Nirvana: 2nd and Virginia loft, Seattle, 1990

This is the actual proof sheet as it was made in the darkroom in May of 1990. Negatives in a plastic sleeve placed between the paper and glass. It was an awkward shoot, and Krist’s height always made things more difficult. I was always ok with showing the artifice (lights, backdrops etc) of the shoot, but also wanted to frame tight for some. I was going through my Avedon for the poor fixation, but when Kurt walked in, first thing he said “oh no, not a plain white backdrop.” I thought quickly and found a can of black spray paint. With little hesitation he walked over and painted a + and a - on the paper. Okay. If you look at the proof sheet you can see how awkward the band were - and studio...View all