As It Was: Frank Habicht's Sixties

Young London, permissive paradise: Habicht's images capture the uninhibited spirit of the 1960s

The iconic black-and-white photographs of Hamburg-born photographer Frank Habicht (born 1938) reflect the spirit of the Swinging Sixties in London. In the 1960s, the conservative postwar years in England gave way to a period of upheaval, with a younger generation dreaming of an unconstrained life, one full of free love, peace and harmony. On the streets of the British capital, Habicht began photographing the profound social and political changes that were underway.

Habicht, who has lived in New Zealand since 1981, has produced photographs for many international magazines and newspapers, such as the Guardian, Die Welt, Camera Magazine and Twen. His photographs were recently exhibited at the Barbican in London, and he has made portraits of music and film greats such as Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, Jane Birkin, Christopher Lee and Vanessa Redgrave.

Frank Habicht: As It Was collects Habicht's photos from the 1960s in an opulent book. A unique collection of images of the swinging, groovy, hippie and psychedelic '60s in London, it offers an eye-opening contribution to the history of a country that is currently undergoing yet more social transformation.