No Time to Die – Behind the Scenes: Four Photographers, One Focus – James Bond
James Bond producer, Michael G. Wilson offers a personal insight into his love of photography and explains the thought process behind his selection of 25 images behind the scenes of the 25th official Bond movie, No Time To Die, all of which are shot on Leica cameras.
“My love of photography stretches all the way back to childhood. My father was a keen photographer and wherever he went he would invariably carry this suitcase that contained a mini-enlarger. He would set up in the bathroom and print his negatives.
As a child, I was fascinated by the process and took up photography as a teen, which has remained a constant source of pleasure throughout my life. I would set up a darkroom wherever we lived — much to my wife’s horror. She did not like me taking over the bathrooms, which compelled me to build my own space in the basements or lofts of our residences.
Over the years, I have become a keen collector of photography as well as a practitioner, encouraged by Weston Naef, an old school friend who went on to become a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art before being appointed as the head of photography at the J. Paul Getty Museum.
I was fortunate enough to persuade his daughter, Ella Naef, an extremely knowledgeable photographer, and curator, to come and work with me. Ella has been instrumental in printing and organizing the Leica exhibition, which will be shown in ten locations: London, Tokyo, Osaka, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Salzburg, Singapore, Taipei, Seoul, and Vienna.”
“The idea for the exhibition was born from conversations I had with Leica’s London archivist, Lou Proud, during the production of No Time To Die. When we realized we had four accomplished photographers snapping away on set who could capture behind-the-scenes moments with Leica cameras (Greg Williams, Nicola Dove, Daniel Craig, and myself) we realized we had the makings of an exhibition.
With Ella’s help, we have assembled a portfolio of 25 images showing work by all four photographers. We created portfolios of which four are artist proofs for the four artists, one is for the EON archive and one is for sale at the Bond auction in autumn 2022.” (MICHAEL G. WILSON, via leica-camera.blog/)
About the Author
Michael G. Wilson, the producer of the James Bond film series together with his sister Barbara Broccoli, is a leading expert on 19th-century photography and founded The Wilson Centre for Photography. Wilson’s passion for photography provided the natural spark for collaboration.
Daniel Craig is the star of five James Bond films and a celebrated actor on both stage and screen. Craig is also a keen photographer who loves to shoot on set with his Leica camera when time permits!
Nicola Dove is a specialist in film stills and portraits, and the unit photographer for No Time To Die. She has worked with some of the world’s leading filmmakers.
Greg Williams is one of the world’s leading photographers. His cinematic style of composition and lighting was cultivated as a reportage photographer working behind-the-scenes on feature films.
No Time To Die – Behind the Scenes
Sept. 9 at Leica Galleries/Stores Frankfurt (until Oct. 30, 2021),
London (until Oct. 17, 2021),
L.A. (until Oct. 11, 2021),
Seoul, Singapore (both until Oct. 31, 2021),
Taipeh (until Nov. 15, 2021) as well as in Salzburg (Sept. 17 — Oct. 21, 2021),
Vienna (Sept. 17 — Oct. 30, 2021),
Tokyo (Sept. 24, 2021 — Jan. 25, 2022)
Osaka (Nov. 3, 2021 — Jan. 11, 2022)
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