James Sharrock Interview

1. How long have you been a professional photographer?

Around 7 years

2. Where can people see your work?

www.burningeye.com.au/sessions

3. Why did you relocate from Sydney to the UK?

I moved to the UK for a number of reasons. Firstly the music industry in Australia is tiny compared to the UK so there is a lot more work for a music photographer here. Also I had made contacts with Kerrang! I thought I'd be crazy if I didn't try to push that as far as I could. I was the main shooter for Kerrang! Australia and did a couple of cover features and a bunch of shoots for Kerrang! UK while I was still based in Australia

4. What do you miss most about Oz?

The lifestyle and the sense of space not just physical but mental space. I miss the ocean. I love the surf and I am keen scuba diver. I manage to travel a lot for Kerrang! that way out ways what I miss about Australia

5. Did you study photography at college/uni or are you self-taught?

I studied for 4 years at a technical college which was a huge workload. I came out with a Diploma. I was pretty lucky when I finished my studies as Digital photography was just entering the professional world. I remember the first slr cameras being close to $50,000 Australian and only 4 megapix. I did a fair bit of freelance studio work where I got to play with large Sinar 5x4 cameras with digital backs

6. Why specialize in music photography?

Well I believe to make an impact with whatever it is you do you need to specialize and focus on what you think your good at. It's important to focus on what you're passionate about and I've always been hugely into music. I was the kid in High School listening to Iron Maiden, Manowar, Dio, Kings X, Soundgarden etc etc and I pretty much still am listening to metal now it's a little more extreme Emperor, Opeth, Mastodon, Isis etc etc. I have a love for photography and image making so I combined both passions

7. How did you hook up with Kerrang!?

I hooked up with Kerrang! originally in Australia. I was visiting some record companies showing my work and one of the publicists told me Kerrang! was about to start in Australia and that I should meet up with the editor. I remember meeting him, showing my work and him asking me what bands I was into. I mentioned Kings X as one and he was way into Kings X too, from then the jobs started rolling in.

8. What perks do you enjoy from your work?

There are a silly amount of perks for any metal fan like me. I'm paid to travel the world to shoot shows and bands and meet some of my teenage idols. Have also been introduced to music through my mates at Kerrang! which has changed my life. The pay isn't always great but the perks more than make up for it. In the 18 months I've been in the UK I've made 20 overseas trips for Kerrang!

9. How many live gigs would you shoot in an average week?

Approximately 2 a week

10. What are your favourite lenses for concert work?

Canons 28-70mm 2.8 L series. I also shoot on a Canon 1Ds which is a full frame chip

11. What's your top tip for concert photographers?

Hmmm my top tip would be to know your flash and being able to balance your fill in flash with the stage lights so that your images don't look so flash lit. Also learning to anticipate what's going to happen onstage, I think knowing the music helps this a lot

12. Are there any artists you particularly enjoy photographing? If so, why?

I love shooting sessions with metal bands as this gives me a chance to come up with a concept that suits what the band are trying to do. It can be a big challenge and usually ends up with a lot of time on the computer

13. Tell us about your most interesting shoot.

Hmm? Well one interesting shoot was with Sepultura in Sao Paulo in Brazil. The Kerrang! journo Tom and I went exploring Sao Paolo to find a location to shoot the guys. I picked a spot that was under a freeway overpass that had a lot of fantastic graphiti and looked generally dirty. After the shoot the guys in the band told me they were quite nervous as the spot that I photographed them was notorious for drugs, hookers, and a lot of crime. Igor Cavalera showed us an apartment he used to live in just around the corner. He told us of a time he walked down the stairs of his apartment to find a dead body. That was a pretty usual occurrence for the area he told us.

14. Do you ever use assistants? If so, how would somebody apply for that position?

Unfortunately there usually isn't enough money involved in editorial shoots to be able to afford to pay an assistant. I won't use assistants for free either as I used to work as an assistant while studying and I believe a good assistant really is worth the money. With a record company shoot that has a good budget I'll use an assistant. Most of my work at the moment is editorial. Just bounce me an email through myspace if you're an assitant and wouldn't mind an odd job here and there. I rarely use assitants though

15. In what way does your kit differ from live work to portraits?

My camera gear is exactly the same. The only difference is using studio lighting when photographing portraits, band sessions. I like using Elinchrom gear

16. What kind of photography do you enjoy when you're not working?

I'm passionate about wildlife photography. When I say wildlife I don't just mean animals. I shot 4 months of a drag queen calendar and used to spend time hanging around drag queens shooting them in dressing rooms and onstage. I was also a photographer for Opera Australia which I loved as I got to shoot the full dress rehearsals of many Operas in the Sydney Opera House

17. Do you work with agencies or just magazines?

I syndicate my work with wireimage

18. What photograph are you most proud of and why?

I'm not sure that I have just one favorite, as my favorites seen to change all the time. At the moment it's a pic of Mr Lordi I took recently that's on my website

19. Film or digital?

Definitely digital. I've been shooting on a Canon EOS 1Ds since it came out which is around 4 years ago now and it is a fantastic camera, nothing has ever gone wrong with it. There are a silly amount of advantages to shooting digital especially when it comes to doing concept shoots. I'm just now waiting to see what Canons next top of the line digital slr is going to be.

20. Do you have any other jobs aside from being a bonafide rock photographer ?

Currently I'm only a bonafide rock photographer

21. Ever been commissioned for anything particularly unusual?

Many silly things. Shooting Jesse 'The Devil' Hughes with a banana as a gun. Shooting a band hung up on meet hooks in the back of a butcher shop, Killswitch Engage on a jet boat on Sydney Harbour, Getting Fall Out Boy to strip down to their undies and having a water pistol fight. Nothing that unusual really

22. What's the highlight of your career so far?

It was while shooting a cover feature of Iron Maiden for Kerrang! in Sweden. I was shooting the show side of stage which was to an audience of 56,000. After Iron Maiden's last song had finished Bruce Dickinson signaled for me to come onstage to take a shot of the band with the crowd of 56,000 screaming Swedes behind them. That gave me goose bumps that lasted hours

23. What would you still like to achieve with your photography?

To be a better photographer. I'm always evolving and anyone that thinks they are the best photographer should give up as they have nowhere to go. I still feel I have a long way to go and I don't think that feeling will ever go. It's what drives me to take better photographs. I would also like to earn enough money to be able to take some time off to do some more nature photography.