As vital to rock music as the bands he shoots, venerated photographer Tony Mott has seen a lot – and recorded most of it. To celebrate the Best Festival Photo Award in the augural Festival Awards, FasterLouder asked the man to share some of his favourite shots with us from his long career in the pit. He also took some time out to have a chat with FasterLouder’s Jack Tregoning.

Mott has toured with the Big Day Out since its inception, capturing iconic images of Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine, Iggy Pop and many more. He also has an easy rapport with artists, weaving around backstage to catch candid moments (look no further than Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon showing some Iggy worship). Here are some of Mott’s insights into one of the coolest professions on the planet.

HIS ILLUSTRIOUS HISTORY WITH THE BIG DAY OUT

“I’ve shot the BDO every single year. As much as the Big Day Out and festivals in general are established now, pre-Big Day Out they didn’t exist in this country. I started rock photography in the – œ80s and I used to go to Reading, Milton Keynes and Glastonbury. For a rock photographer who is used to going to sleazy pubs with little light and everything against you photographic-wise, to go to a festival and have 30 bands in a weekend with great light (such the opposite of a rock – œn roll venue) was a dream. In the early – œ90s, I found it weird that England has such shit weather and all these festivals, while Australia has the great weather and no festivals! So Ken West also went to Reading in the early – œ80s, and came back to do Big Day Out.

As much as it may seem normal to people now that Nirvana played the Big Day Out, at the time they were considered left-of-centre. And as much as Ken was clever with booking them for the BDO, it was such great timing, because Nirvana just exploded. When they booked Nirvana, they were asking if they could do two nights at [Sydney pub] the Lansdowne Hotel and sell it out. That was the initial pitch, but of course then Nevermind came out and they could’ve done as many Entertainment Centres as they’d liked. It was good that they only did small venues like the Venetian Club and not the Entertainment Centre. The BDO got lucky. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

That BDO didn’t travel that year, but when it travelled the following year its popularity went through the roof. And still, even when the line-up gets a bit stale…you could pay 90 bucks for a show at the Entertainment Centre, but for your money at the Big Day Out you have 30-odd bands to choose from.”

THE MOMENTS YOU LOOK FOR WHEN SHOOTING A FESTIVAL

“One of the main things is capturing the vastness of the crowd and the performance as well. It’s such a different atmosphere; almost a wrong atmosphere. For example, Blink 182, or Rage Against The Machine in 1994 playing at 4pm in the afternoon in the open air. It’s really not their atmosphere, it’s not their thing, but yet it works.

When I then saw Rage at the Hordern the following night in 1994, the aesthetics are so different, it’s like you’re watching a different band. So I suppose from a photographic point of view, that’s the kind of aesthetic you’re trying to capture. I mean, during the day you lose the light show, so you’re just capturing the essence of a moment. For every thousand that don’t work, hopefully one does.

In a live performance, the musician is in their natural environment and you’re just capturing what they do. That’s the cool thing. The disadvantage of course is you have no control of the lights or the circumstances. You’re in an enclosed space, the angles might be wrong, so it’s more difficult. The ratio of good results is less, but there’s greater satisfaction when you do pull one off. It’s that much more rewarding.”

THE STANDOUT BAND TO SHOOT

“That’s the age-old question, and it’s always a difficult one to answer. One of my favourites is of a young Johnny Rotten when he was in PiL; I’ve got a great live shot of that. If you capture a good moment, you think the artist is great. If you fuck up and get nothing, you’re a bit down on that band.

I shot Garbage once and I didn’t get any photos that were great; the lighting was awful and the circumstances were wrong. And after that I had a bit of a downer on the band. Then a year later I shot them again and got the most fabulous shots, which made me think, – œWhat a great band’. So that’s the photography bias – musically they were probably just as good the first time as they were the second!”

GETTING UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH THE ARTISTS

“If you’re hanging out with a band for a few weeks, obviously they get more comfortable with you. I don’t think musicians are scared of cameras, but it’s still intimidating having a guy stick a lens at you. I try to get those candid shots later in the BDO, so in Auckland this git doesn’t keep coming up to them taking photos backstage! It’ll just piss them off. By the time we get to Sydney, they’re a bit more comfortable.

I know Tim Rogers well, so that photo of him jumping is from the second-ever BDO; I’m side of stage just waiting for that moment. Knowing the band and knowing their music, you’re going to get [that moment] eventually. The Wolfmother one is at Homebake – he’s so dramatic with his guitar and pulls these clichéd rock poses. That photo is in silhouette, and Andrew Stockdale is instantly recognisable in silhouette. Whereas someone like the guitarist from Powderfinger, there’s a good chance you wouldn’t pick them in silhouette. The Kim Gordon photo – she’s so cool anyway, and she was just absolutely thrilled that I got a photo of her and Iggy Pop together. So I took a photo of her backstage holding up an earlier photo of her and Iggy.

The one of Zach De La Rocha stage-diving is 4pm at the BDO at the Old Showgrounds in Melbourne. That’s in the days of stage-diving, which doesn’t really happen anymore. That performance by Rage at that BDO was just beyond belief; they were at the height of their intensity of performance. Just fantastic. And to get the crowd going like that at 4pm – amazing. That’s from behind the drummer and he’s going out right into the crowd.”

THE SHOTS THAT MEAN THE MOST

“The Nirvana one, because it was the first BDO and BDO is so important on the festival calendar. The Kasey Chambers one at Wave Aid – it’s little Kasey in the vastness of that arena. And the fact that everyone just came together for a good cause. I know it sounds hippie-happy-clappy, but it was just fucking great that everyone got their shit together – different managers, different promoters, for a genuine cause. And it was put together so quickly. Those two stand out.

Also The Go Betweens, it was the last-ever show before Grant died. I don’t know what made me take that photo. I literally pulled back the curtain at the back of stage to get that shot – with all the equipment, and there’s just the two of them with the trees. And I just think that was the final curtain before he died. So I’ve always liked that photo of The Go Betweens for whatever strangeness that is.

I like the shot of the guy with his legs completely upright. The crowd’s not overly excited, they’re not going bananas, and yet there’s this one guy with his legs straight up in the air! And those early moshing shots. I really like the blurry one, where there’s one guy in focus. It’s on time exposure, but there is an enormous amount of movement in the crowd. The swirl of the crowd is fantastic. I love that one bloke who isn’t moving, the one static man. It’s almost humorous.

Of course the world, and certainly the BDO, changed after poor Jessica [Michalik] died. The moshing now is not what it was – definitely a good thing. Seeing that many people swirling in the mosh but still having a good time is great, though. I love that one bloke who isn’t moving, the one static man. It’s almost humorous.”

ASPIRING PHOTOGRAPHERS: LISTEN CLOSELY

“The thing is to believe in yourself. I get a lot of emails asking what I think of photos. Ultimately the main answer has to be from yourself. If they like a shot and think it’s a great shot, then it is. That’s the beauty of music and art in general – everyone has their own opinion. There are lots of people who look at my photos and go, “I think that’s just rubbish.” They’re perfectly entitled, they’re perfectly right. So you just have to photograph what you think looks good. And don’t be scared of getting it wrong. Trial and error is the best way to learn photography – you learn as much from the things that go wrong as the things that go right. And always enjoy it!”

Check out the full gallery of Tony Mott’s favourite festival photos here.

You can see more from his amazing portfolio at his official website.