Stephen Stickler is weary of the notion of celebrity.

“It used to be, if you were a celebrity, you were famous because you were good at something,” the photographer says. “That’s just not the case anymore. Andy Warhol said everyone’s going to be famous for 15 minutes, and you can see it happening now. Celebrity’s no longer tied to talent or any other special quality. People are totally interchangeable.”

Stickler is only 42, but he’s old school. Not old school in a curmudgeonly grandfather way, but old school like Bogart. The kind of guy who can be cool and slick, but principled. Perhaps old soul is the more correct term.

Consider how he’s dressed today: pink-collared shirt peeking out from under a V-neck pullover, pinstripe slacks, canvas slip-ons — none of it trendy and yet all of it sophisticated. Even his hair is classy, styled in loose finger waves. Stickler is what came before today’s metrosexual; he is yesterday’s dapper.

“You were probably expecting a flashy celebrity photographer personality,” he says. “I used to be that guy, sort of the center of attention.”

That was back in the mid-‘90s when Stickler was working simultaneously as executive editor of Bikini magazine and fashion and photo editor of Ray Gun magazine. Alternative music magazines known for edgy content and design (both founded by Marvin Scott Jarett, the same man who started Nylon magazine), they allowed Stickler to create an impressive portfolio. Photo shoots with Beastie Boys, Rage Against the Machine and Porno for Pyros helped him land gigs with Spin magazine and Entertainment Weekly. It was during that time that Stickler also shot the debut album cover of nu-metal band Korn. Its creepy depiction of a young girl on a playground approached by a menacing shadow was, at the time, controversial. Now, Stickler says, album covers are a lost art.

“When I was growing up, I’d buy a record and it was kinda like going to church or something — putting on a record for the first time and sitting there on the bed, looking at the album cover sleeve,” he says. “But now it’s just like something that pops up on your iPod. I think that’s one sad thing about the change in technology — you don’t have the multisensory experience of listening to music.”

While the digital age — with its vast image-manipulating abilities — has intrigued the photographer, he thinks he’ll make his way back to good old-fashioned prints one day. It’s an organic process, he says, and more of a precious thing. The quality of digital cameras has allowed everyone to point and shoot near-professionally nowadays.

Stickler’s photos, however, are of a different class. Captured on his negatives are powerful images of well-known characters. Snoop Dogg sits upright with OG-attitude in a designer suit and rep tie; a stopwatch dangles in mid-air. Pop rocker Pink snarls at the camera while biting on a pink record, the only thing covering her naked torso. Kate Winslet, stylized like some ‘80s pop icon, cops an attitude while her awkward stance is reminiscent of a young girl.