
Inspired by his life as a touring musician, Lenny Kravitz explored his passion for photography by turning the lens on the fans and paparazzi that followed him.

His book, "Flash," documents this role reversal.

"There is one of a group of people in Cannes, on the street in front of a hotel, and they are all looking into the camera and it is so zany," explained Kravitz. "It looks like it was cast."

"Then there are quiet moments. There is a shot of a woman looking at me through people backstage at a show," Kravitz said.

All the images were taken with a Leica camera in black and white.

"I find that black and white is far more realistic," Kravitz said. "I see better in black and white."

It was his mother's black-and-white photo of Martin Luther King Jr. giving a speech in Washington that sparked the musician's love for photography.

In 2015, Kravitz's design company teamed up with Leica to design a limited edition version of the Leica M-P camera.

The camera he made for the collaboration was artificially aged -- an homage to his father, who worked as a journalist in Vietnam during the war.

"(My father's) camera came back worn out, so you could see the brass and black paint," Kravitz said.

Kravitz is a four-time Grammy-winner. He plays five instruments and has acted in films.

He lives, writes and records on the Bahamanian island of Eleuthera.

"Flash" by Lenny Kravitz, published by teNeues, is out now.



