Karl Ferris worked on album covers for Eric Clapton, Cream, Donovan, The Hollies and Jimi Hendrix.
26 Facts About Karl Ferris
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Karl Ferris was born and grew up in 1948 in Hastings, England.
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Karl Ferris studied at Hastings College of Art, and focused on Pre-Raphaelite painting.
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Once Karl Ferris returned to England, he served two years with the Royal Air Force for his National Service as an aerial photographer.
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From Nygard, Karl Ferris learned the skills of composition, form and texture.
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Karl Ferris involved himself in the "Beatnik" lifestyle and began hanging out in coffee bars, listening to poetry readings and the progressive jazz of artists such as Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy and Ornette Coleman.
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Karl Ferris photographed his first music subjects at these gatherings for local newspapers and magazines.
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Karl Ferris began to take fashion shots of girlfriends and models, building up a respectable portfolio.
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In 1964 Karl Ferris returned to England and the "Happening" Beat scene.
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Karl Ferris did commission work as a fashion and cover photographer for teen magazines 19, Honey, Petticoat, She and later for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Burda, French Mode and Marie Claire.
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When he wasn't working, Ferris would join the "Scene", and after meeting Denmark's top Superstar model of the time, Maude Bertelsen, Karl was introduced to a Pop group called The King Bees.
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King Bees invited Karl Ferris to sing cover versions of Rolling Stones songs with them, and so he began touring in and around Copenhagen with the group.
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Karl Ferris eventually returned to England for a "fashion shoot" offer with Vogue.
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Karl Ferris was invited to do a stage "Liquid light show" for Pink Floyd, which is believed to be one of the first ever done in England.
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Karl Ferris brought home tapes from the sessions, which along with Are You Experienced he listened to intently.
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Karl Ferris used what Egan described as "an infrared technique of his own invention which combined color reversal with heat signature", further enhancing the exotic nature of the image.
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Karl Ferris was an experienced fashion photographer, and his interest in the finer details of his covers led him to choose the band's wardrobe.
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Karl Ferris chose the cover's yellow background and its surreal lettering, and he intended for a textured gatefold jacket that Reprise, as a cost-saving measure, did not approve.
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Karl Ferris went on to create the album cover images for Donovan's "A Gift from a Flower to a Garden" and the "Hurdy Gurdy Donovan" EP and for The Hollies' Evolution.
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Karl Ferris was instrumental in creating their overall looks for the shoots, which then became their recognized public images.
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Karl Ferris was called "The Icon with the Nikon" by the musicians and Press back then.
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In 1968, Karl Ferris accompanied Donovan on his US tour and was commissioned by Look to shoot a feature article on Donovan, after which he was retained as a 'Stringer' in Europe to shoot images for music articles there.
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Karl Ferris left London with his pregnant wife Anke in 1970 and went to live in Ibiza to bring up their son Lorien.
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Karl Ferris continued shooting fashion and glamour photographs for magazines in Europe and the USA.
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In 1980, Karl Ferris received a commission from Playboy Magazine to photograph "Welcome Back Kotter" star Melonie Haller for a "Celebrity Pictorial" in the famous Bo Derek issue.
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Karl Ferris' work is included in the National Portrait Gallery, London.