Classics. A piece of work judged over time to be definitive. And what is it but a “Charles Peterson photo” that comes to mind when you think of the grunge scene, or maybe even the nineties altogether? These are my legacy photos, the icons, the perfect outcome of the vision I was trying to bring to the world, no matter how small the subject seemed to begin with. I was an art student, so I leaned into it with that critical eye, no matter how sloppy it all seemed at the time. I always aimed high, with technique, creation, and concept. 

Eddie Vedder once said to me, upon looking at an image I took of him, where his head occupies only a small corner in a sea of black, “Oh, wow, I never thought of it like that…” Exactly! The best art is a blending of mystery and beauty, constantly drawing you back in. Lighting is the emotion, composition the primal, and moment the intellectual. My hope is that I’ve succeeded on all three levels with these photos I’m presenting to you.  - Charles Peterson

Charles Peterson Grunge Years NFT collection - Classics

It took a good fifteen minutes of coaxing to get Kim into the lily pads, the band standing there in muck and sinking deeper by the minute. “Can’t I just sit on the side?” “NO! Just GET IN!” the band would chorus back. 

I was so proud of Soundgarden for going along with the wacky idea I came up with for the cover of the Rocket,  the local monthly music paper we all relied on. I rented what was to me at the time an exorbitant and exotic 15mm Nikon lens for an extra wide angle effect. I was terrified the whole time of dropping it into the drink, and having to empty my bank account and then some. - Charles Peterson


Soundgarden, Lake Washington, Seattle, 1987

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