Imagine you are 19 in 1974, still a relative newcomer to gig photography, and you get asked to cover a major tour by a much talked-about British band. Scary, right, particularly as there were no digital cameras back then, or even autofocus. Oh, and that band is Pink Floyd, and they’re touring to promote Dark Side of the Moon, the album that propelled them into the stratosphere. So, no pressure then…
A lot of young photographers would have freaked out, fluffed it, or both, but not Jill Furmanovsky – she took the job in her stride, earned the respect of Pink Floyd, and went on to become one of the best-known photographers in the business.
Unassuming, friendly and totally devoid of ego, it’s not hard to see how Jill would get on with just about anybody, but being nice is not enough to stay afloat in the shark-infested waters of show business, then or now. Jill’s lasted the course by being a very creative photographer and somebody who, as the Pink Floyd story shows, can master essential new skills quickly. She is a very worthy winner of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
In the blood
‘My dad was an architect in our native Zimbabwe, and photography
