Intervals Nº6: Ron Jude

An interview series with creative professionals exploring music's role in the artistic process.

Jan 04, 2026

Intervals is an interview series exploring how music integrates with and informs the creative process. In each installment, I speak with artists across disciplines about the role sound plays in their work and lives.

In today’s conversation, we’re in dialogue with American photographer Ron Jude.

I first became aware of Ron Jude and his photography in 2013 just after his book Lick Creek Line was published by Mack. I was equally enamored with his follow-up, Lago,(which featured a companion vinyl pressing of various audio recordings made in conjunction with the photos creation, released by Shelter Press in 2016).

Over the following years, I gleaned (via Jude’s Instagram account) that he was also a serious vinyl collector and music listener. We began our friendship online through a mutual affinity for each other’s musical tastes and since have shared a meal together any time I’ve been passing through Oregon or he through LA. In 2023, he graciously allowed me to use an image of his from his 12Hz book for the cover of my Mondblume single.

Jude’s images act like paintings. A fully-realized, deep-set glance at landscapes and natural vistas that become etched in time. Dreamlike memories of perhaps otherwise overlooked moments and details are distilled in immaculate tactility which deepen in beauty the longer one peers into them. His balance of compositional space and mastery within the interplay of light and shadow are evident through his numerous books and worldwide exhibitions dating back to the 1990s.

1. What role does music play in the conceptual phase of any given project (either subconsciously or overtly)? Music helps me shape the emotional tenor and psychological space of a project, especially in the early stages of development.

2. Has music ever informed certain creative choices you make in your process—or changed the way you thought about a photo or an entire body of work? I find that the music I’m listening to when I’m shooting has a direct impact on the space my head occupies and the things that I respond to when I’m making pictures. Music’s importance can’t be overstated. In the same way, music also informs the creative choices I make in the post-production stage of things, particularly with book editing and sequencing. It’s safe to say that Emmett probably would never have taken shape if it weren’t for the soundtrack I had playing on constant loop during that period.

3. What are your listening habits in your day-to-day life? I listen to music in the car when I’m shooting, and non-stop in the studio when I’m doing anything else related to photography production. Every evening, usually between 7 and 10 pm, I fire up the tube amplifier and I listen to vinyl. This is the time when I really get to focus directly on the music. This brings me into an almost meditative space where a lot of creative thinking around my work happens.

4. What are a few of the most influential artists (or albums) in recent memory that have provided deep inspiration for your work? Jon Hassell, Talk Talk, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Kassel Jaeger, Michael A. Muller—Mirror Music, Pink Floyd At Pompeii—MCMLXXII, Genesis—The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Bill Callahan—Apocalypse... There are so many, I can’t even begin to list them. These are just off the top of my head and some things I’ve listened to recently.

5. Are there any parallels in your work that relate to music — materials, elements or patterns in your work that could be interpreted as somehow musical? Probably the most analogous thing to music in my practice is the sequencing of photos in a book. Both rely on rhythm, and thematic motifs to build meaning over time. Like a song, or even a concept album, photobooks use repetition, pacing, and tonal shifts across images to create an emotional arc, where individual “tracks” gain depth through their placement in the whole.

6. What is your favorite movie soundtrack or original film score? Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) by Antonio Sanchez. I absolutely love this album.

7. Is there a song or artist from your youth that you feel encapsulates the emotion of that time in your life? Afterglow by Genesis, on their Wind And Wuthering album. This is post-Peter Gabriel, but Steve Hackett was still in the band. It could be seen as the last true Genesis album before they became a pop act. This song captures youthful emotional intensity through longing, regret, and reflection. I’m a sucker for its slow build and expansive harmonies. It’s full of emotional tropes but it rips my heart out. The song inhabits the moment after experience—when innocence is corrupted and feelings are unresolved, but still hopeful.

8. What track is currently stuck in your head or constantly being played on repeat in recent days/weeks? I Believe in You, by Talk Talk.

9. What was the last truly amazing musical performance you saw live? Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in Portland on their Wild God tour. This was an arena show, which typically I really don’t like or go to, but they really filled the space beautifully. I took my 16-year old son to the show and it was the first time he’d seen a live performance on that scale. It was the perfect first experience.

10. How do you find out about new music? I discover new music through Bandcamp, mainly. Every once in a while I’ll hear something on streaming service that I’ll look into further. Otherwise, it’s sort of the Ouija Board method through word-of-mouth, etc.

11. Please share a playlist that you keep returning to time and time again. I made a playlist for 12 Hz a few years ago that I listen to in the studio all the time.

Intervals Nº6 Playlist: Spotify, Tidal

Jude opens his new show, Low Tide, on January 9th at Gallery Luisotti in Los Angeles (opening reception Saturday, January 17th). A 6-image portfolio set of collotype prints from Low Tide were also recently published by Benrido in Kyoto.