SXSW Music

Sonja Quintero / Squint Photography / SXSW 2011

 

The SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas is now underway. For those of you (who have been living under a rock) who don’t know about this fest, it celebrates what’s, new, hot and up and coming in interactive, film and music. For the past 14 years, I have only missed it 3 times. Sadly, this year is one of them.

For me, it’s all about exploring and checking out new bands and new sounds from all over the globe that converge on this truly eclectic city of Austin under a weeks time. Taking in the tunes was the #1 priority, but with camera in hand, so was capturing the spirit of these bands and the energy they brought to this renowned, yearly event.

Photographing concerts and bands was one of my first loves when I started doing photography. Back in the day, I shot mostly on film, as if shooting concerts wasn’t tricky enough! It certainly gave me the opportunity to cut my teeth on some extreme exposure and focus challenges. I’ll admit, though, things got exponentially less complicated when I finally purchased my first digital SLR and took it to SXSW in 2008. A whole new world had opened up for me.

The past few years when I’ve gone to the event, I found myself just getting absorbed in the music more, and letting the camera fall to the wayside. But that’s ok, because enjoying the music was always the first intention anyway.

In honor of the event, I though I’d share some of my fave band photos from over the years….Hope you enjoy them….

The Cribs at SXSW 2005 – Early film shot – Sonja Quintero

Sonja Quintero/Squint Photography – SXSW 2007

Sonja Quintero / Squint Photography / SXSW 2015

Sonja Quintero / Squint Photography / sxsw 2016

Sonja Quintero / Squint Photography / SXSW 2016

Sonja Quintero / Squint Photograohy / sxsw 2016

Sonja Quintero / Squint Photography / SXSW 2014

 

To see more of my work check out Squint Photography