Pep Bonet

Pep is one of the rare photographers who is successful in several niches — all connected by his love of underground themes and untold stories.

Earlier in his career, Pep focused on journalistic projects, such as the documentary Into the Shadows, which is currently on Netflix. He later travelled extensively with rock band Motörhead, creating a book and an eight-page photo feature in Rolling Stone magazine. Pep is currently working as a director of photography for HBO’s House of the Dragon, among other projects.

Pep started his journey photographing people in the street.

“I was very shy when I was young, and street photography helped me to get over that. I had to face people. I had to confront people that I didn’t know with my camera.”

“Later, I was living in Amsterdam, and I saw an exhibition of a Dutch photographer called Ed Van der Elsken. I was fascinated by his work. So I started moving away from street photography — and I realized I have to tell stories, like James Nachtwey and Don McCullin do in their books.”

“They were shooting issues with frontline pictures, and I couldn’t understand them — how could they take those pictures? How could they document these harsh realities? I had to answer those questions.”

“I used to collaborate a lot with NGOs, like Doctors Without Borders. I did a project on HIV and AIDS that took 10 years. I documented the first antiretroviral therapies for AIDS patients in war-torn countries like the Congo and Ethiopia.”

“One of my best-known projects is Faith in Chaos, which took me six years. It's about the physical and the psychological consequences of the war in Sierra Leone, and how faith is able to rebuild people.”

“I also wanted to do something more positive, to shine a different light on Africa. I discovered there was a very underground heavy metal scene in Botswana, so I went there and made a photo book about it.”

“The project is called Hellbangers, and I'm busy finishing the film version of it. I love underground stories like that — I don't like the usual stuff.”

Always one to follow his passions, Pep’s love of heavy metal later led to him forming a relationship with a legendary rock band.

“Since I was a kid, I was fascinated by Motörhead. Later on, I was collaborating with Rolling Stone magazine, and they connected me with the band. The magazine originally had no interest in my photos of them — but after they saw my pictures, they decided to publish an eight-page feature.”

“And on that day, I became kind of the official photographer of Motörhead. I kept working with them until Lemmy died, photographing his 70th birthday in LA, and then photographing his funeral.”


“When people think about music photography, they think about concerts and that's it. But there’s no business in concert photography unless you can get behind the scenes and bring the band to another level.”

“You have to give first in order to receive. If you make a fantastic video clip of a band or a fantastic cover picture, maybe you won’t get paid for it — but you put your soul into it. Next time, when the band has a bigger record label, maybe they'll invest in you.”

“The music industry is very big. There’s a lot of money, but also a lot of competition, and a lot of nonsense — a lot of people doing the same things. If you don't step outside of the norm, if you are just another photographer, another groupie, it doesn't work.”

“You have to bring something new to the table, and you have to make people aware — I'm here with you.”


“It's about creating that energy and that synergy. And then you become a part of the band.”

“With Motörhead, I never signed a contract. It was all pure synergy and trust. And that's what a lot of people don't understand about music photography. You don't just arrive and become the photographer of Metallica or Iron Maiden. It takes years. It’s a journey, a process.”

“You have to try to take the band to another level, because musicians often don't understand visuals, unless it's a band like Tool or Rammstein. And with Motörhead, they had no clue about that stuff.”

“I just said to them, ‘I want to document you on the road, and I want to make a book of the journey — of me looking at you with different eyes’. And they understood, and they agreed.”

“Normally, when Motörhead had a new album out, they would only get a small article in a magazine. But all of a sudden they had eight pages in Rolling Stone and the best writer interviewing them — huge exposure. So they thought, ‘okay, Pep took us to another level’.”

These days, Pep is involved in multiple projects, from shooting Europe’s largest metal festival, Wacken, to photographing his home, the beautiful Spanish island of Mallorca.

“Now I’m more interested in creative projects. I publish books, I make exhibitions, and I make my own long-term projects. I love working long-term on stories or ideas, because that's the only way to become an expert in them.”

“Recently, I've been doing more director of photography work. I'm working with HBO Max on House of the Dragon, doing all the behind-the-scenes filming for them.”

“I am a Nikon ambassador, so I usually only use Nikon cameras. But it depends on the project — when I'm shooting for HBO Max, they want me to shoot Sony cameras. When I'm shooting cinema I shoot ARRI cameras. When I am on a video grip and the guy has a RED, I use RED cameras. I use all sorts of lenses, Prime zooms, PL, mounts, you name it.”

“In fact, if I listed all the equipment I use, we’d be here for a couple of days. But I can tell you that when I go out on my own, I take a Z camera — the smaller, the better. I shot the Hellbangers project with just a Nikon D850 and a 58 millimeter lens.”

“People tend to overthink it and take too much gear. But if you can do a long-term project with one camera and one lens, that gives you unity and coherence. Don't overthink it — just do what you love and keep it simple.”

Connect with Pep online:

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