My name is Jim Rolon.

I take portraits, I have been doing so for a long time, and I love it. Most of my 24 years of shooting has been spent working commercially; the jobs have been mostly for multinational advertising agencies and graphic designers. My commissions have included books, CD covers, magazine editorial, and exhibitions. Most of my assignments have been in Australia, the United States, and in the Middle East.

Two years ago, my biggest exhibition to date, Local Portraits, opened at the Casula Powerhouse. Andrew Ford created the recordings.

While photographing people on location in their familiar environments, I am interested in, and skilled at, capturing my interpretation of what’s real, rather than an idea of what we may desire to be real. The process of capturing and experiencing the essence of a situation, while hearing the immediate sounds of where I’m photographing, excites me. The process of getting to know the person for such a very short intense time is fun.

My work has won many awards. My favorites have been a Silver at the Cannes Advertising Awards, a Commended as a finalist at the Olive Cotton Awards, and being a finalist in the National Portrait Prize. That’s because I loved those pictures.

Currently I am working on a series of local performance and visual artists’ portraits in their environments and on the inner city streets of Sydney; and since Local Portraits, I have continued to explore directions in new media. With this media, I am studying and developing new ways to tell my stories.

Experimentation with video as portraiture is my current passion. In using video to feature my still photographic portraits, the addition of voice and music seem to complete the atmospheric space.