Rock star photographer. Canton artist channels passion for music into camera lens

CANTON − Taking photographs of Alice Cooper was a thrill for Josh Harris.

Standing near the stage at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, it was a full circle moment for the 42-year-old Stark County native last spring.

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"At first, when I got my (photo) credentials approved, I thought it was a joke," Harris said of the show.

"I like making art of the concert photography," he said. "The lighting, getting that artful shot of the show. Turning it into an art piece."

Decades earlier, Harris had discovered Cooper's music in his father's record collection. Instantly, he was enthralled. The sound, the look, the theatrics. That led to fandom of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and other rock bands. And Harris would go on to play in one himself for years.

Live music provided creativity and purpose. But that stopped when he suddenly lost some of the hearing in his left ear due to a medical condition. Harris couldn't distinguish some notes while certain frequencies triggered vertigo. So he stopped performing.

Not being in a rock band left him depressed. Looking for something to fill the void, Harris took up photography, including rock concerts.

"Being on stage and being in front of people like that and doing your craft, that's a whole other energy," Harris said. "I've had photo shoots when I've felt that way, especially concerts."

Photo subjects also include cemeteries and street and nature imagery, including both in Stark County and from his travels abroad.

'Into the Dark' features black-and-white photography

Harris' hobby quickly became a passion that is culminating with his first solo art show from 5 to 10 p.m. Feb. 2 at The Hub Art Factory, 336 Sixth St. NW in downtown Canton during First Friday festivities.

"Into the Dark" will feature black-and-white photography exclusively.

"I've always been fascinated with black-and-white art, especially the absence of color," Harris said. "And your mind can put it together when you look at it. I've always found black-and-white photography to be striking."

Tim Carmany, owner of The Hub, said black and white focuses on composition and balance, "which is tough to do, but at the same time, if you have good lighting and good subject matter and you know what you're doing, it's a little more simplified. "

'I thought at first I was having a stroke.'

Following graduation from Hoover High School, where Harris took graphic arts classes, he worked at commercial printing businesses.

He currently works in logistics and international freight while managing a warehouse at VMI Americas in Stow, a producer of machinery in the tire, rubber and food and beverage can industries.

Harris was a member of multiple rock bands, including Cult of Belial, which played an ambient and instrumental style of metal while performing in the Canton area and touring.

Performing live ceased after Harris was diagnosed in 2021 with Meniere's disease, a balance disorder caused by an abnormality in the inner ear.

"All of a sudden I got very dizzy and the hearing cut out in the left ear," he recalled. "I had no hearing at all (before some of it returned). I thought at first I was having a stroke."

Life was empty without music. So he began taking photos on his cellphone before purchasing a Nikon D3400 entry-level digital camera and then upgrading to a Nikon D800. He also purchased an old film camera for future experimentation.

Concert photos include Horton Heat and Meshuggah

Harris said he's in "relentless pursuit of taking the perfect photo − that shot, that moment in time ... that otherwise are just memories in the back of your head.

"That feeling, when you know you've got something," he said. "That makes me feel good. It's a natural high for me."

Rock concert photography began with shows at The Auricle Venue & Bar and former Buzzbin in downtown Canton.

Harris said his first big break was when the owner of The Auricle helped him get photo credentials for The Reverend Horton Heat show in the summer of 2021.

"That gave me big confidence," he said. "It was also my foot in the door, and it told other people and other PR people (for bands) that, 'Hey, he can shoot us. He has the chops to do that.'"

Harris also has photographed concerts by Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah; metalcore band Converge; Norwegian black metal band The True Mayhem; and Cannibal Corpse.

Positive feedback from Converge and others has motivated his work.

"They love it," he said of his images of Converge's Columbus concert. "They posted it all over their social media. That was definitely an affirmation point."

Concert photography requires skill, said Carmany of The Hub.

"I do think his concert photography is special, and it looks like something he really fell in love with and it has a complete package," he said.

'I want to do bigger, bolder things.'

Photo exhibits aren't common at The Hub, Carmany said.

"I think people need to be wowed a little bit and need to have their eyes opened," he said. "And it needs to be a little different, so that's what I like about Josh's style − it's a little bit different."

Featuring around 30 photos, "Into the Dark" will be on view for two weeks following opening night.

"This year I really want to take it to the next level," Harris said of his photography. "I want to do bigger, bolder things."

Reach Ed at 330-580-8315 and ebalint@gannett.com. On X (formerly Twitter) @ebalintREP and Instagram at ed_balint.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ohio art show features photos of Alice Cooper, Meshuggah, Horton Heat