HIPSTER RUNOFF

Photo via IvanRodic

Hey blog reader friends. As you know, I have not been feeling very alive lately. I just thought I should open up and share what has been happening. I feel very sad while I type this, but a notable night life photoblogger in our scene passed away. He had pneumonia, but unfortunately, didn't have medical insurance. He thought it was a cold, but he ended up passing away, since he just tried to detox his throat by drinking a lot of vodka for several weeks. Really just can't believe he's gone. One night he's taking pix of you and your bros, and the next night, he's not there. No1 knows where he is, but every1 finds it odd. After the Of Montreal show, we went to his loft, and found him dead in his bed. We took his body to the hospital, and even though we were dressed alt, we were just normal people like every one else, dealing with the human fight against mortality.

I got this tattoo of him to remember him forever. You can see him reviewing pix on his DSLR (he preferred Canon over Nikon).

It seems like nothing matters right now. I don't give a shit what the best mp3s of the decade were, or who is the next buzzwave band. I don't care about tween soft porn lookbook, or what the next big trend is. I lost a bro, and it hurts. Not that he was a true bro, but just being reminded of 'how fragile life is' just makes me feel vulnerable. I can't believe I have to die, too. Just wish I was actually doing something with my life. I just hope that when I die, I am okay with it. I think he was happy taking pictures of people, capturing life, doing some freelance work for a regional fast food chain.

I miss him. Should I get more tattoos to honor my DeadBro, or should I just throw a 'benefit partie' in his honor to raise money for his casket?
Have u ever mourned this loss of a fallen scene member? How did u remember him/her?
Did he/she deserve 2 die? Does n e 1 deserve 2 die?

r u afraid 2 die?

Photo via the publiks

Yall. Sometimes I don't get 2 attend every alt event that I want 2 attend. Whether it is a local dance night, a meaningful indie concert, an international DJ icon spinning at a private party in Los Angeles, or even just a chilled out Coachella partie, I don't always get to go. That's why I look at party pix. To pretend that I am there. I want to feel like I am there, chilling.

Now I sort of wish party pix would die, and we could just have GIFs that are sort of an artistic representation of the night.

I feel closer 2 the partie happening in this GIF. I can feel the heat of the club. It makes me want to get up and dance. GIFs don't just capture a solitary moment, they tell a story. I just want to be part of that story. One day I will be in these pictures, establishing myself as a regular on a high level PartyGif site.

I just want to be where something relevant is happening.
I want people 2 see me and want 2 be me.
I just need visual reinforcement
I just want to be part of a cultural movement

I just think the scene would be better if there were more GIFs. Imagine seeing a 10 frame gif of a crowd dancing at a Girl Talk concert. Or seeing bros chill at a festival. Or even seeing Dan Deacon 'be krazie' or something. Photographs sort of 'leave me wanting more.' Hope there are more GIFs in the future. Worried. Hope some1 is willing 2 innovate.

Photo by thefriendattack

I feel sad for night life/party photographers who recently invested in DSLRs. If they only knew that the future of party pix were gonna be all about PANORAMIC PHOTOS. A new generation of alternative people understand their context within alt-society and are no longer interested in showcasing their personal brand. They want to be in pictures, but they want no1 to stand out more than any other bro in the picture.

I don't want to be in a picture by myself, or even with a small group of friends. I want to see myself in the context of an entire club. I want 2 see every1. I want to observe what every1 is doing. Who is the life of the party?

Just glad that in 2k9 'pix of urself' are gonna be on the outsies, and 'pix of urself lost in a large group of people' will represent a sort of self-awareness of ur place in the world. U want ppl 2 know where u r, and that ur a part of something bigger than urself. Showcasing urself is for a lookbooker/myspacer, and u just need 2 kind of grow up if ur avatar/userpic has less than 10 ppl in ur photo.

Glad I didn't go to a sad mainstream public highschool with a boring class photo.
Did yall ever do anything 'zany' for the 'sillie photo'? Were u the kid who 'flicked off the camera' and 'ruined the picture' and 'got expelled'?

When I grow up, I want 2 be frequently seen on a party pic website (on a weekly basis). I want 2 show up on 1 of the relevant sites in a major city. I want people 2 know that every week, I attend at least 1.5 cutting-edge cultural events. The world is watching me for the next big trends. This gives me a reason to be alive.

When I was young, I thought I wanted to be an astronaut/fireman/ professional athlete / doctor / lawyer / investment banker, but now I realize that there's more to life than just 'having a title that people respect.' U should want more than just money + status in a local community. U need international alternative internet fame. U need 2 be seen + be relevant. U need 2 'look prettie' and participate in a more personal version of 'the paparazzi.'

