Up Close and Personal

Photography By Cristian Lopez

Southern California music photographer Cristian Lopez, aka ‘Pop.Punk’, opens up about being an artist in the High Desert, what needs to change in the local music scene, and the importance of being consistent.

Hight Desert, USA

Crowd Shot at Clarion Show at The Haven Pomona

How did you begin your journey as a photographer?

I had a camera that I got as a gift from my dad back in 2020. I wouldn't really use it as much until 2024 came around. I started to get myself invested into photography because I wanted to pick up a hobby that encouraged me to get out of the house. I asked an old friend to be my model while I took photos of him. Then I started to bring my camera to local shows as a way to motivate myself to go to them alone. As I kept doing it, not only did I enjoy it but I was on the lookout for any shows coming up. I even shot photos of my first wedding when I took photography seriously for about three months!

What have you learned along the way? How have you grown?

Consistency has played a big role in putting myself out there. Additionally, I've met and looked at other photographers' work and analyzed how they approach shooting photos. Because of this, I was able to develop my own style of how I edit my photos and how I go about developing my shooting style. I tend to lean towards being up close and personal rather than shooting from afar. I've also learned that no matter what, there's always something to learn from other photographers even if you're considered a professional. While I've been shooting photos for about almost 3 years, I still believe that I have much to learn in the next upcoming years and I always am interested in hearing other people's inputs since it gives me the opportunity to experiment with my work in the future. Aside from my photography work, I became a show promoter a year later after shooting photos in the local scene. Because of that, I've been trying to make time to do both and spread the word about other bands to new people.

How would you describe your work in 3 words?

Raw, energetic, and radiant.

You currently live in the High Desert of Southern California. What is it like being an artist there?

Despite the High Desert not being as popular as other areas such as Los Angeles or the Inland Empire, there's a small but very talented group of artists up where I live. It's definitely reassuring to be surrounded by other artists since I do believe all of them have the potential to do great things and get recognized for it from people in other areas. We don't have many community events or venues where I live but myself and many other creatives who live in the High Desert have been doing our best to keep the community alive. There's a venue called The Living Room in Victorville that's been gaining more attention to the point people go out of their way to make the drive up the hill to see their favorite artist perform. Regardless of the lack of popularity with the High Desert area, I do the best I can to motivate myself and represent the area, whenever I drive down to other cities, as much as I can and tell others that the future of it and its community is only going to get better in the future!

Your work focuses on documenting live shows from the Southern California indie music scene. Why does this subject matter inspire you?

This matters to me because I have tons of fun listening to live music and seeing others around me also enjoying it too makes me happy. Capturing photos of people's emotions or actions and displaying it for others to see brings me joy because I get to see their reaction and watch them fond over the memories they made on that special day.

Tell the story behind one of your images.

During the band's performance, Caden (lead singer from Road Trip), made a statement to the crowd on how important it is to look out for one another, especially during times where people are being taken away from their families and communities. This image shows off Alex (drummer from Road Trip), holding a cymbal, with the message "FUCK ICE" written on it, above his head while Caden makes his speech, presenting to the crowd the band's stance on the topic.

What makes the Southern California Indie music scene unique? What do you think needs to change?

The Southern California indie music scene has a variety of individuals that you'll see and meet, coming from different backgrounds and learning on how they came to be! This can be said for any scene outside of Southern California, but what makes it stand out is their DIY and all age spaces. The Glass House and The Haven in Pomona are venues that have been around for quite some time and have been spots for local artists to perform. Additionally, The Glass House is used for upcoming festivals such as Viva Pomona! Those spots are staples of what makes the music here in Southern California so unique.

Despite all that, what really needs to change is the amount of spaces available. During my time in the scene, there have been spots that have been permanently shut down, leaving one city or two with no space to provide their community for local music. Because of this, locals either have to drive far away from where they live to attend a live show or wait until another space is available in their area, which may be for some time or would never come by. Moreover, people who attend local shows and are careless about the space, need to be put in check and realize that if they were to do something that can risk the space to be shut down, they should be called out if we want more spaces to open up and thrive for a long time.

Who are some up and coming bands we should check out?

Check out The Hellbombs from Ontario, Dog's Breakfast from Big Bear, and Sundae Best from the High Desert

How do you approach photographing a show? How do you prepare and what do you look for?

I like to switch between the performers and the crowd if they start moving around. I also like to capture emotion so if either the performer or the crowd starts to show a glimpse of it, I point my camera at them and they become my main focus.

What are you difficulties you've experienced as a music photographer? How did you overcome them?

Difficulties I've experienced as a music photographer revolve in being in areas where I can't use my flash or get close to the band performing. In situations like that, while I only have gear that heavily relies on getting close to the performers or using flash to not worry about lowlight, I improvise by using my environment to my advantage and capturing the photos with a wide angle lens with no flash. Furthermore, I edit the photos by making them brighter than I usually would while also still leaning towards my editing style!

If you could be in the pit with any 3 photographers, who would they be?

These 3 photographers would all be my friends. The first one being Cas (@digitally.cas), the second being Nancy (@pance_nance) and Gabriel (@gtapes.collective) as my third pick!

What's next for you?

I'm planning to keep documenting the Southern California music scene by going to as many shows as possible and even explore other areas that I've never been to while also trying to tackle bigger shows too. Moreover, I intend to continue hosting more shows and hopefully branch out to other areas that I haven't hosted yet.