A Peek Into A Life Through the Lens, a Photo Book of Amy Winehouse

Images Darren and Elliott Bloom

In 2015, Asif Kapadia directed a chilling documentary called Amy that showed archives of Amy Winehouse all the way to her demise. It met with positive feedback, scoring an Academy Award for best documentary feature. Mitch Winehouse however, showed dissatisfaction over Kapadia’s film, accusing it for being a misleading portrayal of his daughter. While close friends and family members continue to blame the media for exploiting Amy’s death, fans who understood the singer’s lyrics knew that she was in a complicated relationship with everyone and everything – including her vice. It didn’t take long for her drug and alcohol addiction to kick in, so at age 27, Amy passed away in her Camden Square Townhouse.

The story of how and why Amy died is a story that’s been told one too many times, and it was detailed perfectly in Kapadia’s Amy. But A Life Through the Lens collected a series of photographs that captured Amy’s deterioration from the cameras of brothers Darren and Elliot Bloom, who described themselves as the star’s “designated paparazzi.” The book serves as a chronicle of Amy’s life from 2005 to 2011, with images of her with several important figures in her life as well as her most controversial moments with former husband Blake Fielder-Civil, the person many view as the cause of Amy’s death. The visual memoir captures Amy’s personality in pixels, from her proud display of a new pair of breasts, to heartbreaking photos of her wilted frame after years of substance abuse. Amy blessed us with her artistry, and she gave us every damn reason to respect her despite the controversy because frankly, she just didn’t give a shit.

A dishevelled Amy and Blake after an argument, 23 August ’07
Amy. 7 April ’08
Amy after a night out at The Hawley Arms. 13 December ’06
Amy with singer Nate James. 9 February ’03
Amy and Mick Whitnell. 12 September ’08
A very proud Amy with her new implants. 22 October ’09
Amy sucking her thumb with father, Mitch Winehouse. 1 February ’10
Amy during an argument with Blake. 23 August ’07
Amy after a performance at the Berkeley Ball at Berkeley Square. 25 September ’08
Amy arriving at the 100 Club in Oxford Street. 6 July ’10
Amy at Fishworks in Marylebone. 20 October ’09

Amy Winehouse: A Life Through the Lens was originally published on 26 October ’16 by Omnibus Press.