Book Review: Michael Jackson: The Making of Thriller by Douglas Kirkland

Hey everyone!

I am back today with just a quick update and a few practice shots that I've been taking with my camera. I have always been someone who loves the camera and especially loves being in front of it. Back in the days when I had MySpace, I would take those classic one-handed photos and pose to my hearts content. Unfortunately, I had the same camera from 2003 (it was 4 megapixel, and old Canon Powershot!) and needless to say, I was getting better photos on my camera phone (#teamBlackBerry!)

I decided to get a camera because I wanted to build another hobby. I have quite a few hobbies that I've told you guys about before. One of them is studying Japanese, another is running one of the largest and most active Michael Jackson clubs in New York City, another is blogging and spending time with friends. To be honest, blogging and photography are my only creative outlets and I felt that it was time to kick things up a notch with some new equipment.  I will debut my camera and some other cool shots I have lined up, sometime over the next few days.

In the spirit of photography, I thought it'd be very fitting to share one of my favorite Michael related photobooks. The Making of "Thriller"/4 Days/1983 by Douglas Kirkland is full of precious photos taken for Life magazine, on the set of the Thriller video. I have personally seen the VHS tape of the behind the scenes making of this historic, groundbreaking music video: Making Michael Jackson's Thriller [VHS] but, I LOVED the photos in this book because they told much more of a complete story.

Coolest thing about this book for the Michael Jackson merchandise collector has got to be the cover. I tried to capture the holographic front cover in the photos below. If you are like me and proudly display your MJ items on a shelf somewhere, it's super awesome to walk back and forth and see Zombie/Boyfriend Michael without having to do anything but move around.

Another thing I like about this book, is that it features a number of pages with quotations from people who have prominent positions in the music industry or were involved in the making of the video. I took a photo of one of my favorite quotations below:

(I have a serious addiction to powerful statements about what Michael has done for music and for the world).

Overall, I would give this book an A rating. It is totally worth having if you are like me and enjoy having great "coffee table" books about Michael. The photos are all beautiful, crisp, and clear, and the hardcover ensure that at least all of the pages will stay that way for a long time. I really enjoyed getting to see how Michael interacted with others on the set and just getting a closer look at the awesome makeup application that was done. Perfect book for the serious collector and this will be set on my coffee table every Halloween!

If you are interested in snagging this beauty, you can check it out here on Amazon, where it's up for less than $25: Michael Jackson: The Making of "Thriller": 4 Days/1983

As a last note, I just want to share that today marks the start of a very beautiful chapter in my life and I have never been more ready or up for the challenge. Follow me on Twitter to keep up with me and my major life changes! Thank you for reading and until next time...