Shedding its skin

Last night at our booth meeting we decided to rip off all the horrible, grey industrial metal from the outside of the booth. It was strangely cathartic - but very hard work. My muscles are screaming this morning!

The front part with the lovely lady was easy enough to take off - just a few screws to undo. Then the side panels, too, were simple once we got the knack. It was the panel with the mirror which got us thinking. It was a bit like the Krypton factor - we just couldn't work out where it screwed in. In the end it was a case of lifting it from the bottom and hoisting it off its support.

As for the back, it was a sheet of thin metal which had not only been screwed on, but also STUCK on with double sided tape! And, to add insult to injury, underneath we uncovered a beautiful vintage veneer... now ruined cos of double sided tape and a crowbar, which was the only way of getting the bastard off.

But I think we have taken off a good 100kg from the overall weight, and I must say the booth does look a lot smaller, lighter and more manageable. But more importantly, it's a clean slate for the creative juices to flow!

An empty bottle, a rainbow and a skylark

After the clear up, it was just us and Danny Minnick left... so we decided to spend the afternoon and evening looking for photobooths in different bars around Chicago.

First stop was The Empty Bottle, which Siobhan instantly fell in love with... it was a cool hang out; a bar and concert venue which included a games room with snooker table, pin ball machine and photobooth:


... run by the very friendly and fellow booth enthusiast Will.

The booth was a little dark... but not a bad thing!


Next, a tramp through the snow took us to the Rainbo Club; also famous for its booth, and a calender it produces each year of photobooth strips. Here began the collaboration between Photomovette and the King of photobooth art:


Finally, onto the Skylark, at the other side of town. And the other side of town in Chicago is quite a trek; we ended up getting a lift from a random guy we met in at Irish Pub. But we were rewarded with a bustling, uber-cool student hang out. Much to Danny's disappointment, we missed the live band, but were still in time to borrow the mic, so our strip in this booth had each of us singing our little hearts out. Very cool, Danny kept it... must get a scan from him one day. For now, you'll have to be content with this... Love the curved corners.


Then off we went in the snow, with a list of booths to try the next day...

ICP Chicago: Day 3

Day 3 was a clear up day. On the Sunday we went to help Tim, Brian and Anthony break down the exhibition and move the booths. We got there a little late due to the very late night the night before, but were still in time to help Anthony pack up one of his chemical booths and move it to the truck.

And what an insight into what is to come! There is so much more involved than just the booth itself. Tarps, bottles, buckets... trolleys, straps and so on and so on. We helped Anthony dispose of the chemicals (not all; some are kept and put back in their boxes), and then helped him move a booth. Yes, I actually moved a booth!

The trick is to have the right kind of trucks. Trucks like this, one at either end, and strapped together:

Then, it is easy for two people to wheel it around:


Me and Anthony wheeling the booth to the truck. And very easy! (although admittedly I had the lighter side...)

And then I had an epiphany which I think is one reason why we found it so hard to find a space for our booth in London. Doors in the US are larger then over here. So you can get booths through any old door: (even through bleary, hung over eyes...)


Onto the taillift and into the truck (here Brian and Tim took over from me - this bit does require lifting.)



So that's it! Lessons learned. And it was time for a little celebratory photobooth crawl around Chicago... pics to come!

A very good start...

So we finally had our first stint with the booth. Can't believe it's a month since we were at the IPC in Chicago, and we've only just got round to doing our first "booth evening". Now they are going to be regular... so hopefully blog updates will be more regular too!

But it was a very good start. Almost too good...

Our intention was to unpack the insides properly, and check that the transmission was aligned. In fact, we got much more than that done! Working through the DVD (which I highly recommend, it is dated in terms of hairstyle and technology but VERY useful), we checked the alignment of the transmission (fine), checked the alignment of the carriers (all fine) and checked the alignment of the tanks (also fine). In doing this, we had to run it as if it was taking a picture; all strobes worked (!), the paper feeds through smoothly, everything happens as it should - including the hairdryer at the end to dry the strip.

So we are over the moon. And trying to get our hands on chemicals. We also realised that we do not have the keys to lock the door, so for the moment it isn't light tight and is a little useless! But minor details compared to what could have gone wrong.

Also realised that we can take off the ugly grey industrial metal casing it is in very easily... so thoughts are now to aestheticising it which is much more fun!

More IPC news and images to come soon... watch this space.

The songbird and the Secret

Just a quickie... as promised, the wonderful bit of artwork Siobhan made at the Convention:

and, the Songbird, an award winning cocktail by Bar de Ville:

Read a review about it here.

ICP '09 Chicago: Day 2

Saturday was more of the same - boothin' an minglin' and generally having fun. There were some intellectual moments... Brian Meacham's compilation of clips of films, TV, and ads which had featured the photobooth in one way or another perhaps not one of them.. but a panel disucussion led by Tim Garrett about the future of the booth certainly became that way. The panel consisted of Nakki Gorannin, Mr. Mixup, Anthony Vizzari, and Nick Osbourne, author and photographic historian. Like many photographic discussions these days, the main question was analogue vs digital; a discussion of the future of things like the photobooth now that everyone has immediate photos to hand on their phones and digi cameras. I could waffle about this for hours (see first post), but won't, as lets face it we can go round and round in circles.

Mr. Mixup boothin'

Siobhan participated in Anthony's workshop about photography transfers... and produced a lovely little piece which I hope she will scan and pop up here. I, on the other hand, was too caught up with the fact that I had discovered what cool effects you get when shaking your head in a booth, and produced this, my first piece of photobooth art:

The day ended late, but not so late that we couldn't continue in the festive spirit and socialise with our new friends. We went to Bar DeVille, a bar with one of Anthony's booths (312photobooth.com). A Saturday night, the bar was heaving, and to a wee English girl whose nearest encounter with the States til now was in films, it felt like walking into a high school movie. But soon we had the bar to ourselves, courtesy of Eric Hay, friend and colleague of the Vizzari's who also happens to work at Bar DeVille. He introduced us to some boutique American beers, and mixed us one of the most delicous cocktails. So delicious, in fact, it has won an award in Chicago. And so delicious, we had to take it into the booth with us (strip to come... in the meantime have a look at these...)

This strip was a happy accident in the booth with Mixup and Carol, a friend of the Vizzari's. I just love the quality of Anthony's booths; just the right tone and contrast... it wasn't until the next couple of days when we used other booths in public places we realised just how lucky we'd been having free reign of his. I do hope we'll be able to get ours this good.

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