Music and photography go hand in hand—music without photography is like a beautiful gourmet meal without wine: sure, you can get by, but when paired with excellent imagery, music takes on a whole new level of importance. 

This is true especially in a live sense: some of the greatest images of all time are of musicians at work. The life of a gig-photographer is that of a voyeur—they capture images of such intimacy: artists and their audiences sharing in a soul-bonding experience. There is little in life more pleasurable than scrolling through photos of the gig you were at last night, or for the very lucky, appearing on the cover of a live album. 

Where would any of us be in the music biz without photographers? They are some of the most important people because they capture moments in time. Whether its a gig, an album shoot or backstage access, thanks to the people on the other side of the lens, us mere mortals are able to glimpse our heroes at work. 

One of music photography’s megastars, Mick Rock, passed away today. Mick was a true legend of the scene, his iconic images of Syd Barrett, David Bowie, Joan Jett, Queen and so many more acted as a documentation of the '70s, a bygone era of such legendary status in music. Take Bowie for example; his ethereal space music is made so much more exciting when you see pictures of the guy. In Mick's photos, Bowie looked nothing like you expected him to: a martian with an orange mullet, who sings about the stars, life on Mars and so much more. You’d be lying if you weren't affected in some way when you first saw a picture of Bowie, and it’s thanks to people like Mick that made this possible. 

It’s with great fondness and sadness that we look back on Mick’s work—a man who almost single-handedly captured the essence of the 1970’s. His evocative shot of Bowie/Ziggy ‘going down’ on Mick Ronson’s guitar is nothing short of iconic, as are his shots of Iggy bathed in orange, Debbie Harry in New York or Lou Reed’s steely aviatored gaze. These pictures are iconic. There is simply no other way to describe such brilliant photos of some of rock’s greatest stars. 

Many of these images help to escalate musicians to cult hero status, whether its Jimi on stage at the Albert Hall, Morrison passed out on stage or Johnny Cash flipping the bird. Music photography with live on beyond Mick Rock, but it will be forever changed by his contribution.