While sitting and chatting in Starbucks in Meguro, fellow photographer Herbie Yamaguchi asks me, “Did you know that next to the Leica store in London there is a life-size, bronze statue of Donovan shooting the model/actress Twiggy?”
Englishman Terence Donovan started his famous career as a fashion photographer with those photos of Twiggy, then went on to shoot the likes of Margaret Thatcher, Jimi Hendrix, Lady Diana and other celebrities. Born in 1936 to a British working class family, he originally pursued a career as a chef, but in 1957 switched gears to move into the world of photography. In 1959 he opened his own studio. With his lens he painted a portrait of London in the 60s. It was the ideal situation for the development of a fashion cameraman.
While Yamaguchi was talking to me about Donovan I imagined the situation was similar to a musician listening to Keisuke Kuwata tell tales about Paul McCartney. As a photographer it was extremely exciting for me.
“I want to see it! I absolutely have to see it!” I exclaimed.
Well, my chance came–a job in London landed on my desk! When I explained the situation to my client in London, we decided that the first thing we would do is visit the Leica store to get an impression of the scene. On arriving there, we asked the clerk about the aforementioned statues, but he told us he knew nothing of them! We enlisted the help of Sebastian, a local colleague of ours, to look into the matter. It turns out that the statues were a few minutes’ walk from the store. We followed his directions and encountered the statues after turning into an alleyway.
Twiggy was striking a pose in front of the wall of an old building. Opposite her was Donovan with camera in hand. It was a big thrill for me! In all honesty, I had never felt much about a statue my whole life, but these electrified me. I stood next to Twiggy thinking, “Ah, that’s how he lined up the shot. But of course, he measured out that distance. Yeah, yeah, I see it.”
Then I stood right next to Donovan, of course with my camera in hand. Click! I felt that I could see things that I had never perceived before. If you endeavor to become a fashion photographer, you need to get on a plane and see this for yourself.
I went back and forth between Twiggy and Donovan, as giddy as a little kid. Suddenly we noticed we weren’t alone in the alley with the two statues. There was a third one. That statue was holding a shopping bag and staring at us. At first I questioned why this third statue existed. But viewing the statue from Donovan’s point of view, I felt as if we had entered a time machine that transported us back to the 1960s. I don’t know how long we remained there, but I am sure in my heart that I was talking with Terence Donovan.