Photographing Bob Dylan: The image used for the cover of Nashville Skyline (1969)

One afternoon I went over to his place. As we left the house, Dylan grabbed a hat, and asked, “Do you think we could use this?” I had no idea if it would be good or not, so I told him “take it, and we’ll see.” We walked around through the woods behind his house looking for a good spot. It had just been raining, we had boots on, and he was carrying this hat…

Read more about the creation of Bob Dylan Prints and Elliott’s experiences photographing Bob here.

 He paused for a moment, apparently inspired, and said, “What about taking one from down there?” pointing to the ground. As I started kneeling, I saw that it was muddy but kept going. “Do you think I should wear this?” he asked, starting to put on his hat, smiling because it was kind of a goof, and he was having fun visualizing himself in this silly-looking traditional hat. “I don’t know,” I said as I snapped the shutter. It all happened so fast. If I had had any resistance in me, I would have missed the photograph that became the front cover. It is best to be open to life.