…Nat Gray, lead singer of The Iron Roses…i was aware of Nat’s music from BoySetsFire. last year we got in contact after i posted a portrait of a transgender girl from my project Embrace. i immediately wanted to photograph Nat because They felt so authentic and, for less of a reason, i’ve recently missed photographing musicians.
i photographed a lot of musicians for assignments earlier in my career. while the majority of those assignments lasted for minutes with people who were not interested in being photographed, occasionally there was someone who came in front of the camera who was compelling. everything about Nat seemed to have many layers, and i had to photograph Them!
it took almost a year. i was traveling in europe and Nat was touring. i’ve learned during my 30 year career is that meaningful photographs are 90% patience and psychological, 1% knowing how to use the camera, 1% good light, and 8% not showing anyone the bad photographs i’ve taken. my patience was rewarded while Nat was taking a few hours off from writing.
while i waited, i wrestled about how to photograph this portrait. i haven’t photographed a portrait of a musician in many years. the last music assignment i shot was a few tour dates last summer with the Rolling Stones, but that didn’t include any portraits. there was a lot about Nat that interested me, so i didn’t just see this as creating a portrait of a rock star. but i also realized that what was being recorded by The Iron Roses was more genuine and truthful than what others were singing about. this battle went on in my mind until i understood that the photograph would be determined the moment Nat was in front of the camera. i wasn’t the one who was going to say who Nat is. it was Nat.
this is the first frame snapped on my Hasselblad. there were 36 frames photographed while a cold winter light wrapped around Nat from the window. this frame has a little more of a spark than the others. the mystery of light and film can’t be explained, but the light shining on Nat was well deserved. i’m proud of this portrait and the others we captured, but i’m happier about the friendships with Nat and Becky, co-singer of the Iron Roses.
Tags: Music, Nat Gray, The Iron Roses