Wayne Kramer: 2010 Signature Stars and Stripes Fender Stratocaster

"The guitar pictured here is a reissue. When I asked after the original Stars and Stripes six-string, the control room fell profoundly silent. 'It went up a hole in my arm,' Wayne said, watchful and intense. Tears welled in my eyes. His answer spoke of a dark remembrance, of a day when he had sold part of his soul for a fix." -Lisa S. Johnson, 108 Rock Star Guitars

About fifteen years ago, Lisa S. Johnson was working as a technical sales representative for Kodak. In order to gain a greater knowledge of Kodak's product line, she bought her own professional grade camera equipment and began shooting still images in her spare time. As fate would have it, one night she found herself at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York, the Monday night court of one, Les Paul. The always-gracious Paul allowed Johnson to photograph his guitars, which, unbeknownst to either of them, sent Johnson on a quest that would span years and send her far and wide in search of guitar players old and new.

The culmination of that journey is available now. 108 Rock Star Guitars is a 396-page, leather-bound behemoth brimming with beautiful, elegant images of some of the most iconic and recognized instruments the world has ever known. The subjects who allowed their most prized possessions to be photographed by Johnson reads like a veritable who's who of rock guitar royalty. More than that though, Johnson's work is threaded with personal stories detailing her own epic adventure to discover and celebrate these wondrous instruments. It wasn't always easy, but it came out looking oh, so good.