Indiewire: David Bowie & Freddie Mercury Rock Out in Amazing Vintage Photos From Mick Rock — Exclusive Pics

It’s been a rough few months for iconic rock stars, with Lemmy, David Bowie and now Prince all departing this mortal coil to share their talents with whichever plane of existence comes next. Undoubtedly affected by these too-soon passings is photographer Mick Rock, who’s made a career of capturing such legends as Iggy Pop, Freddie Mercury and Lou Reed. Rock is the subject of “Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock,” a new documentary that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival over the weekend.

For my sins in a former life, I’ve been forced to spend an inordinate amount of time with musicians in this life. Of course, I love them.

A camera is a wonderful ally. It requires minimal maintenance and provides entry to a world of endless imagery.

My ambition was not to be a great photographer (though that certainly would have been a worthy stance). It was a lust to embrace anything that startled or energized me.

I am not in the business of documenting or revealing personalities. I am in the business of freezing shadows and bottling auras.

Without the rock ‘n rollers, I would not have developed as an image man.

You want to shock people with a bit of mystery and beauty. That’s my favorite kind of shocking.

I’ve never felt like a voyeur, although I’ve certainly done plenty of looking!

There’s an art to looking back - how to celebrate the past without being entrapped by it. Photographs provide the great physical link.

My allegiance was always to the act. I wanted them to be happy. I wasn’t owned by a magazine or a record label.

I smell pictures more than I see them and I hear pictures more than I can smell them. It’s very habit forming.