Most of us are probably familiar with Jeff Bridges from his appearance in a variety of films over his long career. Bridges comes from a family of actors, including father Lloyd and brother Beau. He has been in both comedies and dramas, including “The Big Lebowski” (1998), “The Fisher King” (1991), “The Last Picture Show” (1971) and “Crazy Heart” (2009). He won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Otis “Bad” Blake in the latter. But what you might not know is that Bridges is also an accomplished photographer. In fact, he just released a book of photographs, “Jeff Bridges: Pictures Volume 2” (PowerHouse, 2019).
Bridges’s new book follows his now out-of-print book, “Pictures: Jeff Bridges.” The previous volume came out in 2003. Both books are published by PowerHouse Books, and proceeds go to the Motion Picture & Television Fund, a nonprofit organization that offers charitable care and support to film industry workers.
Both books also take us behind the scenes of Bridges’s various films.
Bridges has taken a camera with him to set for more than 30 years. The photos are compelling for at least two reasons. The first — and most obvious — is that the photos are of places, times and people most of us never get the chance to interact with or encounter. The photos capture co-workers such as Meryl Streep, Robert Duvall, Julianne Moore, Matt Damon and others.
But on top of the more obvious aspect of Bridges’s work in this book, the photos themselves are superbly wrought, using a specialized panoramic camera, the Widelux F8, and shot on film. The resulting photographs provide an intimate and rare look into who makes movies and how they do it. They are also well-crafted and beautiful documents in and of themselves. The wide-format photos are almost like small movies within the movies Bridges is chronicling.
Photography has long been one of Bridges’s passions, along with music and acting. His photographs have been featured in magazines and gallery exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles and London, and in Italy and at the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego. In 2013, Bridges also received an Infinity Award for his photos from the International Center of Photography in New York.
Today on In Sight you can catch a glimpse of Bridges’s extraordinary photographs in his latest book. You can buy the book here.
George Clooney, Tragedia/Comedia, “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” 2009. (Jeff Bridges/PowerHouse Books)
From left, seated, Jayne Taini, Stuart Balm, Norm O’Neill and Dawn Didawick, with Brad William Henke, right, “The Amateurs,” 2005. (Jeff Bridges/PowerHouse Books)
Claudio Miranda, center, and Olivia Wilde, “Tron: Legacy,” 2010. (Jeff Bridges/PowerHouse Books)
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