An Intimate, Exclusive Interview With Legendary Photojournalist Steve Schapiro

"Don't try to emulate those who have come before you. It is crucial to have a sense of photographic history, but the photographers who have come before you have done their work. You are a new generation. It's your turn now." - Steve Schapiro

- By Dafna Navarro

Legendary photographer and photojournalist, Steve Schapiro, captured some of the most important historical events of the '60s and '70s and is still an active photographer today.

Schapiro, a real activist, covered many stories related to the civil rights movement, including the March on Washington for jobs and freedom, the push for voter registration, and the Selma to Montgomery march. When LIFE Magazine called him to hurry to Memphis after Martin Luther King has been shot, Schapiro produced some of the most iconic images of that tragic event.

Schapiro credits Henri Cartier-Bresson as a significant influence on his work, as well as his former teacher W. Eugene Smith. He has captured the images of many politicians and celebrities, notably, Dr. Martin Luther King, Robert F. Kennedy, Muhammad Ali, David Bowie, and Barbra Streisand. Moreover, in his film photography career, he took photographs on the set of The Godfather, Midnight Cowboy, Taxi Driver, and Chinatown.

Schapiro has photographed cover stories for the world's most prominent magazines, including Life, Look, Time, Newsweek, SI, Rolling Stone, People, and Paris Match.

He published over ten successful photography books and exhibited his work in some of the most prestigious galleries and museums around the globe.

His work appears in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, amongst others.

It is truly a great pleasure to publish an exclusive interview with one of the most influential photographers of all time.