Matthew Followill
You know him as the lead guitarist in Kings of Leon, but what many don’t know is that rocker Matthew Followill has invested years in another creative pursuit: photography. Now, in light of a year filled with changes, Followill is taking his photography from a longtime hobby to a full-on professional venture.
His interest in photography was first piqued over a decade ago when he was given a digital camera and began experimenting with its retro setting. Intrigued, he began learning about film and acquired a 35-millimeter camera to take photos of his children. After that, he was hooked.
“Film was so great,” Followill recalls. “I slowly moved my way up to medium format, which is when I really fell in love. It’s so beautiful and so much fun to do.”
Matthew Followill
Though his interest in photography was sudden, growing his passion into more than a hobby happened gradually. Followill fondly recalls a shoot in 2017. While helping friends with some images, he found himself wishing that he could find the time to do similar projects at least once a year. Longing to pursue photography further and more frequently, he found new ways to chase his passion.
“I started taking pictures on the road with the band, but only within the last year I started to think, ‘I wonder if I could do something seriously? How far can I take it where it’s not just a hobby?’” he says. “I just wanted to see how serious I could be about it and how often I could do it. More than just once or twice a year, I could do it maybe as often as possible even if it’s on the road or whatever that may be; whatever opportunities that I get.”
Followill is drawn to the beautifully rich and saturated colors produced in darkroom photography (exemplified by several prominent English photographers he idolizes). He draws inspiration from these early experimenters in color photography, but also from the world and the people around him. He’s finding his own style and voice. In essence, photography is Followill’s way of going solo.
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Matthew Followill
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Matthew Followill
“Making music, I’ve always made it with the band. It’s always been us four, and while that’s the greatest and I wouldn’t have it any other way, with photography it’s just me. What you see is everything that I’ve decided on, and so it’s just me and only me. I kind of like that about it.”
Followill has taken advantage of his time off the road and at home to propel his passion for photography forward. And in a year when things can seem quite dark, photography has helped him to see the beauty in the everyday.
“It changed my life a little bit in that I see the most mundane things as beautiful now,” says Followill. “All I think about is photography—when I’m not thinking about music—so I can be out in public or anywhere and see a scene. You may just think it’s so normal, but I can see it as a photo and it seems beautiful.”
@matfollowill on Instagram