Just because there aren't tagging features on most party pix sites doesn't mean they are worthless. Party pix sites are more authentic than facebook and flickr because you have 2 work harder to 'be a community.' When u r on a party pic site, u r part of something bigger than urself.

Be proud 2 be seen, yall.
Be proud of who yall are.
Be proud of ur wardrobe.
Be proud that u 'get' the world.
Be proud that u attend relevant events.
Be proud that u 'get' that u will be on a party pix site, then make a tshirt abt it[via graphic design], show up on another street fashion blog, then get blogged about by some 3rd altBlog. ( u r a meme. )

[Photos by Facehunter]

XX BONUS COBRANDING URSELF WITH An altWEBSITE [VIA TSHIRT] XX

miss u

I used to be a party photographer
with my own website on the internet
filled with pictures of culture
and youth and fun and love and relevant bands

But then 2k8 ended
and I had 2 grow up
My hair went grey/fell out
and the youth which I documented
grew up and/or died

It was time to make a choice
did I want 2 work at Arby's/Chili's?
or did I want 2 put my dSLR skills to work?
After Obama I watched Obama launch his new website/get inaugurated
the choice was an obvious one

I decided to spend my life documenting
more important things
like politics
& nature
& 'historical events'
& relevant celebrities (not paparazzi stuff, tho)

I want to be
more than just a bro
taking pix of me/people who look like me
with my hi-end camera

I will spend the rest of my life
taking meaningful photos
that are more than just 'blogworthy'
I want them to go in the textbooks
that are issued to my children
and my children's children.

I will invest money
in technology and travel
to be at the most relevant events
freelancing
and finding my photos in relevant periodicals (not on the web/a flickr account)

Yesterday, I took this picture.

This picture may or may not be a metaphor.

I also took this picture

This picture may or may not be a metaphor.

I also took this picture.

This picture may or may not be a metaphor.

I also took this picture.

This picture may or may not be a metaphor.

I have grown up.
Grown as a photographer
beyond taking pictures in dimly lit clubs
of an alternative population
who show off their tattos & tits

I started 2 capture LIFE
through my lens
because there's more 2 life
than electroBloghaus parties
and meaningful band photography.

I am photography.
I am in touch with humanity.
I am documenting humanity.
I am PhotoBro 3.0.

DJ = Party Pixer = Blogger = 'it' girl = designer = eDesigner

I've read on a lot of finance+wall street blogs that the American economy is in rlly bad shape. While the alternative lifestyle market doesn't usually suffer when the mainstream economy is in trouble, it is apparently s0 bad that DJs have had to branch out 2 do more than just play music from their lappy/turntables.

It sux that every entrepreneur with an altDream of 'making money from their passion/genuine interests' such as 'music', 'meeting people', 'going out', or 'creating' aren't going to be able to be a single dimensional product any more. They will have to branch out.

Party Pix-ers will have to start making tShirts.
DJs will have to start party pix sites.
Bloggers will have to become musicians.
Party Pixers will have 2 get on hype machine.
Street Fashion bloggers will become music bloggers.
Interns for AltCompanies will be party pix representatives.
Record Labels will become blogs.
DJs will become altWebDesigners.
'It' girls will become DJs.

I'm worried about this economy! I'm already s0 busy managing a healthy balance between 'real lyfe' and 'social lyfe.' Having another thing 2 do on my plate would be hella annoying, but it would make me more interesting since I would have more to gripe about.

We all have a dream of 'making money' by 'doing what we love.' Sux that we're going to have 2 convince ourselves that we're interested in a lot more 'genres of interesting-ish stuff.'

[Photo by thecobrasnake]

I respect n e 1 who is going to buy as much equipment as possible to capture the essence of 'what it means to be young/alive' inside of each individual party pic. It's an exciting time to be alive. As recently as 5 years ago, alternative photographers were limited to only being allowed to be into 'band photography.' This meant a lot of blurry images of emo/emocore/hardcore bands. However, in the party pic era, photographers are allowed to 'take pix of n e thing & n e 1.' Whether it's a tittie, a nut, a guy who is dying, or anything else meaningful/quirky, party pix are great ways for people to express themselves.

R u thinkin of starting ur own lil site? Maybe just a flickr for a group of your closest friends?

[Cobrasnk]

I wonder how this compares to one of the Most Memorable NSFW HRO posts, WHERE DA MELONS AT? She defs needs a Grey Goose bath to wash off.

XX BONUS NIPPLE COVERAGE XX

Remember when people would connect their wallets to their belt loops with a chain? I wonder if people are going to start doing that with their nipples.

[Photos by We Know What U Did Last Night]

Seen n e good party pix lately?
Here is the history of the party pic industry according to HRO Commenters.

