I love Hobogestapo’s pictures. They are what it is like to be young. They are about having a good time and being enjoying life.
Taken at parties, gigs, festivals and events around the world, there is an energy and exuberance to their shots that makes you want to step through the picture and into the scene (but without the hangover).
We spoke to Andy Amos to find out more…
How many people contribute to the site?
We have 9 regular contributors for the site. In Sydney, Deckland, Kid, Lazarus, Dudenstein and Moses. In Brisbane, Dimitri and Victor Tango and in Melbourne, Artemis. As well as Carlito in NYC.
On top of this we are trialling 3 additional photographers who as yet haven’t been initiated into full hobo status. We are pretty definite about the type of contributors we bring on board.
Can people become send you pics for submission?
At the moment we don’t take submissions off the street. Part of our aesthetic is to be very picky about who we have regularly submitting. As such, we tend to scout people with either an eye or attitude that suites our style.
What is the best party you have ever been to?
One of the best parties was the whereis powder party last year. Put a bunch of crazy kids in a giant plastic bag, feed them Pizza, Vodka and Redbull and then give them kilos and kilos of powder to throw at each other and there you go.
Deckland took some amazingly iconic images here.
Who is on your stereo at the moment?
The hobophonics DJ, Deckland really affects my music taste. So generally his latest mix tape. As well the guys from light year and a lot of the modular acts. We collaborate and see so many amazing artists out and about that they tend to be the people I’ll download on iTunes.
Apart from that the hood internet always has some amazing mashups and Kayne’s latest was just great.
We’re working with the Heaps Decent crew at the moment on their music for under privileged kids and some of the music they are laying down is sweet.
Is it just an excuse to take pics of sexy girls?
There is never anything wrong with sexy girls. And certainly almost any photo looks amazing if it has a beautiful subject. However I think some of our best images are of just regular people having an amazing time. If you ever see anyone lose themselves in the moment they almost always look beautiful.
But yeah a sexy girl losing herself in the moment I guess is even better.
What is in the pipeline when you get too old for clubs?
Hobo is already much more than the party images that people commonly think of us as being. We are forging forward in creating our own photo agency. This week we’ve been heavily involved with fashion week shooting for media publications and brands.
We’re doing quite a bit of work with brands now helping them create visual content for both photos and video content. What we are finding is that the style of shooting is very aligned with the movement of the moment and its very powerful in being able to communicate a message. More and more we having clients approach us to produce diverse content.
Our images are becoming more and more focused on the artistry behind creating an amazing image. That’s where we are really having an impact. It would be very rare to see an image up on our site that could not in some way be construed as beautiful.
The name was a creation of Alex’s in one of his silly moments..he considers himself quite the wordsmith.
We were a little like Hobo’s on the street when we started – the gestapo was simply some ridiculous chosen word that sounded good with the Hobo.
No offence was intended and none has really been taken but we have tempered it a little as we’ve grown and developed.
Our Agency is called WeareHobo.
We really refer to ourselves as Hobo’s.
www.hobogestapo.com
