marianne campbell hockenberry's Blog

jim marshall was one of the first photographers i met when i started representing photographers in 1989.  we became fast friends, and would often meet for lunch or drinks.  i soon realized that he was certifiably insane.  we would be sitting at lunch and he would pull out a gun, or start some tirade filled with profanity, slurs, you name it.  but somehow, he was still so damn lovable.  he had the most amazing stories of his life.  he had access to the phenomenal musicians he photographed because they trusted him and they felt he was one of them. he would often ask me to represent him.  i told him, “no way in hell! you are WAY too much of a wild card. i’ll represent you after you die.”   he continued to ask throughout the years, and i continued to tell him, “no.” when i was about to get married in december of 1992, jim offered to shoot candids at my wedding as a wedding present. our friendship aside, i knew what a gift that was, jim’s photographic artistry was genius.  the day before my wedding, one of jim’s assistants called me to say that jim had not been seen in days, and that i might want to make sure i had a back-up plan for the wedding. fortunately for me, one of the photographers i represented saved the day and photographed my wedding, because true to form, jim never showed up.  i was sad to hear of his death this week, and i was fortunate enough to have him photograph me on several occasions.