Rock photographer Robert M. Knight has a nose for the blues—that is, for blues-rock guitar virtuosos. Since starting his photo career as a teen in 1968, Knight has befriended and photographed the genre’s pantheon—Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Albert Collins, Carlos Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan—having discovered many before they were household names.
"I love shooting live shows, but offstage candid is where the value is."
“It’s a horizontal line,” he says of the guitar elite, “because each of them has some redeeming thing that’s made them special.” His own criteria? “I’d never shoot an artist or a band that I didn’t like,” he replies.
Knight says his day job as a commercial photographer “has allowed me to enjoy the avocation of shooting all this music.” Though much of his rock catalog has become well-known over the years, even more stayed in the vaults. That’s about to change. This fall a new book of his work, Rock Gods: Forty Years of Photography, will be published by Palace Press’ Insight Editions. His limited-edition prints will make the gallery circuit (check out limelightagency.com for a description of his show). And Knight’s remarkable rock-and-roll journey is the subject of a new film, Rock Prophecies, which will debut at film festivals and other venues this fall.
“All my main guys have come forward to be in the film: Jeff Beck, ZZ Top, Steve Vai, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Robert Cray—the list goes on of who’s in it,” Knight says. The film also introduces new talent such as Panic at the Disco, Sick Puppies, and 17-year-old Texan guitar whiz Tyler Dow Bryant. “This kid will be the next guitar hero,” Knight predicts. Knight relies on an easy rapport with musicians to gain trust. “I have a social interaction with most of these artists, and a lot of times I don’t take my camera out of the bag,” he says. “But when I pull it out, they know I’ll do what it takes to make them look good. It’s an unspoken agreement.”
Knight’s gear of choice has always been Nikon. “They’re so rugged,” he says. “I’ve dropped them over the years and had various catastrophes happen and picked up the camera and lens and they still work!” Having gone digital with the Nikon D200, he carries an AF Zoom-Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D ED and an AF-S DX Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens to concerts. “I love shooting live shows,” he says, “but offstage candid is where the value is. The collectors’ stuff that’s going to hold its value is the more intimate, personal, offstage imagery.” And if anyone knows how to get that, it’s Robert M. Knight.
View Robert's photos | Visit Robert's official site | Visit the Nikon Rocker site
Discography
American Photo speaks with Robert about his upcoming movie, his equipment and the day of Stevie Ray Vaughan's accident.
