New Jersey-born Jim Rolon (b. 1956) began working as a photographer for a family portrait company in his twenties. He moved to New York in 1983 where he assisted photographers including George Golz and Annie Leibovitz, while also photographing his own work. After a brief trip to Sydney to photograph Jimmy Barnes for Rolling Stone, he moved to Australia in 1988 and has worked for 30 years as a commercial photographer. His commissions include advertising, books, CD covers, magazine editorial and exhibitions. Most of his assignments have been in Australia, the United States, Vietnam and the Middle East. His awards include a silver medal at the Cannes Advertising Awards; he was commended at the Olive Cotton Award 2005, and a finalist in the National Photographic Portrait Prize in 2007 and 2011. His exhibition Local Portraits showed at the Casula Powerhouse in 2008–2009. Other portrait series include photographs of climate change activists, circus performers, Australian composers, Elvis impersonators, and truck drivers on the outskirts of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
