SXSW - Hope D

Explanation

SXSW part two. This picture is a fun one I took of the band Hope D out of Australia on the second night of my SXSW.

Hope D is a really fun and kind of bubbly pop rock type band. Though this show was at midnight, it was still really upbeat and a ton of fun. Like a lot of the bands I end up enjoying taking pictures of, there's a lot of energy on stage. In terms of music, it isn't too out there. But honestly, music doesn't have to be edgy or super unique to be good. There's a lot of value in a strong sound that is well done and fun.

Now the picture. This was the last picture of Hope D that I took so I imagine it was pretty close to the end of their set. It's pretty clearly set up in that a/b composition that I've been aiming for more often this year. That said, I did make sure to catch the drummer in the back. As a result, there's a bit of a pull towards the back of the frame that isn't common for this type of composition. I don't think it's enough to make it more of a triangular type composition like the Shooks pictures in the last post. But there's a definite pull away from the main two subjects. Since the main singer's back is turned away in this picture, there's maybe a further separation effect going on because I recognize that people's faces also draw attention.

This is definitely another one of those pictures where I really just like the energy and vibe. However, unlike the almost aggressive and combative energy of the Shooks pictures, this one has a distinctly intimate feel. I think part of this is due to the combination of the relative sharpness of the bassist's face with the softness of the lighting. The yellow lights up top are flaring out a bit but aren't creating that sort of pulsing high intensity effect as in the Shooks picture. In some ways, this picture almost feels like a band that isn't playing to a crowd and just having fun on their own. Without some of the other parts of the picture, the exit in the back for example, it feels almost like a practice or jam session. I do think that might be part of why I enjoyed their show so much. It felt really genuine and at least on stage it felt like they were having fun and that fun was easy to feel off stage too.

I think that's all I've got for this picture.