Robert Altman, the legendary San Francisco photojournalist who focused on the city’s counterculture in the 1960s and 1970s, died on September 24th.

He died at the age of 77, a month before his birthday, from a longstanding battle with esophageal cancer, his press agent Lee Housekeeper said in a press release.

The photographer “is survived by his work,” says the publication, profound evidence of his far-reaching influence and talent in all genres.

Born in New York City, Altman was trained by Ansel Adams before moving to San Francisco in 1968, where he quickly became a fixture on the city’s counterculture scene, making friends and sometimes taking photos with artists, musicians, and hippies.

The Rolling Stones Ron Wood, Mick Jagger, Ian Stewart, Bill Wyman and Keith Richards perform on stage during the Day on the Green # 4 concert on July 26, 1978 at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California.

Robert Altman / Getty Images

He shot for the city’s underground newspaper Good Times before becoming Rolling Stone’s chief photographer, capturing some of history’s greatest talent, including Keith Richards and David Crosby.

“They gave me the front page and the full back and an inside page. I was up all night waiting for the paper to come out,” Altman told rock journalist Ben Fong-Torres of his time for Good Times, who introduced the The Sixties: Photographs, a book Altman published in 2007.

In a statement, Rolling Stone founder Jan Werner (and Altman’s former boss) said that Altman “was instrumental in portraying the look, feel and vitality of the 1960s.”

Revelers attend the Holy Man Jam in Boulder, Colorado, in August 1970. It was known as the first rave.

Robert Altman / Getty Images

Frankie Ann, a director working on a documentary about Altman, called him “a wonderful and lovable person and friend” in a statement. She said his “exquisitely sincere recordings capture the historic moments that shape the 1960s”.

In his often very raw and naturalistic work, Altman has captured over 30,000 images ranging from hippie protests to Rolling Stones recording sessions. He later turned his lens to fashion.

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The San Francisco Mime Troupe poses for a portrait in October 1974 in San Francisco, California.

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Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell poses for a portrait during the 1969 Big Sur Folk Festival, September 13-14, 1969 at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.

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Peter Pizzitola plays a guitar while a lady reads a book when they visit from San Francisco and live in a community in Tecate, New Mexico in about July 1969.

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Altman’s work is now in the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley as part of the Robert Altman Photograph Archive.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The post San Francisco images legend Robert Altman lifeless at 77 appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Robert Altman, a legendary photojournalist who helped document the counterculture of San Francisco while working for Rolling Stone Magazine, has died at the age of 76.

A press release released Tuesday confirmed that Altman died at his San Francisco home on or about September 24, a month before his 77th birthday. The cause of death was attributed to complications in his long battle with esophageal cancer, according to the statement.

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Robert Altman (Getty Images)

Altman’s photographs of San Francisco’s counterculture and burgeoning rock ‘n roll scene in the 1960s and 1970s made him one of the leading photojournalists to work for Rolling Stone magazine during the founding years of the publication. He later focused on the fashion world.

Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Altman attended Hunter College and eventually studied photography with Ansel Adams before moving to San Francisco. He became an integral part of the city’s art scene. Originally published in the Good Times underground newspaper, Altman later followed fellow photographer Baron Wollman as Chief Staff Photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine.

He photographed some of the iconic artists of the era and photographed epochal events like the Big Sur Folk Festival and the unfortunate Rolling Stones concert in Altamont in 1969. He photographed the Stones while working in the recording studio on their album “Let It Bleed” and caught Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Iggy Pop, Janis Joplin, the Doors and many others live on stage.

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“Robert Altman was instrumental in portraying the look, feel and vitality of the 1960s,” said Jann Wenner, founder, editor and editor of Rolling Stone. Altman held that position with Rolling Stone from 1970 to 1973, though he would contribute to the magazine in later years.

“Robert Altman left us with some indelible images of a time and place that will sound like the enduring American archetype, The San Francisco Hippie,” said Bay Area music critic and writer Joel Selvin.

Altman’s photos were used in the 2000 film, Almost Famous, directed by Cameron Crowe, which covered the walls of the staged version of Rolling Stone Magazine’s office. Legendary Rolling Stone author and Bay Area journalist Ben Fong-Torres penned the foreword to Altman’s 2007 photo book, The Sixties, which featured many of the timeless images he captured for the magazine.

Altman also ran his own commercial studio in San Francisco for several decades, specializing in fashion photography and becoming an early adopter of digital photography. He has also taught at the Center For Electronic Art, UC Berkeley Extension, and the Multimedia Center at San Francisco State University.

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UC Berkeley acquired Altman’s work to create the Robert Altman Photograph Archive, currently housed in the Bancroft Library.

The post Iconic Counterculture Photographer Robert Altman Dies at 76 – CBS San Francisco appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.