Meet Sherry Rayn Barnett | Music Photographer & Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sherry Rayn Barnett and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sherry, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risks come in many shapes and sizes. I’d never thought of myself as a risk taker until I had to write something about myself as I was assembling my first book of music photography in 2020. My “story” became part of the fabric of the book, Eye of The Music, that I’d previously envisioned solely as a collection of photos. People have really responded to that. I got to share my story of growing up in NYC, auditioning (and getting into) the “Fame” school of Performing Arts and spending my teen years riding the streets of Manhattan on a bicycle with a camera strapped on my back. Looking back, I was fearless and determined, although I’d always thought of myself as shy! Influenced by my mom who was an iconoclastic, self made woman of many talents, I chose an independent life. Before too long, I followed my heart to the music coming out of LA, and hitchhiked across the country by myself, literally landing at the corner of Sunset & Vine! I continued my career as a free lance photographer and subsidized my income with occasional music gigs. I was buoyed by the success of surviving – doing what I loved without the confines of a “real” job. Becoming a widely published rock photographer … esp a female photographer in the predominantly male world of rock & roll … has been second nature to me. Being a musician as well, is a balance of the two different art forms, with a direct connection that affords me more opportunities. All in all, I’m more about manifesting visions than consciously taking risks … but I guess I’ve been taking risks all along!

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.
Photography is the heart and soul of my work that I’m recognized for and what I’ve been doing since picking up my first camera as a child. Music has been the constant thread, and the primary inspiration to do what I do for a living. I studied music but am a self taught photographer. I specialize in concert photography, the art of capturing the moment onstage when the artist is at the peak of emotion, excitement or vulnerability. I trust my eye to bring to life the moments of performance that are otherwise gone in a split second. My unconscious goal is to be able to share those intimate moments in a lasting way. I’ve been fortunate to have photographed iconic artists before they were famous, as well as others in their prime. I’ve photographed a young Bonnie Raitt in a Greenwich Village coffeehouse, Joni Mitchell recording “Court & Spark”, Prince at his very first LA show at The Roxy, Linda Ronstadt at The Troubadour, Toni Basil choreographing the music video for “Mickey” in Hollywood, The Manhattan Transfer with Ella Fitzgerald rehearsing for The Grammys, baby faced Jackson Browne at McCabe’s, Tina Turner’s comeback at the LA Forum – to album covers for Nina Simone in my living room. I came up in the music photography world at a time when there was access to these performers before they became legendary – and before restrictions became the rule for shooting in most venues. I wouldn’t say it was easy, and later on I realized that for the most part, the male photogs got to shoot the bigger shows. But that turned out to be an advantage for me because I was able to choose to shoot in the smaller venues that weren’t overrun with a slew of other photographers. Often, in the early days, I was the only one shooting.

Now, I have an archive of work to show for all those years of sometimes exhaustive assignments, and have finally been able to do my first book of nearly 250 rarely seen images, all shot on 35mm film. It covers the first two decades of my work – NY to LA. The book is appropriately called, Eye of The Music, and is an indie rollout, available on my website.

These days, I shoot digitally of course, and appreciate all the new technology we have to process imagery, but there’s nothing quite like B&W film!

In addition, I play lead (Fender) guitar in a band, Mustangs of The West, a country/rock Americana band on Blue Elan Records. Originally called The Mustangs, we were known for our performances around LA and at the famed Palomino club in North Hollywood. My very first gig with them was opening for Lucinda Williams, which we did a number of times. As a result of one of my crazy ideas, we reformed in 2017 and got a record deal for an album titled “Time”, which was released during the pandemic in 2020.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My favorite spots in LA are probably the hills, the canyons that you don’t find in other big cities. Driving up on Mulholland Drive for the views, getting the vibe of Laurel Canyon, visiting Beachwood Canyon where I lived for years and going to the Village Cafe there or 101 Coffee Shop, Lake Hollywood and the Hollywood sign. Of course, I’d take them top down in the convertible (if they wanted) and drive through Topanga and cruise up or down PCH to Paradise Cove. If they were New Yorkers, I’d take them to Larchmont to Village Pizzeria to show them that we really do have good New York pizza here! If we hung out in the nearby Valley, we’d go to Aroma Cafe, Romancing the Bean and the cool shops of Magnolia Park, The Safari Inn with the big surfboard in Burbank. Oh and def stop for sushi somewhere!

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?
A Shoutout to my mom, Peggy Stokes, who raised me on music and the belief that I was free to be who I wanted to be. And then to all the extended family, partners & friends who’ve supported my work and crazy ideas all along the way.

Website: https://www.sherrybarnettphotography.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sherry.r.barnett.7/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gtrgrapher

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SherryBarnettPhotography

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SherryBarnettphotographer

Other: https://mustangsofthewest.com/
https://rockpaperphoto.com/pages/search-results-page?q=sherry+rayn+barnett

Image Credits
Nikon camera photo by Karman Kruschke, Mustangs of The West photo by Victoria Smith