featured interview:

Steve Gullick

(May 2008)

Steve Gullick has quite possibly photographed every band you’ve ever liked. Strictly using film nonetheless. A non-believer in the digital photography revolution, he has managed to create stunning images without the help of computer editing software. Gullick knows his way around the darkroom, and is one of the few left who embraces analog photography. For the past 18 years he has been photographing musicians such as Cat Power, The Cure, Liars, The Racouteurs and many, many more. In this interview Gullick talks about photography, music, and waking up without a testicle.

How did you get into photography?  Who inspired you as an artist and did you study photography in school?

Aged 14, I was taught photography in school by a great art teacher.  I was initially inspired by the work of Bill Brandt & Don McCullen.

How did your love for music develop? Who was the first band you ever took pictures of?

Around 12 or 13, I started buying records - first '50s style rock-n-roll, then Queen, then what I thought were more alternative artists such as The Cure & Japan. I can't remember the first band I photographed; I remember taking pictures at Glastonbury in 1985....The Cure, The Waterboys, That Petrol Emotion.

What are some challenges that you encounter while shooting musicians?

Them not wanting to be photographed or not having much time.

What is your favorite thing about music photography?

Meeting like minded people, recording music history.

What type of film do you like to use? Do you ever shoot digitally? What made you choose to use film more often?

I shoot exclusively on film.....all types, c41, e6, monochrome. I don't feel digital can deal with the fundamental element of photography: light.  Film soaks light up like a sponge and produces an organic physical image.....digital lacks the physical aspect and to me looks soulless. Digital is useful these days for reproduction, I scan my prints.... doing it my way means that digital doesn't have to deal with light, it merely has to copy a 2D image, which it's fine at.

Do you prefer promotional shots to live shots? Why?

Promotional.  Too many people are shooting shows these days and many of them seem to have no respect for the audience or the performers.  I don't mind shooting low-key shows.

What was your favorite band to shoot last year? What was your favorite shoot ever?

Blimey, this year it's been Duke Garwood & John et Jehn - I shot both exclusively for my exhibition.  Ever...so many! I'll go for Jason Spaceman on an erupting volcano.

When you aren't living the glamorous lifestyle of shooting music what else do you enjoy doing? Any other artistic hobbies?

I enjoy time with my family, I'm in a couple of bands, Tenebrous Liar (www.tenebrous.tv), ...bender (www.bend.tv), and I also play guitar for Soulsavers (www.thesoulsavers.com). I also produce a music magazine called Loose Lips Sink Ships, but that's currently on the back burner.

How do you feel about owning the title of "world's greatest rock photographer"?

Surely not!

I'm sure you have a million stories about the artists you have worked with. Do you have any good stories that you'd like to share that won't get anyone into trouble?

I'll give you a couple of bits of alcohol related trouble.  In Seattle, I once woke up with a testicle missing.  In New York, I once woke up in hospital [and] there was nothing wrong with me. I was once woken up by a band wanting the keys to my hire car, which they'd just wrecked with shovels, axes & guns. In Rio I was robbed by a child.

Any words of wisdom for those photographers who are following in your footsteps? Any necessary steps that they need to take to be successful?

I've been a professional photographer for eighteen years - most have been brilliant, some have been terrible.  You're at the whim of fashion.  I could have thrown in the towel and tried to get a real job many times over, but I've persevered.  You need to be strong-willed and single-minded to survive in this fickle industry - and you also need the respect of your subjects.  Build a darkroom - and good luck!
 
— Interview by Alexis Roberts

www.gullickphoto.com

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Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree

Russian Circles - Feature Interview

Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone

The Gutter Twins / Great Northern - Live - April 2, 2008