Leonard Cohen Portrait

June 11, 2008 on 9:57 am | In Photographs, Photography blog entries, Photography tips

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to meet the Poet/Singer/Songwriter Leonard Cohen in Saguenay Quebec. I have always been an enormous fan and rarely does a week go by when I don’t listen to one of his truly great songs. Although we only spent a few precious minutes with him, he was gracious enough to allow us to take a few shots. This shot was my favourite of the few shots we took.

It was a hot sunny cloudless day and the sun was still fairly high which meant I had to be on the lookout for shadows in the face. I therefore set my flash to minus 2 which would fill in the potential shadows. This shot was originally processed in colour and I really like how it turned out (maybe I’ll post the colour version sometime). However there is something timeless and mysterious about Mr. Cohen’s music and I knew when I took the image that I’d likely process it in black and white. Also, his suit and hat were just screaming to be photographed in black and white.

I’d like to thank Leonard Cohen (and his UNBELIEVABLE ensemble of musicians) for the fantastic concert where he received at least 15 standing ovations, and for allowing me the pleasure to take a few shots. My only regret is that my wife (who is equally an enormous fan) wasn’t there to meet him with me. She was resting at the hotel since she was tired from the 5 hour drive from Montreal.

Tags: flash, Leonard Cohen, Leonard Cohen photograph, Leonard Cohen Portrait, photography, portraits

16 Comments »

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

  1. Wow. I have seen photos like this before of Leonard, but no one has managed to capture the kindness and gentleness in his eyes. This is probably the best photo I have ever seen of him (and I have seen them all). Amazing. Thank you so very much.

    Comment by Marie — June 11, 2008 #

  2. Wow this is an excellent portrait!!! Very well done I must say and although i want to see the color version this version is just great!! :)

    Comment by Jen. S — June 12, 2008 #

  3. I also love this shot and I find it extremely expressive. Very well done and Thumbs up.

    Comment by Benny — June 16, 2008 #

  4. I have been looking to purchase a nice photo of Leonard. This is a terrific shot. Would you be interested in selling a copy?

    Comment by Aimee — June 17, 2008 #

  5. A truly beautiful picture! I think I saw you, I was walking by as you were taking the pictures. If by any chance you have any video of that fantastic evening, PLEASE, post them on YouTube. I would love to see them.

    Comment by Louise — June 17, 2008 #

  6. So very nice.

    Comment by Keith — June 19, 2008 #

  7. Marko – wonderful! warm, and poetic!

    Comment by Susan — September 1, 2008 #

  8. Amazing portrait. You have captured so much in his eyes. Amazing.

    Comment by PaulaLynn — September 8, 2008 #

  9. this is truly an amazing portrait of Leonard Cohen. I am also a BIG fan of Leonard, saw him last year in Halifax and one of the best performances ever. Such a humble man, his songs are still fresh.

    Comment by Joanne — January 21, 2009 #

  10. Wow great shot. The eyes are amazing and he’s got a little Mona Lisa smile going on. I just finished my basement and am looking for photo’s for it. I would really like to have a copy of this photo. Please let me know if you are selling prints or the digital file.

    Thanks!

    Comment by Brad — February 1, 2009 #

  11. can I use this in my print publication?

    Comment by sandi — February 16, 2009 #

  12. Sorry you DO NOT have permission.

    Comment by admin — February 16, 2009 #

  13. This is Lenny! Waiting for a miracle to come. And the photo captures a complex expression. Determined, focused with penetrating eyes lookin’ right at you. I don’t seen any answers about about the possibility of purchasing prints. I for one woud be grateful for the opportunity

    Comment by Barry Marcus — May 9, 2009 #

  14. Thanks for that compliment. Not selling copies of the image at this point, but i have your info if I ever do put it up for sale.

    Comment by admin — May 9, 2009 #

  15. Can we put a thumbnail of your picture on another commercial site citing the source and link to this page?

    Comment by Abraham — June 25, 2009 #

  16. Please contact me by email (use correct email formatting)for this or any other request. photography.ca ( a T ) gmail ( d o t)com
    Thx – Marko

    Comment by admin — June 26, 2009 #

Leave a comment

XHTML: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Powered by WordPress with Pool theme design by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds. Valid XHTML and CSS. ^Top^