Herb Ritts

I was paging through old magazines, looking for an inspiring photo to bring in. I came across a mention of late fashion photographer Herb Ritts. A decade ago, I was obsessed with his work. The mention of his name attached to a project -- whether a photo, a music video, or a book -- immediately made me go seek it out.

Strangely, I haven't though about him in probably 5 or 6 years. (Of course, having passed away in 2002, he isn't generating any new work.)

You can see a bunch of his images at http://www.herbritts.com/. I think people are often surprised by how many of them they recognize from pop culture. I really like the octopus one. It's a real risk-taker of a photo because I think it could have looked stupid -- but it ends up looking really interesting. The octopus's tentacles sort of suggest dreadlocks.