Earlier in the year a documentary on the life of Mick Rock was announced. He’s frequently been called ‘the man who shot the 70s’, and after a quick pat down of his portfolio, you’ll find yourself saying the same thing.
Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock is now showing in the UK and online, and to celebrate Dazed & Confused Magazine spoke to the eminent photographer. It’s a killer interview, and one any young portrait photographer should read.
How do you capture the soul of a person on camera? Mick Rock has laid down his 7 tips and given this guy’s career, you might want to listen.
Among Rock’s musings are an anecdote about getting into photography while tripping acid, his opinions on the ‘soul of rock ‘n’ roll’, and a ton more. Catch an excerpt below:
“The soul and the aura are totally different. The aura is about the electromagnetic waves that you generate. The soul? That’s a spiritual thing. It’s really about spurring the energy. Early on, I wasn’t reading photography books, cos they were boring. Too technical, I couldn’t deal with all that shit. But, a young actor friend got me onto the teachings of Stanislavski, so I read a bunch of his books on how actors prepare.”
“He talks about taking people – young actors – into a raw space and stirring the cycle of concentration. After a while, after something else starts to happen. It takes on a different form. The energy kind of elevates the whole thing into a different space.”
Check out the rest of the interview on Dazed.
