The Dare Photography Podcast EP 48 - What if JOHNNY ROTTEN was a street photographer?
What if Johnny Rotten were a street Photographer?
Welcome to The Dare Photography Podcast — where attitude meets aperture, and creativity refuses to be caged. In this raw and rebellious solo episode, Gary Lashmar (aka the Street Thief) riffs hard on the spirit of punk and what it means for photography today. He doesn’t just talk photography — he smashes the industry's obsession with perfection and shouts for photographers to reclaim their voice, their edge, and their guts.
With Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols as the unexpected muse, this episode draws fierce parallels between punk rock and street photography. It’s a call to arms for anyone tired of safe compositions, golden hour clichés, or chasing likes on Instagram. Gary asks: What if we shot like we sang punk — loud, imperfect, and unapologetically real?
If Johnny Rotten had a camera instead of a mic, he wouldn’t be chasing bokeh or hiding in shadows. He’d be in your face, making noise, rejecting sterile trends, and setting the frame on fire. That’s the vibe we need in photography now more than ever — a refusal to conform and a hunger to break the rules.
Gary takes you through his own memories — growing up in Limehouse, East London, just missing the full wave of punk, but never missing its spirit. He name-drops Elvis, the Beatles, the Maharishi phase, and even Britpop (which, let’s be honest, never really carried the same weight). It’s not about genre. It’s about shaking shit up.
And that’s the heart of this episode: attitude. Not the kind that’s contrived, not the plastic-punk mohawks of the Beckham variety — but that raw, instinctive, rebellious energy that says, I’ll shoot how I want, not how I’m told to. The camera is your weapon, not your comfort blanket.
Gary questions everything — from the anonymous approach to street photography, to the myth of the perfect photo, to the industry’s constant messaging that you need more gear to be “good enough.” Instead, he flips it: embrace your “mistakes,” seek the happy accidents, and stop asking for permission.
He also touches on giving feedback to others, not from a high horse, but by throwing the question back — what do YOU think? It’s not about right or wrong. It’s about finding your own ethics, your own intent, your own voice in the visual noise.
If you’re into rule-breaking, soul-shaking photography conversations — the kind no one else is having — this one’s for you. It’s messy. It’s late-night. It’s full of grit. But it’s real. And in today’s glossy, algorithm-driven world — real is rare.
🔗 Don’t forget to check out Gary’s latest YouTube drop, where he shares insights on wide-angle lenses and why he uses them (not why you should).
📢 Hit play, crank it loud, and remember: your next photo doesn’t need to be pretty. It needs to be true.
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