ICP '09 Chicago: Day 1

Oooof! Don't know where to start really. Two weeks ago we got back from Chicago, where we attended the International Photobooth Convention. We had such a great time, and there is so much to share and tell! May have to post in parts...

The Convention kicked off on the Friday night with what basically turned into a photobooth party. It was set at Centre Portion, an artists led project space in the Logan Square area of Chicago, where there is a small exhibition space, and another room at the back with chairs laid out and a mini stage. In the gallery there was an eclectic display of photobooth art - from the classic, but beautifully executed single black and white strips by Danny Minnick, to the more intricate assemblages by photobooth.net's Tim Garrett; from the funky, colourful, psychedelic displays by Mr. Mixup, to mixed media installations such as a hand knitted scarf which incorporated photobooth images, by Andrea Vizzari. Brian Meacham from photobooth.net exhibited his collection of Photomatic cards, and Nakki Goranin of American Photobooth fame had some of her collection of old booth pictures on the wall. A veritable celebration of the photobooth, which provided inspiration and discussion for the rest of the weekend.

In addition to this, 312Photobooth, run by Anthony and Andrea Vizzari had provided the centre with 3 booths - 2 vintage B&W ones, and a digital one, cleverly disguised from the outside as a true old booth. These were free to use, and, with a very full prop box also on hand, visitors (incuding ourselves!) were going mad for the booth...

One of the hightlights of the evening was a project which came all the way from Moscow, from Martin and Ira of schnellfoto, from whom we bought our booth. They had asked friends to ask questions in the booth, which we were then to answer at the convention in our own strips, and send back to Moscow. The finishing dialogue across the pond and between two of the most powerful countries in the world will be exhibited in their space in Moscow. A great idea which was embraced by the attendees of the convention.

Day 2 coming up...

more pics on our Flickr site

Woohoo!

It's in! It's finally here!

Many, many thanks to the hard working guys at Bishopsgate... who were totally unphased and seemed to rise to the challenge. In the end they made it look so easy.


The booth in the van...

and onto the pallet truck.
Through the arch...

and down the slope.

Building a ramp...

...to get through the door.

The pallet is replaced with wheels...

a snug fit through the corridor..

and into the studio!

Easy really.
Just 6 men, a pallet truck, two trolleys with wheels, and some metal plates.


And the great unwrap! The best is yet to come!

Even closer... and still no joy

Attempt number 2. This time, we decided to pay for some specialist movers. Kind of thought that it would be worth it just to get the thing in, and then we will have time to work out how to move it later. Quite a shock financially - it's basically costing us twice what it did from Berlin to London, and to go a fraction of the distance. But at least we'll be able to start playing around with our new toy...

Or so we thought. On the day in question, we got up early and packed the champagne. Only to arrive at Utrophia to find the removal men already there, surveying the site with an air of dispondance. They had not been warned about the uneven ground, and did not have the right equipment with them... so it would have to be done another time...

So disappointed! And angry... we had sent photos and specifications. But now other questions are starting to arise; is this studio really suitable? If it is this difficult to get in, how difficult will it be to get out? Should we perhaps find somewhere else?

And this is the position in which I will leave us in for this post. Watch this space!

So close... and yet still not here.

It was going to be such an exciting day. We were finally going to see our booth, our baby! And have it in our studio to start playing with...

But no. That would be just too easy.

The booth had arrived from Germany last Friday, and was waiting to be picked up from the warehouse in Erith. We hired a luton van with a tail-lift, and drove out there first thing after morning rush hour. The plan was simple - load the booth into the van, take it to the studio, then meet our gang of burly young men who were going to help us get it onto a dolly truck and wheel it through to the studio. The champagne was on ice ready to be cracked open.

So we arrived at the warehouse. First hurdle: I hadn't been given a reference number by the German contigent, and for a brief minute we were worried we wouldn't even be able to go in. But not everyone gets a photobooth delivered, so that was soon sorted. We were directed to follow the yellow path around a building, go up some steps, through a couple of glass doors, under the stairs... and, what was that again? Please can you help us?! It was like walking through a maze, but we finally found the right office, and were given the official picking up note. More directions: follow the yellow path around this other building, park our van in this bay... and then talk to someone called Dave Skinner.

We finally found him; everyone en route was so helpful and nice - it can't be often they see 2 young women around that warehouse! And we saw the booth:


It looked so shiney and new; hardly as if it had been in storage in Estonia for a few years. We were getting very excited.

But then the time came to try and get it into the van we had hired. Turned out the booth was larger and heavier than we had suspected; and it was just a few centimetres too high to get in the truck! About 4 guys with forklift trucks were surrounding us at this point, trying to discuss ways we could get it in. Understandably, they were reluctant to tip it, and weren't in the position to handle it. It is in such good nick that it seemed a shame to do anything which may damage it.

So, in the end, we were directed back through the maze to the office we had started off in, and waited there while the wonderful Tony and Stuart wracked their brains to try and find a way. All to no avail. Back we went with an empty truck and a heavy heart... to drown our sorrows at a pub in Camberwell.

And we are still trying to work this out. If any of you booth-ists out there have any secrets about how to move these beasts, please contact us.

We're going to Chicago!

Still no booth...

But some exciting news:

Kind of on a whim, and because we thought what the hell, we have just booked plane tickets to Chicago for the first weekend in April. It is the 2009 International Photobooth Convention, and we are looking forward to getting the word out on what we are doing and meeting other like minded photobooth enthusiasts.

And excited about using all 24 photobooths in Chicago!

The Waiting Game

The booth is still not here.

And we are getting impatient.

But there are problems which we have to solve. Mainly, getting the booth to the studio. So quite a major one really.



It took us ages to find an affordable studio on the ground floor. However, we didn't think of the fact that the driveway to Utrophia is down a cobbled lane. So the shipping company cannot take it to the front door. They will leave it at the entrance to the driveway, on the street.

So we have the following options:

a) Hire a pallet truck. Probably not suitable due to the slope and the uneven ground.
b) Hire some humans who know how to shift a 400kg weight. Very expensive.
c) Hire a van, transfer the booth from the truck to the van and drive it the very short distance to the front door. At the moment this is the most feasible.
d) Get a dolly truck. Unsafe on the even ground but ideal for moving it around once it is in the studio.

Not to mention once we get it in, we have to be able to get it out again!

Apart from that, preparations are going nicely. Our studio is like a fridge at present, as it is on the ground floor of a warehouse type building with a concrete floor. We have carpetted it and fitted insulation into the walls (the carpetting documented by Joe Plommer here). Just a lick of paint and all set for the new addition!

The manual, the DVD, and the good old 80's hair-do

So, it is January and the booth has not yet arrived. But the manual has. And boy is it scary:








No doubt these diagrams will become the wallpaper in the studio as we try to work out what an earth they mean..

On a lighter (and more reassuring) note, we have obtained a DVD of an old Photo Me training video. This guy is hilarious; proper 80’s hair do and such an earnest face. I found this clip on Youtube; it is sort of a trailor for it and is amusing in its own right. The thing is, although it is dead boring to watch, it is really informative and will be a lot more useful than the above manual.