! I was able to show Bobby's progression from when I first photographed him in 1975, when he was 28 years old, to the present day, where he is 76 and not slowing down at all!
U: If you could trade places with any musician, living or dead, whom would it be and why?
B: Hmmm, I always loved Jimi Hendrix… for his incredible guitar and songwriting at such a young age… he was my first musical hero.
U: What makes a great photo?
B: Many things can make a great photo, being in the right place at the right time… or purposely putting yourself in that position where you have the chance to capture something magical. To me, it would be an image that moves you emotionally.
Grateful Dead, Frost Amphitheater , Palo Alto, CA, 5/2/87, Photo Credit: © Bob Minkin
U: What have you learned about deadheads through capturing them at concerts for all these decades?
B: For sure—the more that things change, the more they stay the same. These days, I see many young people at Dead-related shows living the Dead Head dream, following the bands from city to city, just the way we did years ago.
U: How can art defy stereotypes?
B: Whatever perceptions people might have about Dead Heads or any other group, art can defy the stereotypes by portraying people outside that pre-conceived viewpoint. For example, a Dead Head investment banker that may not outwardly “look” like a Dead Head.
Jerry Garcia Band,Roseland, New York, NY, 6/1/83, Photo Credit: © Bob Minkin
U: As a Minkin Design + Marketing partner, how would you advise an independent artist to market their photos and art to gain a wider audience or more high-profile clients?
B: These days, that’s getting harder and harder, I believe, with the onslaught of images and ease of use of digital cameras—One needs to bring something unique to the table, in addition to social skills of networking and meeting the right people that can open doors for you and the ability market yourself are all important ways to succeed.
Jerry Garcia, Grateful Dead , Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View, CA, 8/17/91 Photo Credit: © Bob Minkin
U: As a licensed pilot, aircraft owner, and photographer, how do you feel about drones taking pictures that humans could not possibly take?
B: Drones, like digital cameras, opened up a new world of photography for many. I follow drone photographers on Instagram, and I’m blown away at what they capture; their creativity is amazing. I have not got into drone photography… yet, but it’s in my future.
Grateful Dead Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA, February 1992, Photo Credit: © Bob Minkin
U: When you are not behind the lens, what do you enjoy doing?
B: I’m an avid hiker; I also love flying and wine tasting.
U: What are you currently listening to?
B: I go through phases … from listening to Elvis Costello albums to Johnny Winter and Muddy Waters. Most recently, as in yesterday, I listened to Lou Reed’s “New York” album.
U: With the new Phil Lesh book that is out now, how was the arranging of the photos different or similar to your previous books of band members Jerry and Bob? What have you noticed about Phil that makes him stand out through the photographs over the decades?
B: It’s similar to the Bobby book in that I had a lot more images I had shot to work with than the Jerry book… Phil continues to this day performing. Phil’s venue, Terrapin Crossroads, was only 15 minutes from my house. I was there A LOT and had all-access most of the time. I do have a wealth of images to choose from.
I’m able to show Phil’s progression from when I first photographed him in 1976 to the present day, where he is 84 and not slowing down at all!!
U: If you could use one word to describe the magic of a Grateful Dead concert, what would it be and why?
B: How about three words? “Anything is possible.”
For more information about Bob’s artwork and latest book, please visit his site and follow him on Instagram.
