Steve Schapiro passed away in 2022 at the age of 87. He discovered photography while at summer camp at the age of nine, fascinated by the magical appearance of an image on a blank sheet of paper through the photo development process. Shortly before his death, he was interviewed at his New York apartment, with his commentary making up the heart and soul of “Steve Schapiro: Being Everywhere.”
And everywhere he was. Beginning in 1961 as a freelance photographer, Steve seems to have gone everywhere and known everyone. His celebrity photos from that period included some of the biggest names in music, film, the stage and society. Many Look and Life magazine covers featured his photos.
But there was much more to the man that popular portraits of important people. He wandered the streets of his city, taking candid photos of everyday people, especially minorities. Men, women, children, especially at play, caught his eye and camera. Addicts and their plight were of interest as well.
He accepted photo assignments that drew his interest in the human condition: migrant workers in Arkansas picking bean and living in shacks with only kerosene lamps for light – in the 1960s! His photos exposed this shame and lead to improvements like electricity in the cabins.
He traveled to North Carolina and then on to Mississippi with James Baldwin, the writer and social critic. Baldwin impressed and moved Schapiro as many of the celebrities did not. The pictures he took there led to a book on Baldwin, with an introduction by John Lewis, whom Schapiro would also capture on film with his chronicling of the third Selma to Montgomery march.
Then there was King. Schapiro had taken many photos of the civil rights leader. He recounts that in many, King’s eyes are not straight ahead, but rather scanning the crowd – as if to find the face of the many who might kill him. Schapiro continues, telling of the call that informed him King was dead. He went to Memphis, and to the Loraine Motel where King had been shot. The streets were empty. Across the street was the rooming house from which the fatal shot had come. Schapiro walked right in – no one anywhere. He went to the second floor and entered the common bathroom. There on the wall above the tub was a single blackened hand print. The print of a man steadying himself as he stood in the tub and took aim through the bathroom window, his rifle steadied on the window frame. Schapiro photographed that print.
There are so many more stories: photographer for 400 movies, including “The Godfather” and “Taxi Driver,” “Midnight Cowboy” and “Ferris Beuller.” Working with RFK and photographing his family. Catching a shot of Jackie Kennedy at a ball, her face standing out in a sea of heads turned away.
Directed by Maura Smith, this film is a gorgeous memoir of not only a great photographer, but a great humanitarian who captured so much of the times millions of us lived through – for better, and for worse.
Runtime: One hour, 11 minutes – all too brief
Availability: Theatrical release on Nov. 14, 2025
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