MELBOURNE -- The career of Melbourne band The Bennies may be yet to truly blossom, but that didn't stop the punk rockers from potentially sparking a new photobombing phenomenon on Sunday.
Currently on tour in the US, the group were enjoying some time in the LA sun when the opportunity arose for what looked an innocent enough group photo. But all is not what it seems, with the fourth band member captured in the background indulging in a, well, you guessed it.
Loading Chilling out l.a stylee!!! Tikki bar tonight!! #photobonging View on Instagram@-webkit-keyframes"dkaXkpbBxI"{ 0%{opacity:0.5;} 50%{opacity:1;} 100%{opacity:0.5;} } @keyframes"dkaXkpbBxI"{ 0%{opacity:0.5;} 50%{opacity:1;} 100%{opacity:0.5;} }
And so the photobong was born. With the band promptly sharing the snap via Instagram, the masterpiece soon found its way onto the front page of Reddit with more than 3,000 votes, gaining the guys international recognition not just for their pioneering approach to photographic composition, but for their favourable brand of "ska, punk and psychedelic" rock.
Efforts to get photobonging off the ground have been something of a slow burn for The Bennies. An Instagram post three weeks earlier featured the group alongside a van with one character riding up front and riding high, enticing their followers to send in their best photbongs.
Loading Send us Ya best photobong!! #thebennies #photobonging View on Instagram@-webkit-keyframes"dkaXkpbBxI"{ 0%{opacity:0.5;} 50%{opacity:1;} 100%{opacity:0.5;} } @keyframes"dkaXkpbBxI"{ 0%{opacity:0.5;} 50%{opacity:1;} 100%{opacity:0.5;} }
But it would be the Sunday effort that gained traction and set the world of photobonging enthusiasts alight. And sure enough, it wasn't long until others started to follow suit.
Loading uh oh #photobonging @thebennies420 View on Instagram@-webkit-keyframes"dkaXkpbBxI"{ 0%{opacity:0.5;} 50%{opacity:1;} 100%{opacity:0.5;} } @keyframes"dkaXkpbBxI"{ 0%{opacity:0.5;} 50%{opacity:1;} 100%{opacity:0.5;} }
@TheBennies420 check out this pic of my cat rubbing up on my Taylor swift song book #photobong pic.twitter.com/wnfoMZ52PX— John DeDomenici (@JohnDeDomenici) October 13, 2014
Because it's high-time someone breathed new life (or smoke) into the art of photobombing.