Rolling Stone Photographer, Baron Wolman

Five Years Ago, Baron Wolman was a part of the first issue.

Life through the lens of a Rolling Stone Photograher.

| 2016 Q3 | by BARON WOLMAN | photos Steven Hertzog

Nobody chooses to be an artist. An artist is created in the womb. Whether he or she chooses to answer the siren call of art is another matter entirely. Me, I knew I was different before I realized I was different. For many of my younger years, the world appeared chaotic and “noisy.” It was only when I bought my first camera and looked through the lens that I was able to create order out of chaos and still the noise of society. I became addicted to photography in the best sense of the word. I became a photographic “artist.” Not that I call myself an artist. No, when people ask me about my day job, I simply say I’m a photojournalist. To my mind, that means going out in the world, making sense of it (in a most personal way, of course) and sharing the message with whomever bothers to look at my photos. I am sharing my art.

And I was honored when the Lawrence Arts Center invited me to exhibit my music photos. The exhibition was lovingly curated by its exhibition director, Ben Ahlvers, and my longtime friends, Steve Hertzog and Ann Frame Hertzog, of Lawrence Business Magazine. My work was even on the cover of the premier issue of LBM—how cool is that! The exhibit was an unqualified success; the turnout still unequaled to this day. I spent many delightful hours signing copies of my book, “The Rolling Stone Years,” and chatting with local folks whose memories were filled with the music and the concerts of the late 60s, early 70s. “Didn’t I see you at Woodstock … ?”

The true payoff for living the life of an artist is not the adulation or the sales or exhibits. Rather, it’s the fulfillment and satisfaction that comes from doing it “your way,” of following your bliss, of marching to the beat of your own distinct and glorious drum. Me, I couldn’t have it any other way.



—Baron Wolman, Santa Fe, New Mexico