Portra 400

For the last full roll of the year I’ve got a roll covering one night at Mohawk. It starts off with a couple of metal/hardcore shows outside, Ninth Circle from Austin and Dress Code from Houston, followed by a pair of electronic shows inside, MVTANT from San Antonio and Semantix from Dallas. There were a couple other shows in there but I didn’t take any pictures which was probably a good thing considering how crazy the pit got.

I’ve been in/around a few mosh pits but mostly at punk shows. I’m not gonna lie, the pit at this show got a bit crazy and I’m glad I left it after the first couple sets. During Fugitive’s set I think someone jumped down to the pit from the second floor area to the right of the stage. It was a bit insane but that’s the crowd for you I guess.

Anyways, I’m actually not that interested in talking about the first couple sets. While I like a few of the pictures, especially the ones taken of Dress Code on the right side, that stinkface is great, I actually want to talk about the MVTANT and Semantix shows inside.

MVTANT covers the few pictures below Ninth Circle. And honestly I was hoping one of them would turn out the way I wanted it to. For this show I brought the fisheye lens which is featured throughout the roll, but I was hoping one of the pictures from this set in particular would be really interesting. Both MVTANT and Semantix play really heavy pulsing electronic music with really powerful bass lines. MVTANT though has a lot of flashing lights. And flashing lights makes me think of long exposures which is what about half of what these pictures were. The only semi successful one I would say is the large one shown with the shadowy figure engulfed in magenta light. I feel like a longer exposure still could’ve allowed for the audience to be shown more than the shadowy mass. Actually I wonder if I should’ve covered the left half of the frame. Hm, lots to think about. The reason why I wanted to capture the audience though is because this was maybe one of the more dance-y crowds I’ve been in. Everyone was moving to the strong bass line and it was really intense. Either way, I’d say that due to the amount of smoke, it was a really difficult set to take pictures at in general.

In contrast was Semantix’s show. While still having a good amount of smoke, it was nowhere near as difficult to understand and I feel like a good number of these pictures had interesting points to them. Most notable among them are the ones in the bottom row. Each one of these pictures is a different image with a different affect.

While I don’t usually title or name pictures, I want to try with these four because they just have such a distinct feel to them. The first is perhaps what I might call “the mad scientist”. The synthesizer cables are what are most in focus and there’s a vibe of experimentation and menace almost.

The second I might title, “the beast”. This picture, along with the one to its upper left, have this kind of almost howling pose. This picture though has a bright back lighting which creates more of a shadow effect to it. The bits and pieces of the crowd add an interesting layer to it. My memory of these first two pictures is that they were taken with the 105mm lens.

I’m not sure what I’d call this third picture. It’s maybe the least distinct of them. The fisheye lens creates some meaningful distortion and there’s almost a bit more focus on the crowd than Semantix on stage. For that reason, perhaps I’d call it “the idol”. The kind of distorted field that idolatry can create which in some ways diminishes the artist themselves.

This last picture I’d call “the revolutionary”. Or perhaps “the outlaw”. I want to call it that due to the outstretched arms and fists of the crowd and the blurred and almost defiant pose on stage. To me, this is maybe the most distinctive picture on the entire roll. It has such a distinct usage of light and crowd and affect that the focus not being anywhere in particular adds to its mystique and intrigue.

Anyways, that’s the last roll of the year. I’ve got more coming up to review the past year and thoughts on next year.