New Yorker

I met David Byrne at his Soho office a few days before the shoot, and my clearest memory is him teasing me for showing up on crutches. I’d broken my ankle a couple of months earlier, and he greeted me with a laugh: “They didn’t tell me they were sending a one-legged photographer!”

The shoot itself was a joy. We worked at The Park Restaurant on 9th Avenue and later at his Chelsea apartment. I knew that David thought visually but what surprised me was that he took to the quiet shots as easily as the high concept ones.

And I didn’t expect how personable and engaging he’d be. I managed to get him talking about New York’s early punk scene, where Talking Heads got their start, and David regaled us with stories of those CBGB days for the full lunch break — it doesn’t get better than this.

Top Image: David Byrne, photographed with The New Yorker hotel, February 19, 2004.

Second Images: David Byrne, two at The Park Restaurant, NYC.

Bottom Image: A low key portrait of Byrne, taken in his Chelsea apt. This is the one that made it into my portrait monograph, Uneasy.