risen magazine - Greg Watermann

dept:Expressions
Writer: Jeff Cornell
t seems the art of live concert photography might have gotten a
little lost along the way with the advent of digital technology in
cameras and, of course, camera phones. The concert-going
experience is now marred with kids holding up cell phones instead
of lighters, snapping pics which are immediately texted or emailed
to friends. Thankfully, Greg Watermann wants to bring the art back
to live music photography. He is striving to be the “next, great live
rock ’n’ roll photographer.”
Aside from chronicling the daily tour lives of Mudvayne, Linkin
Park, and System of a Down, Watermann has shot many cultural
icons including Marilyn Manson, Nirvana, and Julia Roberts.
It has to be the next best thing to being in a band. Watermann
shares the stage with bands in front of tens of thousands of fans,
capturing moments that could go down in history, such as his nowclassic shot of System of a Down arm-in-arm in front of the crowd
at their last show, before the band plunged into a hiatus. Years from
now we may look upon his work the way we look at Jim Marshall’s
classic pics of Johnny Cash flipping the bird and Jimi Hendrix
lighting his guitar on fire.
Watermann cut his teeth in the world of fashion photography,
initially studying with famed photogs like Gilles Bensimon, Annie
Leibovitz, and Steven Meisel. “Assisting for people at that level
eventually got me shooting for publications like Elle, Rolling Stone,
and Spin,” Watermann said. But after years of shooting in New
York, he eventually found his way to Hollywood and into the rock
world. Shooting tattooed rockers became his new passion, but it’s
much different from shooting models. “Most of my fashion stuff was
done in a studio, on a bright white background with lights
everywhere. But in rock ’n’ roll it’s always dark, no matter where you
are…on a stage, in a recording studio, on a tour bus, or in a hotel
room, and you don’t want to disturb that vibe. This led me back to
a style of documentary photography using only available light,
which is how I started taking pictures when I was a kid…My
photography has now come full-circle.
“Some of what I gained as a fashion photographer, and
working for top photographers, was the desire to make a perfect
photograph, at that moment. It was only a few years ago that
make-up had to be flawless, hair had to be flawless, and if anything
I
Linkin Park
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Julia Roberts (1988), before Mystic Pizza
JULY / SEPT 2007 - Department 59
THIS PAGE
(TOP) Avenged Sevenfold, 30 seconds after a show in Irvine
(BOTTOM) Marilyn Manson. This image was all over London when it came
out as a cover for Metal Hammer magazine
OPPOSITE PAGE
(TOP) My Chemical Romance, 30 seconds after a show in Long Beach
(BOTTOM) System of a Down, ending their last show and tour in West Palm
Beach—still the last group photo of the band
was in the picture that you didn’t want there, too bad…you couldn’t
change things. I still think that way when I photograph something
now. It makes a difference.”
Watermann’s work is shown prominently in Linkin Park’s bestselling coffee table book, From the Inside: Linkin Park’s Meteora,
and his photos grace many CD booklets including the Grammywinning Linkin Park and Jay-Z’s Collision Course, Linkin Park’s Live
in Texas, Fort Minor’s The Rising Tied, Marilyn Manson’s Lest We
Forget, and others including Howie Day and Smile Empty Soul.
Watermann is currently working on a unique presentation of his
photography set to music, using hundreds of his unseen images
from System of a Down’s last tour. For more information check out
GregWatermann.com or MySpace.com/gregwatermann.
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JULY / SEPT 2007 - Department 61
THIS PAGE
Nirvana in Phoenix—their first national magazine cover (Spin - Jan. ’92)
OPPOSITE PAGE
Tenacious D
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