The relentless lens

In the foreground, a white palm, blocking all but a shadow of curls and a hat pulled low. It takes a turn to the end notes to discover that the subject is Bob Dylan, trying not to be photographed by Ron Galella in 1977. “No Pictures” (PowerHouse Books: 212 pp., $65) features photo after photo from the 1970s and ‘80s of hands raised, heads ducked and celebrities rushing past the lens of one of America’s first paparazzi. Some, like Robert Redford, Bette Davis and Elizabeth Taylor, look stunning anyway. Most others are mid-expression, humanized -- Al Pacino, Barbra Streisand, Greta Garbo. Galella was relentless in trying to capture candid shots of the era’s biggest stars: After Marlon Brando knocked out five of his teeth in 1973, he continued to pursue the actor, wearing a gaudy football helmet for protection. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, his favorite subject, eventually secured a restraining order against him. Jackie O did not seek the celebrity that Galella insisted made her fair game, but others asked for it. The year after his teeth were knocked out, Galella encountered a young actor who told him, “Someday you will be taking my picture.” He snapped a few obliging frames of the soon-to-be-famous -- and camera-shy -- Robert De Niro.

-- Carolyn Kellogg