Mr. Julius Shulman

A former collegue and friend of mine, Heather Fogarty emailed me a few days ago that Julius Shulman had died. She was one of the few people at work who knew who he was, when I pitched him to do an editorial job for Bon Appetit when I was a photo editor there. He definitely was one of my favorite photographers that I have ever worked with. I met him in 2002, doing a project for Newsweek magazine. He was so down to earth and accessable but sort of a diva at the same time. He answered his own phone, was extremely witty, charming,(a big old flirt), and most importantly, LOVED photography. We became very friendly and he told me if I was ever in LA to look him up and give him a ring. I did exactly that when I got to LA in 2005, and also offered him an assignment to shoot a mid-century modern kitchen for Bon Appetit in 2006. Liz Mathews, my manager and good friend at the time, was thrilled he was receptive, so we went up to his home in Laurel Canyon, told him about the project, brought him a very expensive bottle of whiskey. He was excited and flattered that we thought of him and he said yes. Julius was very modest man, showed us his whiskey collection, his kitchen that his wife used to cook in. He also talked about how in the old days...art directors really respected the photographer's vision and rarely art directed the shots. The photographer's were true artists who created the shots, and the art director's were the graphic designers who would design around the photography. Things have changed and we live in a different world now.
The job we gave him was really challenging but he pulled it off in the Julius Shulman style. Very opinionated, very precise, knew exactly where to place the camera, and exactly what time to do so. It was amazing to watch him.
I feel very lucky to have met him and have worked with him. I know that anyone that has, feels the same. He was an amazing photographer and most importantly, an inspiration to all us who like to take pictures, and make great images.