It is not often that you get to sling ice cream at the offices of Getty Images. So when Helen Ashford requested that we come down and sling some creamit was How much ice cream do I bring? and When do I show up? So with crew member James Boo in tow we showed up to spread some late afternoon cheer throughout the 16th floor of the building. The reason we were asked to come was that there would be a presentation by Michael Ochs to the staff of Getty and ice cream would be their treat afterwards.
So who is this Michael Ochs and why is he of such interest? Michael has been collecting music photos from the 1940s to the mid-1990s over the past 40 years. He has amassed a collection of over 2 million photos, from every imaginable genre of music. This collection resides online at the Editorial Archive section of Getty Images (Search Michael Ochs Archives), where if you get a chance it is a terrifically nostalgic place to wander. Just recently he sold his catalog to Getty Images and the presentation was to inform and show the staff what it is they bought. As Michael states why he sold to Getty Images My goal with the collection has been to share this important piece of pop culture on a large scale while protecting its integrity. Getty Images is uniquely equipped to preserve this imagery and make it easily accessible to the world.
Michael came from the east coast in the mid-60s to Los Angeles to get into the music industry, and while working for a record company noticed that they were throwing out a lot of publicity photos of their artist. Rescuing them from oblivion his collection was born. He began scouring the country for music photos and had a few interesting stories behind some of his acquisitions. My favorite photo in his presentation was a young Jimi Hendrix, when he played as a Squire for Curtis Knight.
So Michael decides to sell his catalog, not for money, but because the thrill of the hunt for that elusive filing cabinet filled to the brim with photos and negatives from yesteryear are far and few between nowadays. Probably because he already found most of them. I wonder if he ever thought about stampsthey take up a lot less space. Thanks to Getty Images and Helen for allowing us to show a few of his photos.
