We had the good fortune of connecting with Rock Williams and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rock, why did you pursue a creative career?
A childhood with a several abusive step-fathers and being poor led me to a creative career or perhaps a better term would be an imaginative career. My imagination was the mechanism for escape…and for finding hope. I would spend hours in complex play with my Star Wars toys, many times by candle light, as our electricity was periodically cut-off. When everything gets stripped away, including your safety, the only place to turn is inwards. In these daily, hours long play sessions, the bad guy would lose and good prevailed, always. This seeded what would grow into a life-time of creative/imaginative pursuits.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
With me, everything I shoot starts with conversation, then I shoot from the eyes, outward. The eyes reveal the emotion and every single thing I shoot, I am looking for what will bring emotion to the eyes. If there is organic emotion, there is truth and that’s where other people will connect. Too many photographers and even the subjects they shoot are concerned over the backgrounds, things on the peripheral, but that is secondary to me, almost inconsequential. If there is emotion, people will connect, and that emotion is revealed in the eyes. The conversations are what brings that emotion to the eyes. I don’t tell people to “smile”, if I want a smile, then it’s my job to illicit the emotion to get that smile. Whatever emotion I want for the shot, I look for conversational ways to get it. This isn’t always possible if shooting a live performance, but the premise is the same and I just have to be more patient and wait for those moments to come as they often do between a musical artist and their fans.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Music festivals are one of my favorite to share with friends. Each festival has it’s own spirit, but the great ones, like Outlaws & Legends, in Abilene are epic times to share. The backstage area has some incredible foods and even a few massage therapists to help keep things loose. If I am going with a more local and ongoing party, then Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth has always treated me well. The food inside is wonderful, but I’d probably have us hit up Joe T Garcias for some fajitas first.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Glen Moses. Glen managed a nightclub in Houston that I ended up working at for awhile. I had read many self-help books, such as “How to Win Friends & Influence People”, but Glen was the first man I had met that truly lived out that positive/motivational spirit I had read about. There could be a slow night, maybe three people in the club, the bar hemorrhaging money and Glen would be smiling ear to ear. If you approached him and asked how things were going, he would grin with genuine joy and say “Fantastic! No place to go but up!” His example showed me that people could live like the motivational books were preaching. Those lessons I picked up from Glen in my early 20’s were and still are priceless gems that have helped me to develop beautiful friendships and open doors in my professional life.

Joseph Llanes. One of the most incredible photographers in the business. He’s shot everyone from U2 to Merle Haggard. And yet, despite his stature in this industry, that creative mastermind has always taken my calls and reached out to help me. Never asking for anything in return. His encouragement has been instrumental in getting me through times when I’ve been overwhelmed. Last year, I had a massive heart attack. It was the “Widowmaker” plus another blockage and Covid. Doctors told me I beat a less that 5% chance of survival. Physically, recovery wasn’t hard, but emotionally, it was and still can be a process. Joseph Llanes helped encourage me through some of that.

Website: rock360media.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rock360media/

Facebook: facebook.com/rock360media

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