STNLYCHRLS has left a new comment on your post ""FUCK CROMBIES" - HRO Readers":

History of the modern partypix:. Although its origins can be traced back through the 60s and 80s. The partypix died with the recession of the early 1990s. But with September 11th came the return of the club scene and thus of party photography. It really all began with early 00s phenomenon myspace.com. People wanted a "cool" and "hip" default picture so they would use photographs of them drinking, having a good time, and most importantly partying. This let the world know they were not living in fear after the twin towers fell. This lead into the rise of the Misshapes clubscene in NYC. One was considered "in the know" and "more hipster than thou" if yr myspace photo featured the signature red wall (later a 'white' wall took its place). The rise of Misshapes also gave way to the rise of LastNightsParty which at first featured many of the same clubgoers as Misshapes. Soon after another partypix sensation started to rise on the east coast. This was Cobrasnake and the fledging alt celebrities of the east coast such as Cory Kennedy. The Misshapes peaked, declined, and soon ended with many of its altcelebrities running off to LA and Philadelphia. The fall of The Misshapes let LastNightsParty, Cobrasnake and the countless other imitators flourish in the scene we now know today.

John has left a new comment on your post ""FUCK CROMBIES" - HRO Readers":

party pics started as something that promotion companies and clubs did pretty casually all through the 90s, probably earlier. It wasn't that big of a deal - you might see a handful of photos in the back of Blackbook or maybe Flyer in NY, but this is when the club scene was split between "serious" clubbing like Body and Soul and the uber-exclusive shit like Bungalow 8...you didn't dress up for the former really b/c it was supposed to be underground and all-inclusive.

You'd see people bring in duffle bags and shit and dress like it was laundry day b/c they planned on leaving sweaty. I was pretty young at the time, but had someone suddenly shoved a camera in my face at Vinyl or Twilo I would have flipped. I know what I look like at 5 AM at a club and I don't want it immortalized.

After 9/11, electroclash and Misshapes, Berliniamsburg, etc brought in the more colorful crowd, the outfits got more photo-worthy and vapid celebrity culture got embraced IRONICALLY (which I don't think is the case anymore) along with the 80 and that whole gutter-glam thing. Instead of looking back to rave culture they looked back to Disco 2000 among other things (read up on the Michael Alig murder if you haven't), which probably had that faux celebrity thing going on too. Instead of flying out celebrity nightlife photographers to other parties the flew out famous club kids like Richie Rich.

Larry Tee was a part of that scene so it's not surprising that his brain child "electroclash" kind of took on that character (and we all owe his night at the Luxx for modern club shit). LNP and Bronque was the first modern one I'm pretty sure and it was a great way to see beautiful people (and casual porn) at these parties and then it steamrolled from there w/Cobrasnake on the West Coast and Clayton in Chicago.

(Sorry this is so long) Look at the early pics on EveryoneisFamous though and you can see Chi past-times go from dodgeball with the art kids to Floss and co. running shit. It's cool when party pics are chronicling a scene - it's not cool when it's the only excuse for going out.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post ""FUCK CROMBIES" - HRO Readers":

in correct order as follows

misshapes
thecobrasnake
lastnightsparty
junk-mag
drivenbyboredom
oneoctobernight
outwithme
nickydigital
everyoneisfamous
indierotica
shadowscene

and then all the rest that followed are just lame

ohsnapkid / redslurpee / weownthiscity/ wemadeoutonce / icanteachyouhowtodoit / ronysphotobooth / annieray

LAME LAME LAME

So when ur alt baby asks u 'where do party pix come from?' you can give it a good answer now.
Do u know any other fun facts about the History of the Party Pic Industry?
Should the STARTUP Party Pix sites be considered 'less authentic' just because they started later? What if they want to party just as hard as the founding fathers? What if they implemented innovative new party pix web design?

Hipster Runoff presents the PPPR: Party Pixxx Power Rankings

I am looking to rank some of the best party photography sites on the internet. I'm sure plenty of factors will go into it, such as

• website design/layout/colourscheme/ 'photoset title pictures'
• how HOTTT the photographed people are
• how ridiculous the local community is
• does the site post any nudes?
• is it trying too hard to be artsy?
• Does the person who runs it come across as a douchebag or a humble girl with a DSLR? Which is better?
• quality of photographs
• other arbitrary crap

Please discuss your favourite party and nightlife photography sites in the comments. If there are any sites that should be on my radar from your local scene that you are proud of/ashamed of, feel free to tell me about them.

HIPSTER RUNOFF: The World's Leading Authority on Party Pics <3

To get warmed up, why don't you enjoy this piece by Pedestrian.tv about THE COBRASNAKE. It's like the A&E Biography of "The Cobrasnake."
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAGc4odYxu8&rel=1]