Me not working hard?
Yeah, right! Picture that with a Kodak
Or, better yet, go to Times Square
Take a picture of me with a Kodak
Took my life from negative to positive
– Pitbull
A recent edition of the Sunday Times Magazine featured a series of photographs of war veterans taken by Canadian rocker Bryan Adams. As a life-long anti-war activist he has written several songs about war and in November he published a photographic book, Wounded – The Legacy of War to highlight the human cost of armed conflicts.
Visitor viewing photographs of wounded veterans taken by Bryan Adams.
Adams is one of many musicians cultivating a second career in photography. It is seemingly the second profession of choice for them. Music and photography often go together. Photos are essential in establishing and reinforcing the character and image of a band or artist, even if TV and the internet has taken over parts of that role. At concerts, the people who are closest in front of the stage are usually a group of photographers. Musicians paint pictures with words and sounds, photographers paint with light.
American musician Moby, famous for his electronic music, is an established photographer with exhibitions in several different countries in Europe as well as the US under his belt. In 2011 he released an album and a book of photographs both titled Destroyed.
Adams has done a lot of fashion photography and has been published in magazines like Vouge and Esquire.
Grand old lady of punk, Patti Smith, has also indulged herself in photography, resulting in her first large exhibition in 2011 called Camera Solo, currently working its way across the galleries of the world.
Former guitarist of The Police, Andy Summers, has toured far and wide with his photo exhibition I’ll Be Watching You: Inside The Police, 1980-83, documenting the bands tour around the globe between 1980 and 1980. The collection of more than 600 photographs records the band on stage, partying, taking drugs, fans, and the people and places they encountered on their journey.
Fans of The Police, captured by the band’s guitarist Andy Summers.
Moby’s photostream on Flickr