Output on Film

Music festivals have become the core and lifeblood of the Australian summer. While a focus is predominantly placed on the musical talent that graces stages the nation over, it is important to stop and pay homage to the true backbone of any music festival: its attendees.

These punters seek adventure, good times and a sense of belonging, even if only momentary, to an entity larger than oneself; all of which can be achieved by diving into a mosh pit of hundreds of swaying bodies. The feeling of being one among many, and part of a greater whole is the reason why festivals have become so popular.

Output festival, that occurred November 24 this year, is no different, and perhaps embraces this ethos more than others. With a colourful array of characters scattered across Goat Island in Sydney harbour, and with the whole island given over to the festival, the ties between dancers were strong. BYO photographer, Christopher Quyen captured the humans that make Output possible.

“When you’re at a festival like Output, you want to be in the moment. With tunes that evoked the feeling of being on a tropical island, shooting Output on film meant less worrying about the images and more time connecting with the people and enjoying the cityscape of Sydney. Armed with my Contax T2, sneaking around and getting into tighter spots was a lot easier especially when Mall Grab hit the main stage and had the entire crowd bopping up and down ‘til the last ferry left the island.”