Hip-Hop Photographer Jonathan Mannion on Mentorship, Culture & Passing the Torch: ‘I Want the Real, Not the Surface-Level’

Last week astatine Chelsea Walls Gallery, Nike NYC’s Light Work photo accumulation came live with a almighty show of summertime hoops civilization done the lens of emerging photographers. But beyond the photographs, the lawsuit carried thing adjacent much meaningful: a passing of knowledge.

At the bosom of it each was Jonathan Mannion — 1 of the astir iconic photographers successful hip-hop history. Known for crafting immoderate of the astir enduring medium covers of the past 3 decades, Mannion has worked with artists including Jay-Z (Reasonable Doubt), DMX (Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood), Nas (God’s Son), Ludacris (Back for the First Time), and Aaliyah (the azygous screen for “Rock the Boat”). His imagery has not lone defined the look of hip-hop, but has besides go a taste archive of the genre itself.

For Mannion, Light Work is astir much than photography. It’s a work to springiness the adjacent procreation of photographers tools, insights, and inspiration.

“There’s ever meaningful enactment to beryllium done successful arming the adjacent procreation with information,” Mannion says. “All the bumps, walls, and velocity bumps I hit, I privation them to debar arsenic galore of those arsenic possible. They’re going to deed their own, for sure. But if I tin trade a small spot of their mode of thinking, support them creative, springiness them a heads up, that’s my responsibility.”

Founded successful 2024, Focus: A Visual Development Lab by Nike NYC is simply a five-week summertime programme designed to springiness young photographers the tools, access, and mentorship they request to elevate their craft. Participants papers Nike’s NYvsNY hoops tourney portion attending workshops led by immoderate of the astir respected creatives successful the industry.

This season, Mannion joined the programme arsenic a speaker, bringing not lone his method expertise but a wealthiness of taste insight. His league went beyond method acquisition — it was astir imparting a mindset.

“Working successful the originative tract tin beryllium incredibly joyful, but determination are things to ticker retired for,” Mannion explains. “Helping them debar immoderate of those velocity bumps feels similar my duty. I’m passionate astir radical winning and being capable to research the contents of their caput to execute large work.”

Nike’s committedness to supporting emerging photographers, providing mentorship, originative insight, and entree to resources, is simply a uncommon opportunity, Mannion explains.

“You person to instrumentality your chapeau disconnected to Nike for embracing photography,” helium adds. “They’re arming young shooters with tools and penetration from legendary creatives. It’s not conscionable astir what I did, it’s astir giving them entree to layers of acquisition and perspective.”

For Mannion, photography is not conscionable astir capturing an image, it’s astir documenting civilization successful a mode that resonates for generations to come.

“Getting this caller procreation to person the strongest dependable possible, with a skillset that matches the creativity they’re exploring, is what volition specify the adjacent wave,” Mannion says. “When I started, it was each film. We had to consciousness it. You couldn’t cheque the backmost of the camera. That position keeps you connected to the moment.”

He believes the caller procreation volition transportation that spark forward, adjacent if the tools change.

“I was fortunate due to the fact that I identified hip-hop arsenic my passionateness early. That mentality carried me. We wanted to beryllium the best. And that connects to however Nike supports athletes, we’re our ain mentation of athletes. Our stance is steady, the camera is still, but the thrust is identical.”

Mannion sees de...