Fotomost: Photobooth Space Bridge Moscow-Chicago

This is rather belated, I'm afraid... but better late than never!

I think I mentioned this project in one of our earlier posts, on our return from Chicago. Not wanting to be left out of the Convention because they couldn't come, Martin and Ira from Schnellfoto in Russia devised a project which was to bridge the gap between Moscow and Chicago. They had their friends and other photobooth users ask questions in photobooth strips. These varied from the surreal to the practical to the philosophical; one I can remember (cos I answered it!) was something like: What's at the end of your legs? Others were: Does telepathy exist? Is Andy Warhol really dead?


More images can be seen on Martin and Ira's blog

The idea was that the participants of the Convention were to choose a strip to answer using the photobooth. These were then sent back to Moscow, where Martin and Ira have exhibited the question and answer couples in a gallery space. A more eloquent description of the project can be seen here.

There was some talk of these strips being scanned and a booklet made... I will see if I can find out what happened about that. It was a great project; a real talking point of the Convention which made us all feel as though Martin and Ira were in fact there. Thanks guys!

Bad day turned good...

The other day, I had my bike stolen, and I was told that work was cutting some of my hours...all in all not a great day. But I was meeing Siobhan and some friends in the evening, and we popped in to visit the booth at Cargo. Strange Firetrap "graffitti" has come off, I was pleased to see, and also the quality of the image seems to have improved. The flare has diminished, and the chemistry is nice and contrasty... Hats off to them! (and to note; screaming in a booth really is cathartic...)

Mr. Mixup was in town recently, and when we met him he had just visited the booth at Cargo. He showed us loads of strips he'd done in their booth, both using their props (which they bring out on a Sunday occasionally) and his own. They looked great - he also showed us some of the stuff he had done during the '80's and early '90's. It really is worth checking out his website for some inspiration.

A new look

The more astute of you will notice our new banner... courtesy of Mayumi Mori, graphic designer and illustrator extraordinaire. More of her work will crop up on our website which is currently in the making... yes, Photomovette is getting serious!
As usual, updates here first!

A kick up the Backside

On the way home last night, I got a bit of a shock. Well, not a shock exactly, but a kick up the backside. We have been away a lot lately, and have put our booth on the back burner...Siobhan has been to Glastonbury, where she hung out with Mr Mixup of photobooth fame; I have been busy with weddings and family holidays and other Summery activities.

But first trip on the tube since I got back and I got what I needed to spur on a Summer of productiveness. In one of the free papers, what should I find but a massive article on photobooths. And I mean massive, practically feature. Apparently the photobooth is now the ultimate party accessory, with the likes of Agyness Deyn, Nigella Lawson and others hiring them for their dos; the "ice-breaking, must-have party drug of the Noughties".
























So if that's the case, we better get a move on. And we must remember that these are digital booths; watch this space for the first (well, almost) REAL vintage booth....

Take 2 @ Cargo

Second trip to the black and white booth in Cargo, Shoreditch... and this time a result. The first two frames just show how shocked we are that it actually worked!

The booth itself is still looking a little shabby. It seems they have tried to make an effort; the word Firetrap has been pasted all over it. At first we thought they may have got sponsorship from the fashion chain of the same name, but looking at their blog, it seems it is some sort of graffiti art...

As for the strip, it is a little muddy, with a strange flare in the top left hand corner. So we are not feeling too threatened. They are on photobooth.net now though. Bummer we are not the first UK booth on there.

How to move a booth; it's official!

Since we witnessed the wonders of Anthony's technique of moving the booths in Chicago, we have been on the look out for similiar trucks. And we found this, which we thought was rather hilarious. I guess this way is officially the right way to move a booth, as illustrated by this lovely old man:

We are still on the look out for chemicals, but, finally, we have made contact with someone at Photo Me UK who seems really interested in our project and keen to help out. So fingers crossed some news soon.

No longer the one and only...

We have found out we are not the only black and white booth in London. Photoautomat, the Berlin based collective, have got here first. We knew that they were planning to bring one to London, but didn't think it would be so soon.

So we went to check out our competition. It is based in Cargo, a very trendy bar in Shoreditch, which is housed in 2 railway arches. It is a decent venue; it has gigs and club nights and is also open during the day for lunches. And, because it is a rather large place, I was imagining the booth to be inside. But no - turns out it is in the beer garden! Which seems to me a rather strange place to put it; the only punters in the evening are likely to be the smokers who take refuge there due to the smoking ban...

Aesthetically, they have not pushed the boat out. From the outside it is just plain blue metal, scuffed and dented. Inside, instructions are written with black marker on a piece of paper which is sellotaped to the wall. So we were keen to see what the strips were like.

(photo courtesy of Photoautomat's flickr)

But the booth wouldn't take our money!

We asked the girls at the bar - they said the technicians had come that morning to check everything was OK. But it didn't work; the coins just fell through the slot. Judging by the strips on their website, however, they are not that great - a lot of flare going on in the top left corner.

So that was that. Disappointment but also an inside feeling of smugness! Siobhan went another time with a friend and the bar was closed so they couldn't try it out. Which was wierd, as it was a Thursday night.

When I heard there may be another booth in London (which, actually, was in Chicago - Brian had received an email from Photoautomat) I felt a little upset that we could no longer claim to be the first. But now, I realise that it is a good thing there is competition. It means the British are getting a taste for these old machines again, as are, it seems, other countries in Europe. This resurgance of old processes in a digital age interests me... so more soon.