Prolific photographer Brad Elterman has been photographing celebrities for over 30 years, most notably, Bob Dylan. Elterman's breakthrough moment into the word of professional photography came in 1974 when he snapped some photos of Dylan during a concert.
Following the success of these early photos, Elterman began receiving invites to parties and concerts where he'd hang out with some of Hollywood's most notorious names. One thing led to another, and soon his images were appearing in publications across the globe.
Over the years, Elterman's camera has captured Robert De Niro, Nicollette Sheridan, Brooke Shields, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gene Simmons, and Joan Jett in some of Hollywood's most rare an intimate settings.
Most recently, Elterman transformed his portfolio of iconic and decadent images and turned them into a rare and candid book: Like It Was Yesterday: The Photographs of Brad Elterman.
In celebration of Bob Dylan's 70th birthday, International Business Times caught up with Elterman to discuss the images that shaped his career.
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What's the story behind your first encounter with Bob Dylan?
Well, in 1974, Bob Dylan did a big comeback tour and I lucked out with two front row seats. The show was one of the best that I have ever seen and the energy in the room was nothing like I had ever experienced before.
There were no recent Dylan photos out there, so I sent my shots out to some magazines and newspapers and to Sounds, a British newspaper, who published one of my photos.
That wasn't your last time photographing Dylan, you serendipitously ran into him a few year later.
In 1976 I got to meet and photograph Bob Dylan in the dressing room of The Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip. Ronee Blakley was performing a showcase there and she knew that I adored Dylan and made sure that I was on the guest list. It was not a tip-off but a 'come and enjoy the show invite.'
Blakely just kind of said, 'Bob this is Brad, Brad this is Bob.' He remarked that I kind of looked like him because of our curly hair.
Bob heard that Robert De Niro was downstairs and he wanted to meet him. So Bob set up a group shot of him with this new actor, Robert De Niro, and a host of other friends that included musician David Blue, actress/singer Lanie Kazan, actresses Martine Getty and Sally Kirkland.
