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" For the past forty years, Norman Seeff has been milking all he can from his subjects, and they&amp;#039;re more than happy to give it to him. The South African filmmaker and sometimes photographer, who was once an emergency doctor, describes his work as &amp;quot;a spontaneous interaction with artists, which is all about vulnerability.&amp;quot; But to the musicians he works with, he embodies much more: spiritual guru, art director, confidant, and partner in crime. &amp;quot;The way that I work is the reversal of the way people think you&amp;#039;re supposed to work,&amp;quot; Seeff says. &amp;quot;What I say is that if you go contrary to that, if you create an emotional experience that&amp;#039;s real in the moment, then the images will be real.&amp;quot;  Perhaps that&amp;#039;s why so many of his subjects feel comfortable opening up to him. Ray Charles once wrote a song on the spot, and Joni Mitchell divulged the gory details of a breakup as she worked out the kinks for a poem. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m never aiming at any outcome,&amp;quot; says Seeff. &amp;quot;I never know what the outcome will be. I go for creating an authentic experience.&amp;quot;  In The Passion to Create, Seeff&amp;#039;s first ever solo exhibit, which opened at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York City this week, viewers get to see the master up close. We talked to Seeff about some of his favorite images and the stories behind them. Click below to see the photos and read Seeff&amp;#039;s words about them.  Follow The Culture Blog on RSS and on Twitter at @ESQCulture. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/a22667/rolling-stones-ray-charles-photos/>