Michael Jackson Photographer, Harry Benson has a documentary coming out in December

December 2, 2016

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ad_120994026 — MJ New Throne Scan 10-09 Use@Benson ALL PHOTOGRAPHS ©HARRY BENSON ARE FOR ONE TIME USE ONLY IN CONNECTION WITH THE MALLETT EXHIBITION. Michael Jackson , Neverland, California, 1997. Fibre-based, archival pigment print © Harry Benson 'Although I had photographed Michael Jackson at his home Neverland before, this was the first time I had visited Neverland since Michael had become a father. I spent the day photographing Michael inside his home with his first born son Prince, and in his very own amusement park, with his beloved animals, and with the children of his employees. In Prince's bedroom, Michael held the baby in his arms, gave him a bottle, and sang to him until he fell asleep. Michael was very proud of his first-born son. In Michael's own bedroom, stood the red velvet chair. To me, the photograph represents the King of Pop sitting on his throne.'

MJ New Throne Scan 10-09 Use@Benson ALL PHOTOGRAPHS ©HARRY BENSON ARE FOR ONE TIME USE ONLY IN CONNECTION WITH THE MALLETT EXHIBITION. Michael Jackson , Neverland, California, 1997. Fibre-based, archival pigment print © Harry Benson 'Although I had photographed Michael Jackson at his home Neverland before, this was the first time I had visited Neverland since Michael had become a father. I spent the day photographing Michael inside his home with his first born son Prince, and in his very own amusement park, with his beloved animals, and with the children of his employees. In Prince's bedroom, Michael held the baby in his arms, gave him a bottle, and sang to him until he fell asleep. Michael was very proud of his first-born son. In Michael's own bedroom, stood the red velvet chair. To me, the photograph represents the King of Pop sitting on his throne.' — ©HARRY BENSON Michael Jackson , Neverland, California, 1997. © Harry Benson ‘Although I had photographed Michael Jackson at his home Neverland before, this was the first time I had visited Neverland since Michael had become a father. I spent the day photographing Michael inside his home with his first born son Prince, and in his very own amusement park, with his beloved animals, and with the children of his employees. In Prince’s bedroom, Michael held the baby in his arms, gave him a bottle, and sang to him until he fell asleep. Michael was very proud of his first-born son. In Michael’s own bedroom, stood the red velvet chair. To me, the photograph represents the King of Pop sitting on his throne.’

Harry Benson has seen it all. The Scottish photographer, who bootstrapped his way up from Fleet Street tabloids to glossy megamagazines in New York, has made some of the most iconic images of the last half-century. He captured the Berlin Wall going up in 1961 and being torn down 28 years later. He photographed the Beatles’ American television debut on Ed Sullivan in 1964, and he snagged a jailhouse session with John Lennon assassin Mark David Chapman in 1986. He shot Donald Trump perched on a gold bed with Ivana in 1987, holding $1 million in the money room at the Trump Taj Mahal in 1990, and, in July 2016, in the midst of his White House run.

The fascinating life of Benson, who turns 87 on Friday, is the subject of the documentary “Harry Benson: Shoot First,” directed by Matthew Miele and Justin Bare and opening on Dec. 9. The movie clicks through Benson’s greatest shots, while telling the stories behind them via commentary from people such as Trump, Carl Bernstein and Benson himself.

In 1997, he focused his camera on Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch bedroom. The man posed casually on a red-upholstered throne and Benson remained non-judgmental. “I wasn’t looking to debunk him,” Benson tells The Post. “I photograph what I see. It has to be real, and Michael was the King of Pop.”

Here the teaser for “Harry Benson: Shoot First”: