My afternoon with B.B. King

Getting B.B. King to sit for a portrait was a coup for me during the production of Identity.  We caught up with him in the green room of the House of Blues in Las Vegas late one afternoon before a show.  After we get there and we are figuring out what to do when in comes B.B.   He was the nicest guy you can imagine, I think you might mistake him for your granddad if you saw him on the street.

What I remember most was his voice as he said “Stewart, there are three things I hate the most in life. Number one is having my picture taken, number two is going to the dentist.” I stopped him there. I replied “You actually hate having your picture taken more than going to the dentist?  That is unheard of.”   He was right, he usually has a guitar in his hand and is playing. I was going for something very natural and wanted his personality as a human being to show through, not his showbiz personality.  While I was shooting he was very animated telling us his life story which was truly fascinating.  We talked for about an hour, or shall I say we listened to this legend telling us everything about his career and life  in his engaging fashion.  Everytime I raised my camera, all the character left him.  We were playing cat and mouse, he would continue and I was listening and waiting for the moment to shoot, I’d raise the camera- boom no expression, lower the camera and he lit up.  I finally was able to grab a frame and when I say frame, I mean a singular frame and knew I had it.  We went on until it was time for him to change and go on stage.  They gave us full access to the venue so as I stood watching him play, he was B.B. King the Legend, but what I had learned was about the man B.B. King who has played two hundred nights a year for most of his life because that is what he loves to do.