Fare Thee Well, Ben Upham 💙

We lost one of the good ones. Ben Upham III, the photographer behind some of the warmest Jerry Garcia shots from the late '70s, passed away peacefully on Saturday, October 10, 2026.

A Mill Valley kid with a camera

Ben grew up in Mill Valley, California. He went to Tamalpais High and studied photography at College of Marin. In 1976 he moved north to Spokane, Washington, and that's where most of his story with the Dead and Jerry played out.

Winterland, December 27, 1977

Here's the part we love. Ben wasn't a Deadhead. He'd never been to a show. A friend talked him into it, and he ended up near the stage at Winterland on December 27, 1977, the first night of the New Year's run. He brought his camera.

He walked out a Deadhead. And he walked out with photos of Jerry that people are still hanging on their walls almost 50 years later.

Ten months later he caught the Jerry Garcia Band in Cheney, Washington, on October 27, 1978, and shot that one too.

"The Sun of Garcia"

In 1980, Ben met Jerry at the Spokane Sheraton. He gave Jerry a print he called "The Sun of Garcia." Jerry signed several of Ben's photos for him. Ben told that story for the rest of his life, the way any of us would.

He went on to share his work through Magical Moment Photos and his Legendary Rock Photos blog. He also collected hundreds of concert tapes, because of course he did.

Jerry, 1978

That's Ben's photo up top: Jerry in 1978, Wolf in his hands, lit up in blue. It's the heart of our Jerry '78 shirt, and we've always been proud to carry it. Every time one ships, a little bit of Ben's eye goes out with it.

Thank you, Ben

Thanks for saying yes to that show. You caught the light when it was shining, and you gave it back to all of us.

Fare thee well. ❤️⚡💙

Got a Ben story or a favorite photo of his? Share it in the comments. We'd love to read them.