The Vision Of Charles Peterson -- Seattle Photographer's Style Finds Clear Success In The Blur Of The International Rock Scene

Where was "grunge," that set of "Seattle sounds," actually born? Some say in venues like the Central and Ditto taverns. Others say at Jack Endino's Fremont recording studio. But Bruce Pavitt, co-founder of Sub Pop Records, claims it came largely from Charles Peterson's grandad's laundry.

Peterson is the lanky lensman who shot most Sub Pop popsters, from Green River to Soundgarden to Nirvana. His style shaped ideas of their music and style. And Bruce Pavitt is right about its roots.

At the age of 6, growing up in Bothell, Peterson avidly watched his uncle creating photos. They were simple landscape and hiking shots - developed at his father's, in a darkroom improvised next to the washer and dryer. Says Peterson today, "To me, it was magic. He played rock 'n' roll on this little radio, put the paper in this tray of chemicals - and up came pictures!"

That "magic" - noise, darkness and transformation - tightened its grip on Peterson as he grew older. Even when his pals turned into pop stars, all he wanted was to photograph them. But, as a new book and exhibition show, his ambition helped make theirs happen.

Pavitt, who wrote the book's brief foreword, is clear on the role played by Peterson. "Basically, Sub Pop re-packaged rock 'n' roll: all these great local sounds which were springing up. But we wanted one really strong identity. Charles should get the credit for setting it up."

Peterson's book, titled "Screaming Life," acts as a timeline of Seattle's music stardom. It takes viewers from obscure local gigs to the stages of European festivals. (It also comes with a Peter Bagge cartoon and a special, Peterson-selected CD of Seattle rock rarities.) But the glue for its very different moments and personalities is a coherent and consistent style. Pavitt describes it in the words of a fan: "Charles could get right down in the pit, get those pictures of fans and bands interacting. He really captured the essence of an indie show."

One of the tools which accomplished this is a blurred effect, which serves as a code for energy and movement. Critic Michael Azzerad, Nirvana's biographer, describes it as "painting with light." Peterson himself is a bit more down to earth. His aesthetics, he says, owe a lot to personal history.

In both junior high and high school, Peterson worked as a full-time school photographer. "I did social clubs, portraits and sport events. I did newspaper stuff and the school yearbook. Then I studied photography at the University of Washington."

There he saw magazine work by Diane Arbus, street photography by Cartier-Bresson, 19th-century portraiture by Nadar. All influenced shots of his subjects: musicians. So did what he had learned snapping sports in school: that he was gifted with fast reflexes.

Those blurs which became Sub Pop trademarks were inspired by a '60s street photographer. This was New York's Gary Winogrand who, in the 1970s, shot a striking series on rodeo. Says Peterson, "It was great. He used a flash balanced with long shutter-speeds, so there would be this blurry kind of motion. Once I figured that out, I really dug it."

Of course, he used these ideas on bands. Bands who, though filled with friends, did not begin as stars. Bands like the U-Men, Mother Love Bone, Mudhoney, Soundgarden. When some made it, Peterson "made it," too. But his fame gave rise to a strange question. "Everyone started to ask, `What else are you shooting? Other than all this rock stuff?' I did and do think that is very weird. Because you bring your touch to any subject."

Peterson scratches a small tattoo on his arm. (Each arm bears the logo of a favorite camera: one reads "Leica," the other, "Hasselblad.") He says his proof sheets mark his conceptual progress. "If you put them all in order by date, you see what I did. At every show, I try different things. Pretty soon, the lights are just going crazy."

Yet there was always control in the captured chaos."Some photographers go on and on about light. But, to me, the central thing is composition. I think that's what sets my stuff apart, whether I'm in the front row or a studio. It's all about how you forge a symbiosis. How you translate what you know in different situations."

For Peterson, this is not a matter of gimmick. He refuses, for instance, to crop his work: a shot's actual border becomes part of the photo. "That adds time and space to the picture. You know exactly where I was standing; you know just what I saw."

Peterson has now become an international figure. He sells to collectors in Europe and Japan. His work is bootlegged in Italy and Germany. In a high-concept, high-impact field, Peterson's art is regarded as classically pure. His fans stretch from readers of England's music press to Charles Saumerez-Smith, director of England's National Portrait Gallery.

Peterson claims it is partly to do with attitude. "Lots of English photographers are clever. But that's eye candy, it doesn't last. To me, you have to let a person be themself. Obviously, you are gonna want an interesting shot. But that's up to you. Not to them."

Peterson's aims might surprise some of his fans; for a rock photographer, they are atypical. "My dream is to become a classic portraitist. I think people like Nadar are just incredible. Or Francis Wolff, who took photos for the Blue Note jazz label. I always thought Sub Pop was a lot like Blue Note."

When Charles Peterson shot his "seminal" rock work, he was paying for the film with a series of day jobs. Now, he shares a large downtown studio, and works for clients from Newsweek to the Northwest AIDS Foundation. Over a third of his work is done in the studio and - contrary to legend - much is now shot in color. Of course, it's not color like anyone else's: Peterson uses a rich, cross-processed brew.

He is also planning a second book. This time, he says, it will be an art work. "With the first one, the story was the point. This one will have lots more esoterica, pictures of groups like Fugazi, and Big Black. Plus my studio stuff, and some personal work. I'm really finished printing old Nirvana photos."