B A S E B A L L:
B A S K E T B A L L:
B O X I N G:
F O O T B A L L:
G O L F:
H O C K E Y:
T E N N I S:
Get 2 Know photographer Janette Beckman
Posted by: Scoop Malinowski - 12/13/2004

The BIOFILE Janette Beckman
By Scoop Malinowski

Status: Photographer.

Hobbies/Interests: "Photography, painting.
Looking at people. Street culture. And gardening."

Favorite Movies: "Goodfellas, Raging Bull."

Favorite TV Shows: "The John Stewart Show."

Musical Tastes: "Very varied - everything from punk to soul to R&B, everything from Marvin Gaye to Johnny Rotten."

Favorite Meal: "That is a hard one. Linguini with pasta - I mean linguini with clam sauce. I had too many of these to drink [smiles]."

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: "Chocolate."

Childhood Dream: "I wanted to be an artist."

First Job: "Was painting the eyes on little, wooden baby Jesuses, little Christmas toys. I worked for this woman who made handmade toys in London (age 14)."

Early Photo Memory: "Well, I worked during the Punk era, so I pretty much witnessed all the punks, all the mods, the kids in the street. And photographing The Clash in Milan and going to clubs and all of that stuff. Seeing Johnny Rotten play in a club in London when I was drunk. Stuff like that. That was my first memories of photography."

Greatest Career Moment: "Kate Moss just bought one of my photographs, about two hours ago. In a gallery in London. And it's a picture of Shane McGowan - he's a famous punk, he was in a group called The Pogues."

Most Painful Moment: "Meeting Bill Cosby and being disappointed. (He wasn't friendly?) No, not at all. Somewhat rude. I was taking his photograph for Nickelodeon - he has that Little Bill cartoon - and they hired me to photograph him. For publicity for his show. And he was somewhat rude to me. Not to mention four hours late. So. And I've always been a really big fan of his. So it was a bit disappointing."

Embarrassing Moment: "I went to photograph The Police - that group The Police - for their second album cover - Zenyatta Mondatta. And this photo shoot was in these woods in Holland, like far away. Far away from any town, maybe about a five hour drive. And I didn't have an assistant. And I had all my equipment and I got there. And I set up all my camera and all the lights and everything. And the sync cord to go from the camera to make the lights flash, didn't work. And we were in the middle of nowhere. It was kind of funny. So I had to think of another idea. Which is why - if you look at The Police's second album cover - they look almost like silhouettes. Didn't have any light."

Favorite Subject to Photograph: People of all walks of life, from musicians and celebrities to the real people that make the world turn

Photographs I'm Most Proud of: A shot of Run DMC on the street where they grew up, in their early days in Hollis Queens...A photo of Paul Weller (the Jam) and Pete Townshend (The Who) which I shot in London...My collection of street portraits from New York City.

Favorite artists/photographers: Weegee, Penn, Matisse, Picasso, Avedon, Sebastian Selgardo, and many more.

Favorite Events to Photograph: Musicians and street portraits, people in their environment where they hang out. Always in black and white.

People Qualities Most Admired: "Wow...good heart. Good spirit. Happy. Good vibes. (Publicist says, Money!) I don't care about money. No, money isn't it. Definitely good heart, good spirit. People who are open. Open to things in life. Open to all sorts of people. People that aren't snobbish. Generosity."

Janette's website is www/janettebeckman.com
Copyright 2002 TheBioFILE.com. All Rights Reserved.
Derek Jeter
STATUS: New York Yankees shortstop.
CHILDHOOD HEROES: Dave Winfield, Barry Larkin - went to Michigan.
Annika Sorenstam
STATUS: LPGA Rolex Player of the Year won eight tournaments in 2001.
CHILDHOOD HERO: I grew up playing tennis. I think Bjorn Borg had great sportsmanship, so I picked him.
Pete Sampras
STATUS: Tennis player. Has won more Grand Slam majors (14) than any player in history.
MUSICAL TASTES: Pearl Jam, Led Zeppelin, Cat Stevens, REM, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.


You may have read Biofiles in such publications as: Tennis, Hockey Digest, NASCAR Winston Cup Scene,MLB.com, The Sporting News, The Daily Racing Form, The New York Post, New York Daily News, Eastsideboxing.com, Boxingtalk.com, Tennisweek.com, Tennis Week, Track & Field News, New York Giants publications, New York Sportscene, The Daily Record, Seattle Post Intelligencer, Orange Country (CA) Register, World Boxing, Boxing Digest, Boxing 2003, Boxing Update, Wrestling Digest, DirecTV Guide, Mets Inside Pitch, Reds Report, Full Contact Fighter, DIEHARD, Giants Insider, Jets Confidential, College & Pro Football Newsweekly, The Fist, World Boxing Japan, Boxinginsider.com, Tennisweek.com, etc.