Words. Photos. Videos. By AJ Miranda.

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I interviewed the band Boyfrndz at Progress Coffee last year. In backpack journalist fashion, I also shot the photos that accompanied the story. At the time, after the interview concluded, I shot the band against Progress’ red brick exterior. We weren’t excited by the shoot. After all, how many thousands of band photos have been shot against a brick wall? So the guys asked if I had time to shoot more, which I did. We walked to the band’s house in East Austin. It was an eight-minute walk away. The house was a museum of technologies past. The backyard housed two 60-inch big screen TVs from the 1980s. Neither worked, and they were in fact spray-painted with Boyfrndz imagery. Inside, I found a toy Yamaha keyboard and a vintage typewriter. Throw in a Macbook, and we came up with the idea of having the band members each messing with a different kind of keyboard. Client: Backbeat Magazine / Red River Noise Date: July 2011 Location: Austin, Texas Gear: Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm IS Software: Adobe Lightroom 3

I interviewed the band Boyfrndz at Progress Coffee last year. In backpack journalist fashion, I also shot the photos that accompanied the story. At the time, after the interview concluded, I shot the band against Progress’ red brick exterior. We weren’t excited by the shoot. After all, how many thousands of band photos have been shot against a brick wall? So the guys asked if I had time to shoot more, which I did. We walked to the band’s house in East Austin. It was an eight-minute walk away. The house was a museum of technologies past. The backyard housed two 60-inch big screen TVs from the 1980s. Neither worked, and they were in fact spray-painted with Boyfrndz imagery. Inside, I found a toy Yamaha keyboard and a vintage typewriter. Throw in a Macbook, and we came up with the idea of having the band members each messing with a different kind of keyboard.

  • Client: Backbeat Magazine / Red River Noise
  • Date: July 2011
  • Location: Austin, Texas
  • Gear: Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm IS
  • Software: Adobe Lightroom 3
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I fell in love with the moody blue lighting used at Ruta Maya on this night. Walking into an Austin music venue, you never know what the lighting’s gonna look like. The same venue can use dim red lighting on Friday and bright green on Saturday. Or worse, an ugly and unbalanced mix of all sorts of drab colors. But the lighting on this night was even along the stage in luminance and hue, which made my job editing the set easier. The above shot is of local emcee Tee-Double as he guests on a DJ set by Ursula 1000. Client: Austin Vida Date: March 13, 2012 Location: Ruta Maya in Austin, Texas Gear: Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm IS Software: Adobe Lightroom 3 Click the photo to visit the gallery.

I fell in love with the moody blue lighting used at Ruta Maya on this night. Walking into an Austin music venue, you never know what the lighting’s gonna look like. The same venue can use dim red lighting on Friday and bright green on Saturday. Or worse, an ugly and unbalanced mix of all sorts of drab colors. But the lighting on this night was even along the stage in luminance and hue, which made my job editing the set easier. The above shot is of local emcee Tee-Double as he guests on a DJ set by Ursula 1000.

  • Client: Austin Vida
  • Date: March 13, 2012
  • Location: Ruta Maya in Austin, Texas
  • Gear: Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm IS
  • Software: Adobe Lightroom 3


Click the photo to visit the gallery.

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Part of the appeal of South by Southwest is being pleasantly surprised by artists you didn’t know anything about. I was out of the loop on Beatriz Luengo when the petite, feisty songstress took the mic at Maria Maria. Aside from having a good voice and strong stage presence, she’s a very animated performer. Consequently, most of my shots featured her shouting or making funny faces. A fun shoot, overall. Client: Austin Vida Date: March 12, 2012 Location: Maria Maria in Austin, Texas Gear: Canon 60D, EF 50mm f1.8 Software: Adobe Lightroom 3 Click the photo to visit the gallery.

Part of the appeal of South by Southwest is being pleasantly surprised by artists you didn’t know anything about. I was out of the loop on Beatriz Luengo when the petite, feisty songstress took the mic at Maria Maria. Aside from having a good voice and strong stage presence, she’s a very animated performer. Consequently, most of my shots featured her shouting or making funny faces. A fun shoot, overall.

  • Client: Austin Vida
  • Date: March 12, 2012
  • Location: Maria Maria in Austin, Texas
  • Gear: Canon 60D, EF 50mm f1.8
  • Software: Adobe Lightroom 3


Click the photo to visit the gallery.

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Austin Vida’s editor-in-chief, Ian Morales, was nominated for an award at the inaugural Revolucionario Awards, which is part of interactive portion of South by Southwest. I’m not much for awards shows or meet-and-greet events, honestly. Nothing against them. Just not my cup of tea. What lured me into going was the music lineup. David Garza opened the music festivities with a solo acoustic performance. Client: Austin Vida Date: March 12, 2012 Location: Maria Maria in Austin, Texas Gear: Canon 60D, EF 50mm f1.8 Software: Adobe Lightroom 3 Click the photo to visit the gallery.

Austin Vida’s editor-in-chief, Ian Morales, was nominated for an award at the inaugural Revolucionario Awards, which is part of interactive portion of South by Southwest. I’m not much for awards shows or meet-and-greet events, honestly. Nothing against them. Just not my cup of tea. What lured me into going was the music lineup. David Garza opened the music festivities with a solo acoustic performance.

  • Client: Austin Vida
  • Date: March 12, 2012
  • Location: Maria Maria in Austin, Texas
  • Gear: Canon 60D, EF 50mm f1.8
  • Software: Adobe Lightroom 3


Click the photo to visit the gallery.