By Taylor Adams Cogan
When Vera “Velma” Hernandez talks about live music, her determined face lights up with excited eyes and just a slight smile. She knows what she’s talking about, and you can tell she’s loved it all her life. While a talented and recognized photographer, it’s clear the music helps drive her creative passion.
”I’ve always had a fascination with photography, but I never knew that it would be so involved with the music,” she says.
Growing up playing viola, trumpet, French horn, and euphonium, she always knew that music would be part of her life and likely connect to her career. But it didn’t take long for her hands to also find a camera. She joined a photojournalism program in high school, and afterward, she honed more skills through portraiture at a photo studio in a mall.
While it can be helpful to establish foundations in a skill, like photographing a suit-and-tie-clad family in perfected lighting, the creativity can come out once you start to bend some rules. And for Velma, a punk show in Tulsa would end up calling her to do that.
”I quit my job because I couldn’t get the days off, and I asked my friend if I could borrow her camera. I had never taken photos at a concert; I just wanted photos for me,” she says.
Photos for herself and anyone friends with her on Facebook, that is, where her clear skill of capturing the raw energy of a concert came through in her images. That got her more than few likes and shares: Bands started reaching out, asking her to be their concert photographer.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll shoot your band.’ I was shooting a lot at Three Links, and more bands kept seeing my work. I started getting more serious with it, and eventually Three Links started hitting me up to shoot shows for them. It just kept going from there.”
She brought the vivid scenes of concerts in house shows and smaller clubs to more people, and eventually the Dallas Observer reached out. Not only were they asking her to photograph concerts, they wanted to know where she was going, so the paper could cover it. Which means they weren’t just after her stunning shots, they knew she was already in the fabric of the scene.
”My punk friends are just debauchery – people throwing up, just chaos. Then one day, Eva Raggio hits me up with, ‘How do you feel about shooting Cher?’ The last photo I posted were people throwing up, and you’re trusting me with Cher? Sick!”
You can find her on the pages of not only our trusted Observer, but Creem magazine. She’s traveling a lot for shows, sometimes touring with bands like Rosegarden Funeral Party, and heading to Austin to shoot at clubs where she’s built strong connections.
“Sometimes it doesn’t feel like real life. I’ve had luck sometimes. I don’t really have connections sometimes: If there’s a show I want to shoot, not a Dallas show but a band I really love and they’re completely skipping over Texas, I’ve had luck with just hitting them up directly.”
It’s something she says she’ll hold on to – being kind to people. She still looks up to those who have ever taken a chance on her to give her opportunities.
While her skillful eye and creativity come through in images where you can smell the sweat by looking at the roaring crowd, her motives aren’t just about stunning images. It’s about getting people excited about the atmosphere and importance of live music and local bands, especially in venues like we have in Deep Ellum.
”There are so many local bands that start out here, their first big shows are playing the famous spots in Deep Ellum, Three Links, Dada. You never know which next talented band is going to blow up. Go out and see as much local band music as you can while you can and support them, before you can’t see them in an intimate space anymore.”
Velma remembers photographing a band at Three Links and doesn’t expect to shoot their shows again anytime soon again since they’re now touring large arenas. And, more relatable to the average music lover, she remembers when that fun came to a halt with the COVID-19.
“Stuff like the pandemic happens, and suddenly you don’t get to see live music. But you weren’t out there before, and it took something like this to make you realize you had it really good in being able to see so much live music at so many different venues,” she says.
Her photographs can start to make you feel like you’re in the room with your favorite band, but remember you can love those photos and make your way to those spaces, too.
”Get out there and support these bands,” she says. “There’s so much talent in Dallas, and there are so many places to catch it.”
