Pop Rock Issue

Hordes of young, ambitious music photographers dream of having a career like Anton Corbijn, the shy minister’s son who has become as famous as the rock stars he photographs. It’s not impossible but has become extremely difficult, because the music industry has changed drastically since Corbijn published his first photos in the New Musical Express 30 years ago.

In this special rock 'n roll photography issue of GUP Magazine, which celebrates new talent in the genre through the PopView competition, I will be asking what makes a great rock 'n roll photographer; what distinguishes them from other professional photographers?

An endless row of beds along the high water mark and 12 men hanging by their feet. These surreal images originated from the brilliant mind of Storm Thorgerson (1944), considered by some to be the best album cover designer of all time. In 1968, Thorgerson – who went to school with Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters and Syd Barrett – began the design group Hipgnosis, with Aubrey Powell and Peter Christopherson, specialised in making cover art for rock albums including many of the Pink Floyd sleeves. After the team split up in 1983 Thorgerson remained the ‘house consultant’ for Pink Floyd’s art and design.

Claude Vanheye was only 18 when he started photographing famous rock stars. His first posed photos of Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Frank Zappa and Michael Jackson inspired and encouraged him to look for the person behind the artist

For one time only we did things differently. Kalle Björklid (1980, Kemiö) interviewed himself. He was in charge. The only question asked was: Which burning questions would you yourself like to see answered?

The concept for Danielle van Ark’s (Schiedam, 1974) ongoing project After the Lights Go Out is simple and clever. Danielle erects an improvised photo studio in the backstage. Immediately after the concert, the artist takes a seat in the studio. For just a moment, they forget how they should portray themselves on the photo. A mask falls off, and a pure portrait is created.

Graham Smith's (Belfast, 1980) intimate and personal pictures didn’t go unnoticed by the jury of the Popview/Lex van Rossen Award: he was chosen as the 2010 winner. Working on the road as a tour manager, gives Smith the access, the true unposed moments and the trust needed to take a good photo. It’s this purity and spontaneity that makes him the winner of the music award for young European talent.

In the series The Fourth Dimension, Francisco Reina (Seville, 1979) portrays a metalhead who is completely isolated and lost. He can't get rid of his energy and looks searchingly into the camera. You can feel the release of emotional tension; he’s just been through an overwhelming experience.