Join SVMoA for an evening with Henry Diltz, the official photographer of Woodstock 1969, 1994, and 1999. Legends through the Lens is a story-driven look at some of the most memorable moments in music history, told by the photographer who was right in the middle of it all. With an easygoing, often funny style, Diltz shares the stories behind his photographs of artists like Joni Mitchell, The Doors, and Crosby, Stills & Nash, giving audiences a sense of what it was actually like to be there. As he moves through the images, it feels like listening to a friend recount incredible, firsthand experiences—offering a genuine, personal window into a defining era of music and culture. Before becoming one of the most recognizable photographers of the rock era, Diltz was a musician himself, playing in the folk group Modern Folk Quartet. He began taking photos almost by accident in the mid-1960s, documenting friends and collaborators in the Los Angeles music scene, and quickly became a trusted presence among artists. As one of the official photographers at Woodstock, he captured images that would come to define the spirit of that moment. Over the decades, his images have appeared on hundreds of album covers and in major publications, helping shape the visual identity of a generation of musicians while remaining rooted in a spirit of access, curiosity, and genuine connection. In Diltz’s own words, “I was a musician before I became a photographer. So I started out photographing my friends who then all happened to become famous.”
Presented in connection with Circa 1971, this program offers a vivid, first-person complement to the exhibition’s exploration of a pivotal moment in American culture. Diltz’s photographs and stories bring the music, personalities, and creative energy of the era into focus, deepening the exhibition’s themes and offering audiences a more intimate sense of the people and moments that defined the early 1970s.
Part of SVMoA’s exhibition Circa 1971: From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation
Tickets on sale August 3
