Page 21 - Marilyn

The day of the interview came and I listened
closely as Douglas told me about his humble
beginnings and the path that would propel him to
become the most famous celebrity photographer
of our day. A photographer, whom in any given
week, during any given year, had at least 100
publications around the world running one of his
photographs.

Douglas Kirkland was born in Toronto in 1934.
At the age of three his family moved to Fort
Erie, Ontario, a small town of about 8000, near
Buffalo, New York. By the age of 13 Douglas
already knew what he wanted to do with his life.
At 14 he obtained a job at the local photo studio.
He took baby and wedding photos using his 4 x 5
Speedgraphic and flashbulbs. Photography was
the center of his universe. He was a voracious
reader, gathering all of the information available
on the new technologies and techniques that
would improve his skills and hone his art. At the
age of 18 Douglas headed for New York where
he attended the New York Institute of Photogra-
phy. Shortly thereafter, he returned to Canada
where he got a job in a local camera shop. Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin
Frustrated beyond words because he wanted to
be behind the camera and not selling them, he
headed back to Fort Erie where he was hired by
a local newspaper, The Times Review. Douglas
became a jack of all trades, learning all aspects
of the newspaper business.

His next job was at a larger paper in a nearby San Diego
town called Welland. He covered basketball Woman
games, hockey games and all of the local news
stories. Truly gaining an education, Douglas
still yearned for more. He read about all of the 21
famous photographers and knew he wanted to
lead that type of life. He started sending letters
to all of the respected photographers of the time.
When his third set of letters resulted in an offer
to work as an apprentice to Irving Penn, Douglas
was on his way. Assisting Irving Penn through
his photo shoots for Vogue, advertising cam-
paigns for DeBeers Diamonds, and helping him
number photos from his personal photo shoot
with Picasso, Douglas was exhilarated and knew
he wanted the same life.

The time he worked for Penn was magical but
unfortunately short lived. He now had a wife and
child and another one on the way, so the $66.00
he was paid to work as an apprentice to Irving
Penn just couldn’t support them anymore - he
knew it was time to make a move. He moved
back to Buffalo and found a job as an assistant
to a local photographer. After about 8 months
Douglas decided he couldn’t stand it anymore
and headed right back to New York. He worked
as an assistant for a short time and decided he
was ready to take the plunge. He set up a small
studio and declared himself a photographer. Angelina Jolie
May/June 2008