Worlds Collide

I just wanted to share a quick snippet from photographer Herbie Yamaguchi about his young days living in london. It pairs two of my favorite things in street photography and music.

Herbie Yamaguchi with Joe Strummer

Herbie shares “In 1981 i happened to see joe strummer – he was the singer for the punk rock band the clash – on the tube. I saw him sitting on the other side of the seat, but I thought he was too private – he might get to angry – but I was trying to be brave, I went up to him and asked him “may I take a picture of you.” he smiled and said “yes”, and I clicked several shots.”

Just before he got off the train he said to me, “You should take photos of whatever you want. That’s punk.” Imagine having Joe Strummer give you advice like that. Goddamn. Just thinking about it really gets me wanting to go out and shoot. :-)

You can check out the whole interview as Mijonju happened upon him at a photo exhibition after the jump.