Hello and welcome to Out of the Darkroom on AdoramaTV.
I'm here in PhotoLondon 2015 and joining me on the show today
is legendary music Photographer Sheila Rock. Sheila was born in America but
spent the majority of the seventies here in London photographing the iconic punk
rock movement.
She's going to be sharing some stories about the time she shot Blondie and the Jam and
Paul Weller and also talk me through her new book Tough and Tender.
AdoramaTV presents
Out the Darkroom with Ruth Medjber.
Sheila thank you so much for joining me on the show today. I’m a big fan of your work
so I’'m really interested to hear
about all of it. Your entire career.
Maybe just fill us in a little bit on how you got started in the industry.
It was totally by accident. I think I'm an accidental photographer.
I started
shooting I think in the early 70’s.
I inherited a camera and I happened to wander into the King's Road
and I met, I guess the person that introduced me
to Punk and in
2013 I came out with a book called Punk+.
Which I seem to have documented the entire
punk, the early genesis of the punk time
and I wasn't on assignment I just
found everything so fascinating and interesting,
but earlier on I had the opportunity of going on the David Bowie
and so I met the most extraordinary people
then and all the people in the punk
movement that were hanging out at CBGB’s.
Debbie Harry, Richard Hell and was
able to get a jist that something really exciting musically and
in fashion was happening, and then it was translated in England in a more
visual way. The English
embraced style in a much more
up front dynamic way and
the product of my journey and really is as young girl
hanging out with friends who then weren't famous musicians
and I just happen to be at the right place at the right time.
Very much a fly on the wall and
you know it would be.. A typical scenario would be
I would go down to contraction
and it happened to be the Bromley Contingent were there
and I just thought they looked extraordinary, had my camera,
and just ask them if I could photograph them and then I continue to do that
because I
did get a sense that there was something interesting happening.
What transpired is that all these pictures apart from maybe
John Lydon a little bit later on and The Clash, and The Clash
pictures of the Class
that was the first money I received for a photo.
I happened to go to the first gig
at the ICA and I met Bernie Rhodes and the band
and I kind of asked if I could go and
photograph them again, and Bernard
said that they wanted to see my contacts and they ended up buying
a picture for fifty pounds. From
that early genesis I was suddenly asked to do
more photographs of bands.
and then The Face magazine gave me the
opportunity of working and that just completely launched
my career. I then suddenly realized I was a photographer.
Looking through your work and it's quite varied you know through your entire
career, obviously you know the Punk+
was its iconic and there's lots and imagery in there that it's still being
used every day. When I was flicking through your portfolio online I’m like, I know
this shot, I know this shot and they are still using this
you know, so I mean everyone must be a big fan of your work you must have a
way
of representing someone truthfully.
If their still, you know, 20-30 years on still using that image.
I mean do you get a lot of
repeats, I suppose. People coming back. Very much so.
I mean the image of John Lydon
in the red coat. I think he like that image. It was used in his book.
Lesser known
artists like Jah Wobble have used images that I have done of him
and they are, they seem to
have a kinda classic lasting appeal. Even
with musicians or punk.
Radically Maverick sort of people
I seem to have been able to capture a moment or a feeling or
an attitude. How have your practices changed now because you just brought out
‘tough&tender' which is your newer book and we’ll have a little flick through it
in a bit,
and so I presume you've kind of honed your craft in a little bit more than that.
Well I spend quite a lot of time
learning. Learning about lighting. Again
I'm very self-taught. I would ask a lot of questions
in places like the equivalent of Adorama.
Then it with Keith Johnson
and I would ask these technicians about filters,
films and they would give me cameras
for the weekend. I'd hire something for one day to
just test out. They'd say take it for three.
They're very kind and so because of that generosity of spirit
and because I obviously showed an interest
and was very grateful, I benefitted
and even lighting someone said to me
I think he would benefit by learning about movie lighting.
So I went to a higher place for movie lights and they said you can use whatever
you want
just pay the technician fifty pounds
and he will be on site for half a day. Wow!
So he came with a truckload of equipment and I just tested it
out. HMI’s, kino’s.
I didn't really know the lighting. I had an assistant. My assistant would be
my model and both he and I were learning
how to use this lighting. A lot of my
special projects that are on my website
are things that again
were from the same spirit as the early punk.
I decided that I was getting a little stale.
I was doing things in the studio and I happened to do a photograph
of David Attenborough
and so I decided I found it very interesting what he
was saying to me because you build a relationship over a period of time as
you're working with someone.
Just setting up lights and building the confidence between you,
you and your subject and
he inspired me and I thought, I'm going to take photographs of horses
and I decided I do it the way he would do which was
sit in the field for a day and weight and that was not
like my style and then
I thought I would do what comes natural to me I'd bring the studio
to a stables and that was the genesis of
creating all of those portraits.
Which were very different from other people.
I was doing Tibetan monks
and that was, that was by
again by chance. I happened to be in India,
I chanced upon this monastery and it was a kind of an
inner calling that made me think, I've never done anything like this
so I started to do the project
and then the more I did, it drew me back
and the same with ’tough and tender’ my new project. I decided
that having had the opportunity of being
in England for a very long time spending a bit of time on the coast,
I’d never done any landscape photography.
So I started doing seascapes, just as an expression
of my journey as a photographer, trying something else. iIt’s again a learning
process
and then I happened to show some of these pictures to a German art director,
who basically said these are lovely, they are very atmospheric, very
arty but ..
I know Sheila Rock as a portrait photographer. Where are your
strong portrait?
It was like the light bulb went off,
and I thought well I'll revisit some of these places again and then focus more on
portraiture
and it sort of added a certain kind of gravitas
to the to the project ant it again like the Tibetan monks it kind of brought me
back. It began having a life of it's
own. I think some, I think
when you creative a
series of images, it almost has a life of its own.
Like part of a creative process and that
that process brings you back and you
begin to revisit. Every single time something extraordinary happens either
the people you meet,
the picture you get. You know the amazing kind of light that
you see on the day. You never, never come away
empty handed I think. Since I have been doing these
personal projects I've tried to capture a feeling,
spirit, a kind of energy from the person.
To make a strong connection with a horse or
with a someone from the Isle of Sheppey
because I think that that's important rather than being a documentarian
which was very much the punk thing. I was a fly on the wall,
I happened to capture an amazing time. I wanted to
kind of dive deeper into the projects.
I think you can that especially with your Tibetan work and the seaside portraits
that you are in there with these people and that you've
made his personal connection with them. Thank you. You know you can see that
reflected almost in them
and it's it's a really fantastic body of work.
Thank you so much for sharing your stories with me today. It's been my pleasure to
have you on
the show. Can’t wait to see more of your work Sheila. Thanks.
So that’s all we have for this episode of Out of the Darkroom in PhotoLondon 2015. I hope you
enjoyed the show.
If you have any comments for me please feel free to leave them below. I do appreciate
the feedback.
If you want to brush up on your own music photography skills, visit the Adorama Learning Centre
where I know that there is a good few articles on the subject.
Also if you want to subscribe to the YouTube channel please do. I'm gonna be bringing you back some
more great videos from PhotoLondon 2015. See you soon!
Do you want great-looking prints at low-cost? Be sure to visit our
easy to use online printing service. Adorama
Pix's has professionals who treat your images with the utmost care that you can
count on.
For a quick turnaround on photos, cards or albums
use adoramapix.com